Food from an Australian Kitchen Quiz

Answer: Sausage Roll

Australians consumed 280 million meat pies in 2016. That is around 12 meat pies per person. Originally brought over from Great Britain and Irish convicts, the meat pie became a popular item as a portable lunch/snack item, especially as a lunch item for workers around Sydney docks in the 1800s. From there, it flourished as a food item, snack, or light meal. Meat pies can be found everywhere: Every bakery will sell pies, every major football or cricket match, service stations that sell hot food, and in the freezer section of local supermarkets.

Regulations state that the meat must be a minimum of 25%, and it must be skeletal muscle, though attachments like fat, connective tissue, nervous tissue, and blood can be included. The meat is usually minced beef, but often a mystery in origin (we don't care). However, it can be other types of animal flesh. The gravy, by consumer demand, must be rich and thick enough so that it does not drip when eating it by hand. The pastry is light and flaky but must be strong enough not to collapse the pie when you take a bite.

Sausage rolls are very popular as well. They are eaten like a pie. Both the sausage roll and meat pie are usually swamped with tomato sauce (ketchup). The first sausage rolls came from England. They consisted of a segment of pork sausage wrapped around pastry. At some point, the Australian sausage roll developed into something more. Minced sausage meat was used as a base, and it was mixed with minced beef. Instead of relying on the spices within the actual sausage for flavour, the beef/sausage mixture was supplemented with added herbs and spices such as garlic, parsley, and oregano. Finely diced onion is usually added, and sometimes grated carrot. The result is a much larger product, not constrained by the size of the English sausage. Sausage rolls found in bakeries and sporting venues tend to be large, as long as a meat pie is round, but at birthday parties and at-home snacks, they can be smaller as they are cooked in long strips and cut to the desired length.

Answer: Anzac biscuits

Anzac biscuits are a popular biscuit in Australia and New Zealand. They are made from rolled oats, flour, sugar, butter, and golden syrup. While early recipes predate WWI, they became popular during the war mainly as a fundraising activity for the war effort, with many being sent overseas to soldiers fighting in Europe. This was because they were non-perishable and could withstand high humidity, long storage times, and high temperatures during transit across the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean supply chains. This was possible as the defining characteristic of the biscuit is the absence of eggs, which were both expensive and perishable, and wartime rationing made them scarce.

The biscuits had a variety of names, but with the annual commemoration of ANZAC Day (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) after the war, their name became Anzac biscuits (with the "A" always capitalised). They cannot be called Anzac cookies, and if produced commercially, there can be little deviation from the basic recipe. As such, most Anzac biscuits are either baked at home or baked in limited commercial quantities for fundraising efforts around ANZAC Day.

Answer: Mashed potatoes

Shepherd's pie or cottage pie is a dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked. Recipes date back to 1791 in England. Originally, the recipe stated that mutton be used as it was the cheapest meat. However, today both lamb and beef mince are used. Some people distinguish between shepherd's pie, which is based on minced lamb, and cottage pie, which uses minced beef, but there is no historical basis for this distinction.

Regardless, the two basic components are cooked minced beef (often flavoured with Worcestershire sauce) with a layer of cooked mashed potato, which is then baked in the oven until the top of the potato becomes slightly crunchy. There are many variations to the recipe, with grated cheese, parmesan, or cheddar added as a topping, and vegetables added to the meat. (In our family, Shepherd's pie was used to introduce young children to meat, and because they tended to dislike vegetables, finely chopped onion, carrot, green beans, and mushrooms were added to the meat mixture, which was tolerated by the picky little ones - We still use the same recipe 30 years later).

Shepherd's pie is popular in Australia as it can use cheap ingredients, can be made ahead so it only needs to be baked after a busy day at work, and with a few added personal touches, it has been a durable meal item that few people dislike. (Tofu can be substituted for meat for vegetarians.

Answer: Sweet and sour pork

Australian Chinese cookery started in Australia in the 1850s when many Chinese immigrants, mainly from the Canton province in the south, flocked to the Australian goldfields to make their fortune. Most did not, so they started providing food for miners and related industries. They needed to adapt traditional cooking methods (steaming/braising) and ingredient substitution (eg cabbage for bok choy) for the available conditions. As a result, a hybrid style of cookery evolved (a similar parallel experience occurred in the US with the California gold rushes). Sweet and sour pork is an example of this style, with the pork being deep-fried, then mixed with available vegetables with a sauce based on sugar and vinegar. Pineapple, as an ingredient, was a much later addition.

