Surprises in Australia
 

Australia travel tips: 20 things that will surprise first-time visitors - www.traveller.com.au
http://www.traveller.com.au/australi...isitors-giyfph

Hey northie -

As an Australian, do you think beetroot is a menace?

The koala is way cuter than the wombat, which is decidedly not cute and quite piggy.

The wallaby beats both by miles.

I'm not Northie, but I'm an Australian & I like beetroot.

I understand some people don't care for the earthy flavour of raw/juiced beetroot - but I really like it. If I'm cooking them, I usually bake in their skins & peel afterwards. Results in a sweeter version, I think.

I don't have it in hamburgers though, because Sod's law dictates that it would slip out & onto my white shirt!

Perhaps it's an inherited taste, like Vegemite. And sweet,
Soft bread & corn sugar that North Americans seem to like.

I love beetroot Mel - we've been having it on hamburgers since at least the 50s when fishn chip shops were the only place to get a burger .
Roasted beetroot -I wrap it in foil with olive oil salt and pepper and cook for 45 mins. Cool then dice . Like Bokhara .
I als o think our bacon is fab unlike this article .

I like beetroot too - fresh, not the canned version. I think many Americans have never had a proper beetroot - I'd not had one until I lived in Australia.

I never did have a taste for Aussie bacon though. Long live American bacon - cooked to within an inch of it's life.

The comment about Americans liking soft bread amuses me, as I felt the reverse was true when I lived in Perth. I had a devil of a time finding good grainy bread. The fluffy, tasteless variety was everywhere, in every possible form, (even the bagels where white fluffy bread), but I really had to look to find nice dense bread.

Whereas here, even in my small mountain town grocer, our bread options are pretty amazing. Every grain you can imagine, plus rye, pumpernickel, sourdough, etc. Sure, there's plenty of fluff for those who want it, but it's certainly not the only option.

One of my favorite Aussies breads was linseed - haven't seen that in my local grocer, but we've got every other seed covered.

It's hard to find decent bagels in Australia - I agree. No trouble finding interesting bread in Melbourne . I like the linseed bread too. When we stay in Midwest US it's hard to find other than soft told and bread whereas New York no problems.
Bacon - you can even buy "American " bacon here now - too fatty . In US I always try to get Canadian bacon .
As a child we always had a dish of beetroot on the table with a salad .

Who needs bagels when you have melting moments?:)

BTW - Maltesers, my favorite Aussie chocolate sweet has arrived here in CO. I impulsively bought a huge bucket of them at Costco last week, because I was so excited to see them.

I swear they taste sweeter than I remember though - as in too sweet - I only had a handful. They've since been wiped out by my other half.

Mel - you can have my Maltesers - can't remember the last lot I had .

Mmmmmmm melting moments & mmmmm maltesers! Yummo!

Nothing beats a dark chocolate Tim Tam