1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (226 page)

Thought to have been in existence for 80 million years, the emu has amazingly delicate and silky rose-pink meat, with a texture and a mild, fresh taste that suggests very soft veal. Low in fat and cholesterol and high in iron, emu can be substituted for beef or veal in recipes, but the lean and fragile meat is best just lightly cooked—or, even better, marinated in olive oil with fresh green herbs and served near-raw in gossamer carpaccio slices. Ground and seasoned, emu meat can also be turned into fresh or smoked sausages.

Although, like the ostrich’s, the huge egg of the emu is edible, its thick shell and large size make it heavy to handle. That shell, however, dark teal or blue in color, is often carved and sold for its decorative appeal. More practically, the oil of the emu is valued as a cosmetic moisturizer and as a palliative for skin burns.

Where:
In Cairns, Australia
, Ochre Restaurant, tel 61/7-4051-0100,
ochrerestaurant.com.au
.
Further information and recipes:
Australian Greats
by Jo Franks (2012);
uniquelyemu.com
(search emu meat);
food.com
(search barbequed emu).

The lightly speckled, spring-green apples are regulars in U.S. markets, but nothing compares with the experience of biting into the firm, tart specimens in their native land, especially in late October to early November, when they are freshly picked. Spectacularly crunchy and sour-sweet, the cheerful apples are celebrated each year in late October at the Granny Smith Festival in the Sydney suburb of Eastwood.

What’s wrong with an American Granny Smith? Nothing much, but Granny Smiths available in the U.S. are either imported or grown on the West Coast. Although the sturdy apples store well and retain their crispness, the imported ones tend to be milder in flavor than they are when freshly picked; the U.S.-grown version lacks the intense sour edge and the almost glassy texture of the Australian originals.

A hybrid, born of the parents
Malus domestica
and
M. sylvestris
, the apple was first propagated around 1868 by Australia’s Maria Ann Sherwood Smith (the “Granny” honored by its name). Although Granny Smiths have so saturated the American market as to seem almost indigenous, they were not introduced into the States until the 1970s.

Considered as good for cooking as they are for eating out of hand, the apples are not the best choice for pies, where crisp crusts are desirable; like so many sour apples, they exude a lot of juice and require much sugar, which melts into a syrup. But their clean, astringent tones make them the perfect foil for strong, blue-veined cheeses and lusty aged Cheddars. A word of caution: Because of their firm texture, Granny Smith apples have been known to scratch gums and occasionally even crack dentures if bitten into too vehemently.

Mail order:
For apples, The Fruit Company, tel 800-387-3100,
thefruitcompany.com
;
boxedgreens.com
; for a list of orchards and markets by state,
orangepippin.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Apples: From Harvest to Table
by Amy Pennington (2013);
The Apple Lover’s Cookbook
by Amy Traverso (2011);
foodandwine.com
(search granny smith apple crisp);
cookstr.com
(search green apple sherbet; caramel apple tart);
epicurious.com
(search crab meat and beet puree on granny smith apple).
Special event:
Granny Smith Festival, Eastwood, New South Wales, Australia, late October,
ryde.nsw.gov.au/grannysmithfestival
.
Tip:
If picked at the perfect degree of ripeness, the green peel of the Granny Smith will be illuminated by a slight yellow glow.

Small wonder that the logo for Qantas Airlines is a kangaroo, the hip-hopping animal that most of us associate with Australia. With its charmingly maternal front pocket for a baby kangaroo, the prancing marsupial deceptively suggests a very large pet and is frequently called into service as a model for children’s stuffed animals—although in fact it’s quite pugnacious.

Given the kangaroo’s sentimental appeal, it might be hard to come around to the idea of eating its meat; but the once-endangered animal, low on the food chain and thus an ecologically efficient feeder, is now being farmed in the U.S. as well as in its native land. Low in fat and cholesterol, the mildly flavored meat is beeflike in texture. Marinated in thick chunks and grilled on skewers, it makes a succulent appetizer, especially if it is doused with a spicy sauce; larger cuts are equally good stewed or grilled like steaks. Kangaroo is best eaten rare; like beef cuts such as hanger and skirt steak, it dries out and becomes discouragingly chewy when well done.

Perhaps the most widely known and oldest Australian dish based on kangaroo is the soup made with the animal’s muscular and gelatinous tail; like oxtail, it imparts an unctuous smoothness to the broth. Many years ago, canned kangaroo tail soup imported from Australia was a must-have on the shelves of any American food shop with hopes of being considered “gourmet.” The idea of the soup must have held more allure than the actual product,
whose extremely metallic, salty flavor did not exactly gain favor among serious eaters. Yet, cut into joints and simmered with carrots, onions, turnips, celery, and barley, the meat becomes spoon-tender. Seasoned with bay leaves, nutmeg, and cayenne, the soup develops into a sustaining brew, further heightened by a final shot of red wine and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Where:
In Cairns, Australia
, Ochre Restaurant, tel 61/7-4051-0100,
ochrerestaurant.com.au
;
in New York
, The Australian, tel 212-869-8601,
theaustraliannyc.com
; Burke & Wills, tel 646-823-9251,
burkeandwillsny.com
;
in Vancouver
, Moose’s Down Under Bar and Grill, tel 604-683-3300,
moosesdownunder.com
.
Mail order:
For kangaroo meat, Marx Foods, tel 866-588-6279,
marxfoods.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Exotic Meats Cookbook
by Jeanette Edgar (2009);
Australian Greats
by Jo Franks (2012);
bbcgoodfood.com
(search kangaroo steaks);
taste.com.au
(search seared kangaroo with raspberry glaze);
australian.food.com
(search kangaroo burgers).

