Did you know?

• 90% of Australians eat seafood, consuming around 12kg of fish and shellfish per year.

• Kangaroo and emu are both eaten in Australia. It’s one of the few countries to consume its own coat of arms!

• The Aborigines consider a type of insect larva found at the roots of the acacia plant, known as ‘witchetty grub’ a delicacy. It is white, the size of a baby carrot, high in protein and apparently tastes like peanut butter.

• Vegemite, a popular yeast spread, was invented in 1922 by a scientist who used yeast from a nearby brewery and mixed it with a combination of celery, onions and salt. He couldn’t decide what to call the spread so held a competition offering a £50 prize to the winner.

• Both Australia and New Zealand claim to have invented pavlova. It’s a topic still open for debate and continues to be immensely popular in both countries. The desert was named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), the most famous classical ballerina of her era, during her visit to Australasia.

• If you are invited to an Aussie barbie and asked to ‘bring a plate’, you can be more or less certain the host isn’t referring to their lack of tableware, instead he or she is asking you to bring a dish of food to share with your host and other guests.

• Mastering Aussie slang can be helpful at times, especially when it comes to ordering food. Snags (sausages), chook (chicken), floaters (meat pie served with mushy peas), goog (eggs) and icypoles (frozen lollies) are all types of food, whereas kiwi (a New Zealander), grouse (meaning very good, or cool!), fruit loop (an idiot), rabbit’s ears (indoor tv ariel) and duck (no runs in cricket) aren’t!

• Be prepared to see a slice of beetroot slung into your burger alongside egg and bacon. This seems to be a regular healthy addition to what otherwise would be a slightly innutritious meal. It is most often seen in the state of New South Wales, whereas those down south seem to find the idea of beetroot in your burger a little weird.

• If someone offers you a Pollywaffle, Violet Crumble or Cherry Ripe in Australia don’t think they are going crazy – grab the chance with both hands. They are all delicious chocolate bars. If you don’t fancy a twenty-hour flight to taste them, order online from specialist shops here in the UK.

• A popular custom in Australia is called the ‘Tim Tam Slam’. This is performed by preparing a hot drink, biting the opposite corners off a chocolate Tim Tam (just like a Penguin biscuit) dipping the corner in the hot drink and sucking (or slurping).

By Michelle Robold