Newswise — Australian native foods are a hit with international tourists, but locals are far less enthused about eating kangaroo, emu and crocodile meat, according to a report from a University of Adelaide gastronomy graduate.
Jessica Ramsden, who recently graduated with a Le Cordon Bleu Masters of Arts in Gastronomy, says there's a difference between experiencing something unique (once) and putting it on the weekly shopping list.
"Although native flavours are starting to appear in chutneys, sauces and spice blends in Coles and Woolies, you won't find crocodile meat in the cold cabinet, let alone fresh Warrigal greens or Kakadu plums alongside the salad mix and Packham pears," Jessica says.
This is partly a result of the industry's small scale, but also reflects the lack of 'cultural infrastructure' that makes Thai or French cuisine (for example) so popular " oodles of exotic tourism destinations, local restaurants, cookbooks and ready supplies of ingredients to try at home.
"Food preferences are also the result of habit," Jessica adds. "Research shows that we gravitate to flavours that taste the most familiar. With such conservative palates, Australians are not going to rapidly embrace challenging new native flavours."
But this could all change in coming years, with recent research showing the health benefits of native foods, an industry gathering momentum to coordinate marketing efforts and supply chains, and more environmentally and socially aware consumers choosing foods that are more sustainable to produce, or make a positive difference to communities.
"Native foods tick all the boxes of these emerging consumer trends," Jessica says.
"CSIRO is discovering that some native foods have high levels of antioxidants, building on the 1980s research that found Kakadu plums have the highest fruit source of Vitamin C in the world.
"Native foods are also tapping into an emerging groundswell of more adventurous eating in Australia and in the future, saltbush lamb, lemon myrtle pasta and wattle seed ice-cream might become as 'Aussie' as meat pies, lamingtons and vegemite," Jessica says.
Based in Melbourne, Jessica is part of an international cohort of postgraduate students who have completed the Le Cordon Bleu Master of Arts in Gastronomy from the University of Adelaide this year. It is the only program of its kind in the world to offer the course online.
"I loved every bit of the Gastronomy course, but it was the issues and challenges facing the food industry which most intrigued me, career-wise, hence my move from Austrade to Heinz after completing my thesis."
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