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e taste o Austra ia

Exploring the unique flavours ofAussie cuisine

Vegemite

Traditionally, Australian food was established from either indigenous or colonial roots. Over the ye ars migranrs bave all added their own fla vours creating a fus ion fare. As such, Australia has now developed some iconic foods embod ying a distinctly Australian taste. If you haven't tried any of the foods below, in the true sense o f the Aussie sp irit, why not give the rn a go?

Lamingtons

Lamingtons are often called the l ational Cairn of Australia

This square-shaped sponge cake is coated in a la)rer of chocolate icing and desiccated coconut, se r ved witl1 a layer of strawberry jam or cream in between two halves. r ational Lamington Day in Australi a was last celebrated on 21 July 200 6

Pavlova

Both Australia a nd New Zealand claim to bave created this dessert, prod uced in honour of Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who roured Australia in the 1920s. Pavlo,Ta is a popular meringuebased dessert with a crisp cruse and a soft, light inside. It's often decorated with whipped cream and fresh fruit such as strawberries and Kiwi fruit.

ANZAC biscuits

These are associated with the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) that was established during \'(lor ld War I. So ldiers w ho were away from borne received these biscuits from their wives and families. Made nsing flour, sugar, des iccated coconut, rolled oa rs, butter, golden syrup, boiling water, and baking soda, these biscuits did not get spoiled en ronte and were able co keep for a longer time.

Damper

Also called soda bread, this i conic Australian food was d1e stap le o f road workers and trave ller s who needed to cover long distances over long periods of time with only basic provisions like flour and sugar. This is a traditional bread from Australia made without using ye ast. A perfect carnping food item, tbe traditional way of baking damper is to use tbe coals of a campfire. The basic ingredients used for th is soda bread are flour, water, and a pinch of salt, before baking.

Vegemite is a dark brown savory spread often used on toast or crackers. Ir was invented in 1922 by Dr Cytil Callisterin in l\folbourne, Victoria It is basically made from a byproduct of beer brewing, yeast extract. It bas a smooth but sticky texrure and is slightly bitter ro tasre and therefore might be roo strong for sorne people, but it grows on yo u.

Vegemite 0 11 toast is a popular Australian breakfast.

SAO Biscuits

Fou nded as a charity biscuit, packages used to be handed out by Salvation Army Officers, hence the name SAO. They are ligh ctextured square bi!;cui ts mad e by rolling dough into thin sheets, then cutting it into squares. SAOs are often eaten as a tl1in crispy sandwich with copp ings such as butter, vegemite, or cheese.

Hamburger with 'the lot'

Mostly hamburgers are associated with Americans, but Aussies have their own way of preparing a hamburger too. It i s nor yo ur traditional hamburger, but is actually 'a lot', as comes with all tbe trimmings including fried eggs, bacon, cl1eese, beetroot, pineapp le, tomato, lettuce, onions and tomato sauce. It is quite popular in pubs and takeaway shops, especially after a daf ar the beach, and is quite a satisfying meal.

Meat Pie

Meat pies are generally enjoyed all over tl1e world, but

A ustralians especially love their meat pies

There is an annual Grear

A ussie P ie comest celebrated to attract vario u s pie makers. The prize is given to tl1ose pie maker s who meet die required standards of quali ty. An Australian meat p ie contains minced meat with gravy. It can als o be served witl1 onions, mushroom, peas, or cheese. It is a great takeaway sn ack as well as a must on every sporting event menu.

Pie Floater

The pie floater is unique ro areas of South Australia. A pie floater i s

Chiko Roll

This Australian food icon was in spired by Ch inese spring rolls an d invented by Frank McEnroe. The deep - fried snack contains beef, celery, cabbage, barley, carrot, o nion , green beans and spices rolled up in a rube of flour, egg, and dough. Chiko rolls are generally eaten on me go and served at local fish and chip shops.

Cherry Ripe

actuall y a meat pie that is inverted and placed in a thick green pea soup. Ir is tl1en covered with tomato sauce along wid1 salt and pepper to taste. Generally, pie floaters are ava iJ able late in the evening from caravan s parked along the streets This is mainly seen i n the suburbs of Adelaide. The I ational Tru st of Australia gave the pie Aoater the status of a South Australian Heritage icon in the year 2003.

Australian confectioner Mac Robertson's introduced Cherry Ripe to the Australian market in 1924. ln fact, Cherry Ripe is the oldest choco late bar in Australia The Cherry Ripe consist.s of coconut and cherries smothered in Cadbury's O ld Gold dark chocolate.

Fish &Chips

After a sunn y afternoon by the beach, man y Aussies love to eat fresh fisb served witl1 l emon, salr a nd pepper, wrapped, co takeaway, in new sp aper. Battered and fried with chips, or pan fried wim o il and served with mashed pot.ato and salad, this is a favourite food for many Australians.