This dish is a family favourite, though we avoid the deep-fried step, which includes battering the pork pieces. Instead, we dust the meat with flour and shallow-fry in as little oil as possible before adding the vegetables. The sauce is made immediately prior to serving.

Lemon chicken, chicken and cashews, and Mongolian lamb are other Australian Chinese dishes that, with some adaptations, are family favourites.

Answer: Cold, cooked rice

The history of fried rice can be traced back to the eastern Chinese city of Yangzhou in the Jiangsu province, China, during the Sui Dynasty (589 to 618 AD).
The one essential component to fried rice is that the rice must be cooked beforehand and allowed to cool, preferably in the fridge overnight. Freshly cooked rice is filled with surface moisture. Frying at this stage will cause the rice to steam, not fry. Other important factors are: cook in a very hot wok - this prevents sticking and also adds char to the flavour; also, don't drown the fried rice in sauce. The ideal amount of sauce is one-half tablespoon to one cup of rice.

Apart from these few basic cooking necessities, there is a huge range of additional ingredients, including eggs, vegetables, meat, and seafood. Aromatics like garlic, onions, shallots, and ginger can be added. Sauces can be soy, oyster, teriyaki, or combinations of these.

There are many regional differences in what constitutes fried rice. It appears there are many Asian varieties, with Indonesia's nasi goreng perhaps the most well-known.

In our kitchen, we keep it simple. Whenever we have a meal with rice, we cook a double batch and keep half in the fridge overnight. After we fry this off, we add scrambled egg pieces, chopped bacon, peas, diced onion, and red capsicum (peppers). If we have some fresh prawns, they go in as well. The sauce is simple soy sauce with a little oyster sauce stirred in. It makes a great side dish to just about anything or it can be a meal in itself.

Answer: Marinated chicken

There is such a variety of protein available to cook on a barbecue (nearly always called a 'Barbie' with the spelling of 'BBQ') which is usually accompanied by a host of different salads and breads to accompany the cooked food.

Traditionally, a BBQ will include steak, sausages, and grilled onions. (The latter is already cooked in this photo and is being kept warm in a dish on the left-hand side of the warming rack.) Lamb chops are popular, and entire roast meat dishes are possible if your barbecue has a hood. A rotisserie is the best way to cook chicken, as the direct heat of the hot plate cooks the outside of the bird too fast, leaving the inside undercooked. This can be offset if you marinate the meat to slow down the cooking of the meat. In this instance, the chicken is marinated in mango, chutney, and spices. Fish is tricky to cook on a barbecue, again because of the intense heat, but in experienced hands, it can be a real winner. Prawns and calamari can be flash-fried on a barbecue plate, but we never put "shrimp on a barbie". (This is a reference to Australian comedian Paul Hogan, who was in an Australian tourism ad trying to entice Americans to Australia. He received much criticism for asking Americans to "put another shrimp on the barbie". Prawns are never known as 'shrimp' in Australia.)

Answer: Beaten eggs and cheese

If ever there was proof that Australia had a multi-cultural cuisine, the zucchini slice is it. It combines the British propensity for baked egg-type dishes with the zucchinis, which were introduced by the massive wave of Italians and Greeks who immigrated to Australia after WWII. The zucchini is grated whole and mixed with five eggs, a cup of cheese, onion, and a cup of self-raising flour. Bacon is usually added to add umami, but it can be omitted if a vegetarian dish is required. The zucchini provides moisture and body without adding strong flavour; the cheese is the main savoury element; eggs are the primary binder and add structure when baked; and the flour adds lightness and body, absorbs moisture from zucchini and eggs, and adds body. Described by Americans as a savoury flatbread and by other critics as a frittata. It is neither.

