Aussie Food for Thought

Several people have asked about the similarities and differences between grocery stores in the U.S. and Australia (I guess they figure since 'you are what you eat' you can learn something about a culture by its grocery stores). I'll try to list some notable differences:

• pasta - very expensive, not so many brands
• breakfast cereal - small number of brands, minimal super-sugar stuff
• bread - very wide variety, lots of very dense multigrain stuff
• fruit and veggies - very wide variety, very fresh, lots we've never heard of
• meat - lamb and beef very popular, pork mostly in sausage
• poultry - chicken (called chooks) popular, but not cheap, turkey rare and costly (a turkey for Thanksgiving would have cost us > $2per pound).
• seafood - not such a good buy in Canberra, but big in the coastal cities and towns
• brand names - many of the brand names we know and love (e.g. Kellogg's) can be found here. There are also generic brands and `Uncle Toby's', which is sort of like a mega-brand.
• soft drinks - notably absent is the traditional Coke vs. Pepsi battle. Both products exist (and Schwepps also has a cola), but I guess it isn't worth it for them to spend millions on advertising. Soda isn't cheap (50%higher than U.S.), though K-mart sells a relabeled Coke (called Australia Choice) for about $6a case.
• wine and beer - sold 7 days a week, 24-hours a day most days. Wine is the best buy - you can get really good stuff for $5a bottle. Beer is expensive - typically $16or more a case. Bitter is the most popular (yuck!), not much in the way of ales (sigh). My favorite beer is from West Australia, called Redback (named after one of the numerous poisonous spiders found around here).
• spirits - cost an arm and a leg - easily twice the cost of U.S. I haven't met anyone who routinely drinks hard liquor. Surprisingly, bar prices aren't too bad, though.

Satay sauce (spicy Thai peanut sauce) is as popular as ketchup (which Aussies call 'sauce' and charge 10-20 cents a pack in fast food places for). It is routinely found (multiple brands) in grocery stores, and many restaurants, regardless of their type, offer some satay-based meal. We actually had a chicken satay pizza at Pizza Hut a couple months ago!

Another big item is sausages. One is much more likely to find sausages at a barbeque than hamburgs or hot dogs. 'Sausage sizzles' (outdoor grilling of sausages) are very common, with many events (sales, concerts, meetings, student gatherings) including them for free or cheap. Sausages are made out of just about anything, and come with various flavorings cooked into them (including the above-mentioned satay). They are also very cheap to buy at the grocery store.

The brik-paks used for juice boxes in the U.S. are very popular here. The 1 litre sizes for milk and juices cost the same price as the chilled stuff in bottles (and keeps for a year or more), with no noticeable difference in taste. Very convenient. Wine comes in these things, too (called Chateau Cardboard by the locals), in 2 and 4 litre sizes with a nice little tap to keep it well sealed. Inside is a sack which collapses to keep air out. Very popular at barbeques, but sort of mediocre in quality.

In general, folks are not very cholesterol-aware, nor do people generally cater to vegetarians very much. Meredyth has suffered with airline food, since the choices tend to be all with beef or lamb. The vegetarian options are rarely more than a salad with a roll.