The cake celebrates a bygone governor of Queensland.

In the beginning, there was stale pound cake, an economical pastry cook, and a eureka moment. The pastry cook in question was trying to come up with something in honor of Baron Lamington, the British governor of Queensland who held forth in Government House from 1895 to 1901, and the cook’s invention was both simple and inspired. He cut the simple vanilla-flavored cake into 3-inch squares, about ¾ inch thick, and covered each with a thick, slick coating of rich chocolate icing. To gild the lily, he dredged the squares in dried, slightly sweetened flaked coconut and topped them with whipped cream.

This is how Lamingtons are still served at teatime today, although they may instead be baked as full-size cakes. Let’s hope that nowadays the treats will be made with fresh pound cake. Possible further enrichments include stacking multiple squares or cake layers with jam and/or pastry cream spread in between.

A word to the wise: Buying packaged Lamingtons, which are much in the style of Twinkies or Ring Dings, is not advisable.

Where:
In Brooklyn
, Kiwiana, tel 718-230-3682,
kiwiana-nyc.com
;
in Los Angeles
, Bronzed Aussie, tel 213-243-0770,
bronzedaussie.us
;
in Marietta, GA
, Australian Bakery Café, tel 678-797-6222,
australianbakerycafe.com
;
in Vancouver
, Moose’s Down Under Bar and Grill, tel 604-683-3300,
moosesdownunder.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Cooking the Australian Way
by Elizabeth Germaine (2013);
saveur.com
(search lamingtons);
davidlebovitz.com
(search lamingtons).

With the mouth-pleasing texture of giant hazelnuts and a sophisticated, toasty sweetness, macadamias, or
Macadamia ternifolia
, are considered by many to be the best eating nuts of all. Although they are widely grown and celebrated in Hawaii, they are actually native to Australia, where they are also known as Queensland nuts.

Most alluring when roasted to an ivory-gold patina and lightly sea-salted, the nuts are now regarded as healthful, but got a bad rap in years past as being high in unhealthy fat. This perception was due in part to the custom of glossing them with coconut oil before roasting, which both preserved the nuts and added a delicious flavor of its own. Alas, savory coconut oil contains a lot of saturated fat, so it was replaced with lighter vegetable oils that only slightly compromise the nuts’ still-tantalizing flavor.

The commercial cultivation of the macadamia nut—which is named for a Dr. John Macadam, a friend of one of the botanists, Ferdinand von Mueller, who studied and identified the tree—began in the mid-nineteenth century, around Brisbane in Queensland. Although easily harvested on the ground after they drop in clusters from the trees, macadamias have very hard shells under their velvety green husks. Careful handwork is required to crack them without breaking the kernel (which is most valuable when intact), and that shelling process is what accounts for the price of macadamias, the most expensive of all nuts. Prized as they are for their fragrant oil and their softly spreading butter, the whole nut fetches the highest price. But crumbled macadamias are delectable additions to vegetable and fruit salads, ice creams (think hot fudge sundaes), chocolates, brittles, and other candies. In the hands of creative chefs, they’ve recently also become a golden, crunchy breading on fish, chicken, and pork.

Like all nuts, macadamias are susceptible to rancidity, and should be stored in a cool place to avoid it. They are best obtained fresh from a reliable store where they can be sampled before purchase. Canned macadamias are often stale, so look carefully for an expiration date and hope that the container was kept cool.

Mail order:
nuts.com
, tel 800-558-6887.
Further information and recipes:
The Mauna Loa Macadamia Cookbook
by Leslie Mansfield (1998);
The Hali‘imaile General Store Cookbook
by Beverly Gannon and Bonnie Friedman (2000);
Best of the Best from Hawaii Cookbook
by Gwen McKee (2004);
cookstr.com
(search banana macadamia coconut coffee cake; macadamia nut chicken breasts);
epicurious.com
(search banana macadamia nut muffins);
australian-macadamias.org
.

A somewhat recent addition to menus in the U.S., the stylish Pavlova is a dessert claimed by both Australia and New Zealand. It was inspired, of course, by Anna Pavlova, the Russian ballerina who performed in both those countries in 1926. Was it first created in 1934 (New Zealand), or in 1935 (Australia)? Take your pick, and count yourself part of a long-running controversy.

Light and frothy, the confection is based on a particular kind of meringue that is crunchy on the outside but slightly soft and creamy, marshmallow-like, within—an effect achieved by the addition of cream of tartar or cornstarch, plus a touch of vinegar or lemon juice beaten into the mounting egg whites. The meringue, which can be formed and baked a few hours in advance, actually becomes a bowl: Just before being served, it is filled with whipped cream topped by one or more seasonal fresh fruits, such as berries, kiwis, passion fruit, and pineapple.