Thanks to our multicultural heritage, Australian food is…interesting. We have sponge cake rolled in chocolate and desiccated coconut, slam Tim Tams, eat tapioca pearls on buttered bread and have adopted fish and chips as our own (sorry, England).
But there is a fine art to eating Australian cuisine. And we’re going to show you the ins and outs in this article. So, pull out your camp chair because you’re about to get the lesson of a lifetime, my friend.
Feature image credit: Bruno Kelzer
7 Australian Foods You’re Eating Wrong
Vegemite
Okay, yes, Vegemite is an acquired taste. But, to give it a fair shot, you can’t jump in and eat Vegemite on toast like an Aussie straight off the bat. You have to ease yourself in. This is how.
How to make Vegemite on toast so it’s not disgusting:
- Toast your bread to your preferred toastiness.
- While your toast is still almost too hot to handle, liberally spread on your butter, just enough so it’s melty but a little bit is still firm. Ensure you butter to the edges.
- Now, take a little Vegemite on your knife and spread across the toast so you still see butter, but it looks like you’ve burnt the surface a little.
- Eat while hot.
Vegemite Toast with…
Once you’ve mastered Vegemite on toast and found your preferred butter-to-Vegemite ratio, you can start playing with your additions. Here are some of our office’s favourite accompaniments:
- Cheese (melted under the grill or ‘fresh’).
- Avocado.
- A fried or boiled egg.
- Sliced tomato.
- Pan-fried mushrooms.
Milo
“It tastes like water…” If there was ever a phrase that makes Aussies cringe (other than chuck another shrimp on the barbie), it’s Milo tastes like water. Technically, Milo is more an Aussie drink than an Australian food, but if you make it cold, you get a two-in-one snack and drink, so we’re counting it.
How to make a cold Milo properly:
- Take a glass or mug and fill it somewhere between halfway and three-quarters full of your preferred milk.
- Load up a tablespoon with Milo and dump it into your glass.
- Repeat step 2 a minimum of 6 times (yes, seriously).
- Stir the milo into the milk like you’re pretending to be a blender.
- Eat the delicious crunchy goodness and drink the chocolate-malty heaven.
How to make a hot Milo properly:
- Add a few heaped tablespoons of Milo to the bottom of a mug.
- Fill the mug about two-thirds full with near-boiling water.
- Top with the milk of your choice and stir.
Side note: Milo is also absolutely delicious on ice-cream, especially a plain vanilla or berry swirl.
Lot Burgers
Take your average burger with lettuce, tomato, onions, cheese and meat. Now, add a lightly grilled pineapple ring, beetroot slices and a slightly gooey fried egg. You’ve got yourself a ‘lot burger’, also known as ‘burger with the lot’, or sometimes known as an Aussie burger.
However, for some odd reason, people haven’t clued on how to eat this deliciously perfect Australian food. As a result, it’s overlooked for its more boring brothers and sisters. Not anymore!
How to eat a lot burger without it falling apart:
- Pick up your burger upside-down, i.e. the top of the bun is facing down.
- Position your hands so the thumb part of your palm is slightly under the burger, your thumbs themselves are gripping the bottom (normally the top) of the burger and your other fingers hold the top (AKA bottom bun).
- Lean over a plate, burger box, wrapping or even just between your legs.
- Eat around the edges first and enjoy.
If you’re still struggling, keep the paper wrapping these burgers often come with around the lower half of your burger.
Meat Pie
According to Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses, a pie originated as a rock-hard pastry used to preserve meat. It wasn’t until the Victorian era that the humble pie began making its way into street food history. Then, due to Australia’s abundance of wheat, dairy and livestock, the early settlers claimed the flaky savoury treat as their own—although many countries will say they hold the original recipe of the pastry.
While it may seem like one of the most self-explanatory Aussie foods, there is a trick to ensure you don’t scold your mouth. And here it is…
How to eat a meat pie so it doesn’t burn your mouth:
- Put your tomato sauce in the fridge well in advance of eating a meat pie.
- Take your pie and carefully remove the top ‘lid’ of pastry.
- Liberally apply your tomato sauce in a decorative swirl.
- Place the pie ‘lid’ carefully back on top.
- Eat.
Sausage Sizzle AKA the Sausage Sanga
We can completely understand why people from other countries find it strange that us Aussies flock to a hardware store for a wholesome snack. But what you need to understand is this—for $2.00 (or $2.50 with onion), you get a snag on bread AND get to feel good by donating a little something to a good cause.
But what is the perfect way to prepare a sausage sanga?
Recipe for the ideal sausage on bread:
- Cook your sausages on a basic, flat-tray, no-grill barbecue until deliciously browned on the outside and cooked through.
- While your snags cook, cut up an onion into slices and place on the barbecue plate. Adding a little splash of cheap beer does wonders too.
- Butter a slice of the cheapest white bread you can find.
- Place some cooked onion along the centre of the bread, running diagonally (rules now literally say onion must be on the bottom).
- Pop your sausage on top of the onion.
- Top with a drizzle of tomato sauce.
- Eat while leaning forward so the sauce doesn’t ruin your shirt.
The secret to the perfect sausage sizzle is also all in the quality of the meat you use. Visit your local butcher and tell them you’re looking for the perfect barbecue sausage, and they’ll sort you out.
Find the best butcher in your area on Localsearch!
More from Sarah 