Zucchini slice is a lunchbox favorite, a popular cafe staple, and a quick weekend lunch. It also provides a quick evening meal if baked ahead. In 2010-2018, zucchini slice was the number one recipe downloaded from the very popular Australian cookery website, taste.com.au

Answer: Pickled beetroot

Hamburgers and cheeseburgers (hamburgers with cheese in Australia) arrived in Australia via America in the 1930s and became extremely popular during WWII with many Americans stationed in Australia. However, long before the American fast food franchises arrived in Australia in the late 60s, hamburgers were found at the local milk bar, a large proportion of which were owned and run by Greek immigrants. Burgers were composed of what was readily available: bread roll, hamburger patty, grilled onions, and tomato sauce (ketchup) were the starting point (cheese was optional), but salad was added to make it a meal. Lettuce and tomato were plentiful, but pickled beetroot was as well. It was cheap, canned, and shelf-stable. It quickly became a fixture. By the 1950s, beetroot was a standard expectation on a burger. When the American chains arrived with their no-beetroot burgers, the beetroot slice became an identity item and a statement saying, "This is an Australian burger".

Burgers are hugely popular in fast food settings in Australia. In this family, those burgers cannot compete with the homegrown type. We make our own from a batch of minced beef, breadcrumbs, egg, and seasonings, which are added to produce large fat patties that are frozen. These provide quick meals on TV football nights in winter, or when a horde of kids arrives unexpectedly.

Answer: Pikelets

Many countries have some form of pancake recipe that they can call their own: Australia and New Zealand have pikelets. They are made from milk, self-raising (not plain) flour, egg, and a little sugar. They are cooked on a grill or electric frypan, with a little butter.

They are not usually eaten at breakfast like the larger, flatter American and Canadian pancakes, but are eaten as a snack, with either butter and/or jam or jam and cream. Often found at church and school fetes as fundraisers, frequently made when a function asks you to "bring a plate", they are the ideal item to make when you get a phone call during which the caller asks if they can drop in.

At our place, they were often made when kids came home from school. However, if you made them after they arrived home, you did not have to add jam or butter, as they preferred them plain, just hot out of the pan.

Answer: Celery

Many, many families in Australia would have a version of spaghetti bolognese (affectionately known as spag bol and incorrectly as spaghetti 'bolognaise'). However, what is whipped up in around half an hour on busy weekday nights differs markedly from the official recipe for Ragu alla Bolognese registered with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce by the Italian Academy of Cuisine (Accademia Italiana della Cucina) in 1982. The official version contains coarsely ground beef, pancetta, milk, wine, and three vegetables: onion, carrot, and celery. It also simmers for hours to extract all the flavours of these classic ingredients. The version this family has adapted certainly utilises both beef and pork, tomato paste/puree, and passata, but the vegetables used are whatever is available and can be finely chopped to hide in the meat sauce for picky-feeder children. These vegetables included: onions, celery, carrots, green beans, red capsicum (peppers), and grated zucchini. Even today, thirty years later, the sauce contains finely chopped or grated veggies, but this author gave up on including celery as all four kids detest it and can find one speck of it in an entire plate of sauce.

The original sauce recipe is traditionally served with broad ribbon pasta like tagliatelle. We compromise and use the slightly narrower fettuccine.

Answer: Denmark

The first rum balls can be traced back to 19th-century Danish bakers, who found a way to repurpose day-old cakes and pastries. They crumbled these leftovers, mixed them with cocoa, a binding agent such as butter or jam, and rum. The mixture was then rolled into balls, coated with coconut or sugar, and sold the next day as romkular.

The basic recipe has spread to many different countries, where they have become a Christmas treat though it is unclear why they have become associated with the holiday season. Perhaps it is because they are a no-bake item and can be made quickly.

Regardless of the recipe, rum balls are made with crushed biscuit or cake crumbs, mixed with cocoa and a moist binding agent, a splash of rum, and rolled into balls, which are then coated with sugar, sprinkles, or coconut

In Australia, the recipe has become fairly standardised. The biscuit crumb is nearly always milk arrowroot (an iconic item in most Australian homes in the 20th century), though some people insist on using crushed Weet-Bix (a dry wheat cereal). Cocoa powder is added, along with condensed milk, which is the binding agent. Nuts or sultanas are optional. After rolling into balls, they are coated with desiccated or shredded coconut.

(My family was delighted when I started writing this quiz, as I made a batch of rum balls specifically for the quiz, so they did not have to wait for Christmas for their annual treat. I had to be quick to take the photo, though, as the single batch was demolished quickly.)

