I've never been patriotic. I've not waved an Australian flag, put one on my wall or painted one on my faces. I don't even suffer much from homesickness, preferring to see the rest of the big bad old world rather than familiar placee. However, after almost six years away, there are certain things I miss. Especially certain food items.
No,it isn't mussels, yabbies and barramundi, though I do crave them from time to time. It isn't the relatively cheap mangoes and avocados. It isn't our generally excellent wines - okay maybe I am sounding a bit patriotic. The food I miss at the moment are the tinned, jarred, processed and all together unfoodie food stuffs which I grew up on.
1. Vegemite: Likened to salted boot polish, I do understand why some people don't like this. It was after all invented as a way of selling the by-product from brewing beer. What is animal feed in many other nations became a national symbol. And why all that nationalism in a jar leaves a bad taste in my mouth, I do like a bit on hot toast with melted butter.
2. Canned Soup: There isn't much of a market for the ready made stuff in the Czech Republic when the fresh version is bubbly lovingly on the stove. And while I adore my garlic soup, tripe soup, potato soup and blood soup, some times I have a hankering for the juice of a freshly peeled can of Campbell's of Heinz. The brand doesn't matter.
3. Cheddar Cheese: A common lament among the expat community here is that the local equivalent to cheddar, eidamskı sır (not even remotely related to real edam, not even really in the same food group) is a pale rubbery substance which doesn't melt but merely softens a little at high temperatures. And in this area they're right. Many fantastic local cheeses abound, like the blue veined Niva or the sharp tangy brynza made from sheep's milk (Okay, this is actually Slovakian but a falvoursome yellow brick of curd which grates well and melts on command does not exist in most local shops.
4. Pasties: For my money, the pastie is the king, queen and prince of unhealthy food. It's nearly the whole royal family. And good pastie could probably feed one. This is the one time in my life when I eat ketchup of which there is an abundant supply here.
5 Chocolate Peppermint Rolls: Consoler in times of doubt, energy boost when studying, or simply favourite TV snack, this is the one sweet which I am undeniably addicted. I limit myself to the small size because once the foil is off I will consume the whole lot. As far as I know the UK is the closest place I can get them.
Vegemite is awesome!! I spit in the face of those who say otherwise (ok...maybe that would be a little bit extreme).
that's very nice.. can you recommend where i can find this stuff in toronto?
my dad went to university in australia, and one of his first forays into western food was Vegemite. we always had a jar of it growing up, and there's probably still one lying around somewhere in our fridge.