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What are some interesting food products to bring home?

What are some interesting food products to bring home?

Old Oct 29th, 2006, 12:38 PM
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landini, unfortunately I can't think of anything else related to Australian Aboriginal food preparation that you could obtain. With few exceptions Aboriginal societies were nomadic hunter-fisher-gatherer operations which didn't practice agriculture*. I think it's fair to say that their culinary repertoire was pretty basic and that they didn't do "products" as such. Certainly they made good use of available food sources, but little has been commercialised, and that mostly by white entrepreneurs. I don't claim any special knowledge here, though, so I'm happy to be corrected.

* I'm aware that a group in Victoria appears to have practiced aquaculture by farming, smoking and trading eels.
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Old Oct 30th, 2006, 05:37 PM
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crystallised ginger - lead me to it! I just love it. Neil's right - ginger is the food of the gods. Pickled ginger, glace ginger, ginger in my morning fruit and/or vegetable juice, ginger in my Christmas cakes, ginger in cooking.

It's also supposed to be good for seasickness - but it wasn't too successful for me - answer = more ginger!
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Old Oct 30th, 2006, 06:09 PM
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I heard you can no longer bring Vegemite into the US or buy it there. It has been banned due to the folate that occurs in it. I believe the US won't allow the sale of any foods containing folate besides breads and cereals. Apparently bags were being checked and jars confiscated at cutoms.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...44-953,00.html
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Old Oct 30th, 2006, 07:06 PM
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Vegemite is not banned in the US.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599...9-1702,00.html
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Old Oct 30th, 2006, 08:25 PM
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Margot I get seasick sitting in a bathtub and the last time I was on a boat I did take the ginger sea-sick tablets they offered to us. I do not know the brand of them but I felt really good all the time. Perhaps it is that I took 2 and also that the sea was calm but usually does not make any difference. I forgot to mention, ginger ice cream topping.
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Old Oct 30th, 2006, 09:06 PM
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>>* I'm aware that a group in Victoria appears to have practiced aquaculture by farming, smoking and trading eels.<<

Smoking eels? They must have some big rolling papers.

Lee Ann
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Old Oct 30th, 2006, 10:09 PM
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Elendilpickle, Neil will probably tell you that we smoke dried cane toad skins up here in the Deep North of FNQ.

Landini, as Neil says, there isn't much available, which is transportable, in the way of Aboriginal food. Some of the larger supermarkets stock sauces and dressings with such ingredients as lemon myrtle, bush tomatoes, wattleseed etc and a good range in gourmet lines is available at Red Ochre Grill restaurant in Cairns. www.redochregrill.com.au/retail.html
If you check this site you'll notice a recent addition "Due to new USA Government regulations we cannot ship food items to the USA. Somehow they think will upset the trade balance with 50gms of wattleseed". But if you're coming to Cairns you can buy them over the counter at Red Ochre. They'll be happy to ship you a stubbie cooler though.
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Old Oct 31st, 2006, 06:54 PM
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I've heard of licking toads, Pat, but not smoking them!

Lee Ann
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Old Oct 31st, 2006, 07:56 PM
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I don't blame Pat for trying to squelch this one - North Queenslanders are understandably sensitive about news of the habit getting out. Fort those interested, it was highlighted graphically in the movie "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History".

Users believe they can enter the consciousness of the toad and become one with it, intellectually, by smoking the dried skins - just as peyote users take on the cognitive powers of the giant Saguaro cactus.

It appears that they were so successful in their aim, and the movement became so widespread, that they're believed to have been largely responsible for the success of a number of Queensland politicians, including former Premier and champion of water-fuelled cars Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Pauline Hanson and several currently serving Far North Queensland MPs, including that bloke in the big white hat.

As the toads are spreading south, their influence may extend even further for all I know. Be afraid.
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Old Nov 1st, 2006, 04:52 AM
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Lee Ann, funny you should say that as I have a dog who utterly adores licking cane toads, mind you he's a male, my female dogs have far more sense. Really do contain enough poison in shoulder glands to knock out a small dog at least, and this dog is only an average sized poodle. But he's obsessed, he staggers around after his "fix", bumping into walls with a look of pure bliss , he's also very fond of cane toad eggs, which are also toxic to a degree, but he doesn't seem to care too much.
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Old Nov 1st, 2006, 11:49 AM
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Pat, that is a seriously weird story. Maybe you can get the dog onto something safer, like beer?
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Old Nov 4th, 2006, 07:03 PM
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When we were in Australia we tried eery kind of Tim Tams we could find... and I just didn't love them. I could even resist them.

The rum was another story... we brought as much Bundaberg Rum home as was allowed and still ask friends who are traveling to Australia to bring some home whenever possible!
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Old Nov 5th, 2006, 01:04 PM
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Coincidentally I've just been given a jar of quandong (a.k.a. "desert peach") jam - slightly tart red fruit, a little like cranberry, perhaps.

This came from Nectarbrook Discovery Plantation, via Port Augusta, South Australia. My sister bought it "on site" during a recent trip to Adelaide, so I don't know how widely available it is, nor the price.
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Old Nov 5th, 2006, 03:35 PM
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Last week's ABC's TV programme, The Cook and the Chef" was devoted to native foods and can be found online at www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/

moneygirl, I'm not a Tim Tam fan either, and hope you've snagged some Bundy suppliers. But does anyone know why they feature a polar bear in their advertising?
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Old Nov 5th, 2006, 05:59 PM
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From the bundaberg rum website (in the history section)

1961 - Square bottle and Bundy R Bear are born
Sam McMahon (Bill McMahon's brother) invented the square bottle, the three piece yellow lable and the polar bear. McMahon believed the Polar Bear would imply this drink would ward off the coldest chill of winter and thus help the marketing of the product in the southern states of Australia.

So there you go!
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Old Nov 9th, 2006, 08:27 AM
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Returned from our month-long trip yesterday and am slowly regaining consciousness. Thanks to this thread, I did find Pods at Woolworth's in Sydney. Wish I had brought back more.

We were served an interesting condiment on the GBR called "dukkah." It's evidently middle eastern in origin. I found it at Woolworth's also. The ingredients listed on the jar are: roasted chickpeas, sesame seeds, coriander, cumin, cracked peppercorns, salt, and mint. You dip bread into olive oil and then into the dukkah at the table. It's delicious.

We were given little packets of Jila Mints on the plane. Wow! Buy as many of these that you can carry! Very strong spearmint flavor.

Also brought back Bundaberg OP (overproof) rum but couldn't find the liqueur in any of the bottle shops I tried. I forgot that packing liquids in hand luggage is prohibited and had to transfer the bubble-wrapped bottle at the airport to my bag to be checked in. I had visions of collecting a rum soaked bag when we landed, but it remained intact, thankfully.
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Old Nov 9th, 2006, 03:54 PM
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Hi Betsy -

I lived in the Middle East for several years and never heard of dukkah until our first trip to Margaret River two years ago. I just figured it was a condiment dreamt up by winemakers to accompany wine and bread. Just looked it up and sure enough, it's Egyptian.
Who knew???

Hope you plan to post a trip report after you recover!


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