Answer: Southern United States

Native Americans had been eating ground corn (maize) for many thousands of years before Europeans arrived. However, they did not fry food. It did not take long for European settlers to include corn in their diet. Corn fritters were one of the first 'hybrid" items. There are many recipes, but all involve corn kernels, flour, milk, and eggs as a binding agent. They can be deep-fried, shallow-fried, or baked. They can be sweet and served with jam or honey, or they can be savoury.

They are a favourite in this family's culinary repertoire. They were a popular snack on Saturdays when all the kids returned from sport and or/music, or, if there was corned beef for dinner the night before, you can bet the next day's lunch was corn fritters with chunks of corned beef added. (The reason that there aren't many fritters in the photo is that they were claimed as soon as they came out of the pan).

Answer: Pizza scrolls

Pizza rolls were invented in the 1960s in Duluth, Minnesota, by cook Beatrice Ojakangas, who worked for Jeno Paulucci, who owned a Chinese food company (Chun King). He wanted to find a more useful role for his egg roll wrapping device. The recipe included pizza dough spread with tomato puree, cheese, and other pizza toppings, which were rolled into a cylinder, then sliced thinly and baked. The snack became a hit around the world.

While there are not too many commercial companies making pizza scrolls in Australia, they can be found in many bakeries. As they are so simple to make, we make our own. We use simple ingredients like puff pastry, ham, tomato paste, cheddar cheese, and capsicum (red pepper). Sometimes we use kabana (cabanossi) and sometimes pineapple if in season. The 'trick' is to make sure the pieces are very small so the dough can be rolled tightly. If we are making pizza scrolls, then we usually make a batch of cheesymite scrolls at the same time. These are uniquely Australian snacks invented by the Australian bakery chain, Bakers Delight, in 1994. They are easy to make at home: spread either pizza dough or puff pastry with Vegemite, then add grated cheese. Roll tightly into a cylinder, then cut into rounds. Add extra cheese, then bake. Serve warm as a snack or as party food.

Both these things go quicker than you can make them!

Answer: Smashed avocado

Smashed avocado, as a dish, originated in Australia, as the fruit is plentiful here. It is usually served on toast - we use thickly-sliced homemade sourdough.

The basic recipe is really simple: avocado flesh is mashed with a fork then salt, pepper, and lemon juice are added, and that's it. Different family members add different extras: feta cheese is favoured by most; one adds smashed macadamia nuts, one adds chilli flakes, and another adds balsamic vinegar glaze. If we can access finger limes and lemon myrtle, those are added as well.

It is actually more difficult to make sourdough bread. However, it can be store-bought; just make sure it is cut thickly and toast it to stop the whole thing from becoming soggy.

Answer: Ham, cheese and pineapple

A toasted cheese sandwich is arguably Australia's most-loved comfort food, though Vegemite toast would also be a contender. The sandwich is made so that the cheese melts when eaten (it is called a grilled cheese sandwich in the US). A toasted sandwich does not have to contain cheese, but it is the most popular filling.

The "toasted" part can be made in several ways: Toast bread, add fillings, and then place in the oven at grill temperatures; use a sandwich press to toast the filled sandwich (this flattens the bread somewhat); or assemble the sandwich with the butter on the outside of the bread, then fry in a frypan.

For the purposes of informing this quiz, the author surveyed both sides of the family to determine how they preferred their toasted cheese sandwiches. Results are as follows
Plain cheese 7
Ham, cheese, and tomato 5
Cheese and Vegemite 4
Ham and cheese 2
Cheese and tomato 2
Ham, cheese, and pineapple 2
Cheese and baked beans 1
Does not eat toasted cheese sandwiches 1
While the number of people is small, it gives you some idea of how popular toasted cheese sandwiches are.

Please note that while all this food came out of an Australian kitchen, there are regional variations. This author is fortunate to live in a part of the country which is warm year-round (Queensland), and therefore there is access to foods that may be scarce elsewhere. This includes, but is not limited to, avocados, fresh pineapple, finger limes, and lemon myrtle.

(Now that I have finished this quiz, I can celebrate with a cup of coffee and a toasted cheese sandwich.)