Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 2 . PLANNING AN AFFORDABLE TRIP TO AUSTRALIA
Fun Fact
Witchetty Grubs, Lilli-Pillies & Other Good
Eats
In the past decade or so, Europeans have woken up to the variety and
tastes of “bush tucker,” as native Aussie food is tagged. Now it’s all the
rage in the most fashionable restaurants where wattle-seed, lemon
myrtle, or some other native taste has a place in one or two dishes on
the menu. Below is a list of those foods you may encounter in trendy
restaurants:
BUSH TUCKER
EXPLANATION
Bunya nut
Crunchy nut of the bunya pine, about the size of
macadamias.
Bush tomato Dry, small darkish fruit more like raisins in look
and taste.
Cranberry (native) Small berry that tastes a bit like an apple.
Illawarra plums Dark berry with a rich, strong, tangy taste.
Kakadu plum Wonderfully sharp tangy green fruit that boasts
the highest recorded Vitamin C level of any food.
Kangaroo
A red meat with a strong gamey flavor. Tender
when correctly prepared, tough when not. Excellent
smoked.
Lemon aspen Citrusy, light yellow fruit with a sharp tangy flavor.
Lemon myrtle Gum leaves with a fresh lemony tang; often used
to flavor white meat.
Lilli-pillies
Delicious juicy, sweet pink berry; also called a
riberry.
Macadamia nut Sweet white nut. Macadamias come from Australia,
not Hawaii as most of us think.
Quandong
A tart, tangy native peach.
Rosella
Spiky red petals of a flower with a rich berry flavor;
traditionally used by Europeans to make
rosella jam.
Wattle-seed Roasted ground acacia seeds that taste a little like
bitter coffee; commonly used by Europeans in
pasta or desserts.
Wild lime
Smaller and more sour than regular lime; good in
salads.
One ingredient you will not see on menus is witchetty grubs; most
people are too squeamish to eat these fat, slimy white critters. They
live in the soil or in dead tree trunks and are a common protein source
for Aborigines. You eat them alive, not cooked. If you are offered one
in the Outback, either freak out (as most locals would do) or enjoy its
pleasantly nutty taste as a reward for your bravery!
in cans, bottles, or on tap (draft). Cascade,
a German-style beer that you
will usually find only in a bottle, is
also popular. It’s light in color, strong
in taste, and made from Tasmanian
water straight off a mountain. If you