Food

Food is easily the most popular topic discussed/lamented amongst Aussies in America. Some of the most common foods you've been used to eating or cooking all of your life are now unavailable - or they are quite different. As this is such a huge topic, only the most common differences and tips will be listed here.

• Want some pies, pasties, or sausage rolls? Learn to bake them yourself, because they are an unknown commodity in America. The Recipes Page has heaps of Australian recipes and most of them are converted to American measurements and ingredients too!
• Some Aussie foods can be found in some supermarkets - such as Vegemite and Milo. Beware the Milo though - some of it is made in Jamaica and is horrible.
• Some cooking ingredients just can't be found in American supermarkets, such as custard powder, copha, dessicated coconut, chutney, cordial and more. Getting them shipped over from Australia can be extremely expensive. However there are many Aussie food import companies in America and all of them will ship stuff to you. They are expensive, but not compared to paying postage from Australia. Find them on the Links Page and use them to get your "impossible to get in America" stuff.
• Most other cooking ingredients have an equivalent substitute in America. The best thing is to spend a couple of hours browsing the shelves of your local supermarket and getting a good idea of what you can use as substitutes.
• Many Aussies can't get used to the "sweeter taste" of bread in America. If you just can't get used to it, buy a bread-maker and bake your own bread. This type of bread is more to the Australian taste - not as sweet and with a crusty crust.
• While in Australia lamb is cheap and plentiful, the opposite is true in America. Lamb is not a popular meat in America so it can be difficult to find, and when you do it's rather expensive. Added to that, it's cut differently - especially legs of lamb. No tips here except to get used to eating less lamb and cooking it a bit differently.
• Bacon is very different in America - mainly because it's cut differently. You won't find any middle rashers, and bacon typically has much less meat per rasher. It still tastes pretty good though, but if you really do want meatier bacon, try using canadian bacon instead.
• Plain ol' sausages as we know them in Australia are not available in America. However they do have "specialty" types of sausages like bratwurst and many others.
• Chocolate is very different in America - not as creamy as Australian chocolate. This is one of the things you'll probably get from Aussie food websites, or pay more for quality American chocolate, such as Dove, Godiva or Whitman's. Also, there are quite a few British food stores dotted around America, and they stock British chocolate, which is more to the Australian taste.
• Americans typically brew their coffee, and coffee-makers are a must in every home. They do not use instant coffee, so it can be difficult to find a good one if you don't want to convert to the brewed coffee norm. If you really prefer using instant coffee, the Nescafe' Tasters Choice is probably one of the better ones. American brewed coffee is good though, so try to make the change.
• Find some American foods you really love, and buy some American cook-books. There's nothing saying that you have to do without Aussie foods, but there's plenty of good American food too - and the sooner you get used to eating more American food and less Australian food, the more money you'll save and the less frustrated you'll be.

Reader Feedback on this Topic

• Cost Plus carries british and aussie chocolates, too. Violet Crumbles and Crunchies, and Cadburys made in England. For peple who prefer the sweeter chockies (as opposed to the semi-sweet that americans usually take). - Rene'
• Regarding your explanation of a "sandwich" and a "burger"... I have a feeling you might be referring to certain fast food items...e.g. "Grilled Chicken Sandwich" which resembles what Aussies would call a fillet burger. However, this is the extreme exception and not the rule. An American sandwich is more or less the same as an Aussie sandwich: two pieces of bread with filling. After all, I've never heard of eating a peanut butter and jelly burger!! - Vicky
• Re sandwiches, have to differ a little to other post - in America a sandwich that is just 2 slices of regular size bread and 1 or 2 fillings eg cheese and tomato, egg or whatever, does not exist. Most sandwiches are made on rolls not slices of bread and if you ask for a sandwich that does not have at least one type of meat AND one type of cheese, they don't get it. And don't do what I did and order a chicken salad sandwich, thinking it will be Aussie salad sand with chicken on it - "chicken salad" is chicken and mayonaisse and maybe some celery... So, I found these to be big differences that I had to adjust to. - Anonymous

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