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Around the wor ld an estimated 154,080 people die every day. That's 6,420 lives lost every hour and a staggering 107 souls traversing the Highway to Heaven every minute (Whoa! Imagine the traffic congestion!) Peopl e die all the time and for all sorts of reasons disease, accidents, natural causes Though the memory of the deceased is cherished for a long time, the cause of death is sooner forgotten, but some people 's final farewell leaves the world talk ing for years. See if your eyebrows shoot up at this list of top ten bizarre ways peopl e have died

10. Revenge of the bird

In 1926, 16-year-old Phillip McClean of Queensland became the only person to be killed by a cassowary. The bird was spotted by McCl ean and h i s younger brother on their l awn, prompting the teenagers to attack it with a bat. The third largest flight l ess bird i n the world, this cassowary was not amused. It landed a brutal kick on Phillip's neck, knocking him down and opening a gash on his main blood vessel. The youngster soon succumbed to severe blood loss and died. Lesson: Don't pick on birds your own size.

9. Water water everywhere

As a participant in a radio show contest i n 2007, al l Jennifer Strange had to do to win a Wii console was to hol d her wee. The 28-year-ol d Californian mother of three drank large quantities of water without urinating to bag the prize But, since all that water couldn't go down, it went up to her brain causing water intoxication resulting in death The fami ly sued KONO 107 9 'The End ' radio station winning $16.5 million in damages. Lesson: Too much of a good thing can be too much.

8 Killer roach

Edward Archbold of Florida was another casualty of a game contest. In 2012 the 32 -year-old entered a cockroach eating challenge and won a python, but he died soon after of accidental choking on arthropod body parts. His airways were found to be obstructed by cockroach bits that had travelled down the wrong pipe. Lesson: Exercise caution when trying new ways ofpest control as sometimes the exterminator can end up being terminated.

7 Fatal selfie

Just this year, Oscar Otero Aguilar of Mexico fatally shot himself whi l e attempting to take a selfie with a borrowed, l oaded gun The 21-year- old had been drinking with friends when he was struck with the bright idea of taking a photo As he was waving the gun around, it accidentally went off - planting a bullet in his forehead. He passed away on the way to hospital. Lesson: When drinks, guns and cameras collide, you can only say cheese and die.

6 Bovine blow

If someone told Joao Maria de Souza that he was going to die in h is sleep as cows fell from the sky, he would have laughed at the ridiculousness of the prediction. But that 's exactly what happened in 2013. The 45-year-old Brazilian and his wife were asleep in bed when a 1.3 tonne cow fell through the roof and crushed him. While the wife and the cow were unhurt, Joao died of internal bleeding within hours of the incident. It is believed that the cow had escaped from a nearby farm and ended up on the roof which leaned on the side of a steep hil l. Lesson: If it's darkness that's bringing the cows home, better leave the lights on.

5. In the line of duty

In 1871, ClementVallandigham shot himsel f whi le trying to prove a point. The American lawyer and politician was defending Thomas McGehan against murder charges. Whi l e demonstrating how the victim could have shot himself, he drew a gun and the weapon accidently went off. Lesson: Going beyond the call of duty is sometimes not worth it.

4

Self-ignition

In 2013, Danny Vanzandt was found i ncinerated in his Oklahoma res i dence. Since the surroundings and the floor beneath him were all unscathed, the coroner delivered the verdict that the 65-year-old had died of spontaneous combustion For a human body to self- ignite, temperatures of around 3000 degrees are required. In spontaneous combustion, the person's body emulates the'inside out' candle effect where the body fat becomes the wax and clothes act as a wick Lesson: Drinking eight glasses of water a day might keep combustion at bay.

3 . The glass half glued

Canadian lawyer Garry Hoy met his end when he fel l from the 24th floor ofthe Toronto Dominion Centre in 1993 He was trying to prove to a bunch of visiting students that the g l ass window was unbreakable and, in doing so, threw himself full force at it. He had performed the stunt many times before with no consequences, but apparently the glass had enough When Hoy lunged at it that day, it didn't break, but just popped out of its frame, plunging the 38-year-old 300 feet to his death Lesson: Beware window 'pains'

2. Greased lightening

In a b i zarre incident, all 11 members of a visiting footba ll team peri shed when a flash of lightning struck the pitch during a match in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1998 Surprisingly, the home team was totally unharmed, raising speculations of witchcraft and fou l play Lesson: Lightning doesn't have to strike the same place twice, it often finishes the job first time.

1 The last laugh

Greek philosopher Chrysippus died of laughter in 206 BC. The 3rd century thinker found a donkey eating his figs and he ordered a slave to give it some wine to wash them down. Chrys ippus found the spectacle of a donkey eating and drinking, so funny he started l aughing uncontrollably. This caused strain to his heart resulting i n his death Lesson: He who laughs last is often an ass.

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