Our recent holiday to The United States of America, the land of the free, revealed some fascinating insights.
America has a huge impact on global culture and a portion of that stems from its cuisine…or does it?
“Bacon mania” is the passionate enthusiasm for bacon that appears to permeate citizens of the US.
Bacon dishes and other bacon-related items seem to be an obsession.
But this is closely followed by “cheese”.
No, not the wide range of gourmet and European cheeses we enjoy in Australia — but rather anything that is yellow/orange in colour and bland in taste. Americans manage to add cheese to just about everything, and then deep fry the result!
Whilst Ancient Egyptians initiated the process of deep-frying foods in the 5th millennium BC, the USA has brought deep-frying into the modern world and perfected the art.
Americans can’t seem to get enough of deep-fried snacks and virtually no food is safe from the deep fryer – deep fried bacon wrapped cheese coming right up! And to drink…how about a deep fried Coke (Coca-Cola-flavoured batter is deep-fried, then dosed in Coca-Cola syrup, whipped cream, and cinnamon-sugar). I’m not joking!
Like anywhere else, the quality of food in Australia can vary considerably, and whilst the wider world may not understand sausage sizzles and Vegemite, the international consensus is that Australia has a high quantity and quality of food.
Unfettered by tradition, we have cherry-picked from other cuisines, expertly combining native bush foods, seafood and endemic proteins such as crocodile, kangaroo and emu, with the flavours of our Asian neighbours and the traditional foods of our multicultural communities.
Here in South East Queensland we have easy access to a delicious range of fresh produce.
Our Gympie agricultural region is known for its vegetable and tropical fruit production.
Our dairy industry and beef cattle are also well-developed and year round great food is being grown or raised here.
We have easy access to fresh local produce at farm gates and farmers/growers markets and via good old fashioned green grocers who stock great local produce.
With the imminent re-opening of Kingston House Impressions classy a la carte dining is again on offer locally.
Both in Gympie itself, and the surrounding hinterland we have a wide choice of great cafes and dining options.
These “dining out” options have the advantage of utilising our great local produce to produce quality foods, plus many of them have striking, stylish and unconventional interior design.
It’s a privilege to be able to travel overseas and “viva la difference” but I do feel blessed to call Australia, and the Gympie region, home.
– Rowena Amin
North Deep Creek
