Oceania & Food

Throughout the years, Oceania has remained true to its mission of supplying quality, wholesome and nutritious foods at the lowest possible prices, emphasizing organically grown foods. Organically grown means that food is grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Products carried at Oceana contain no artificial additives or chemical preservatives.

Oceania is the section of the world located in the Pacific oceans. It includes a number of different countries, as well as small volcanic islands that have no names. Some of the countries that reside in Oceania are Australia, Indonesia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, and New Zealand.

Because there are so many different islands, each with a different culture inhabiting it, there is no one cuisine that is shared by them all. There are some common ingredients and spices that some of the islands share between them, but the dishes are extremely varied in flavor as well as texture.

Food in Australia

Because Australia was colonized by people from England most of their cuisine is based in that of Great Britain. There are plenty of meat pies, steaks -steak is a staple in the Australian diet and grilled chicken, often accompanied by vegetables. Some exotic meats like kangaroo, crocodile, or buffalo might also appear in an Australian menu. Seafood like mud crabs or yabbies (shrimp) are also well-liked. Australia major cities are on the coast, so they always have the freshest seafood. With such a huge range of fresh produce, Australia can boast of one of the finest cuisines in the world.

Eating outdoors is popular and most Australian houses would have barbecues. Aussies also share the British tradition of afternoon tea which consists mainly of sandwiches and cookies with tea or juice to drink.

In Australia there are a lot of immigrants -in the 50s they were from Italy and Greece, in the 70s it was Vietnam and Asia- so Australians appreciate a whole range of foods and are not averse to stealing from them all. In the 60's finding a packet of dried pasta in the supermarket was a thrill. Nowadays you can find arborio rice or Malay, Indian or Thai curry pastes in any small town supermarket. Italians brought their love of coffee with them, and in the past 15 years this has grown to be one of Australia’s biggest love affairs, black, strong coffee always with the cream floating on the top.

Food in New Zealand

Though there is a love for fish and chips inherited from British settlers, New Zealand cuisine -varied, young and fresh- it is relatively new in the world of food and this relative youth brings a willingness to experiment with dishes. Newly picked ingredients from its fertile farms and sea make it fresh. New Zealanders feel relaxed at meal times and meals progress slowly; that’s the way they like it.

Who does not know about New Zealand lamb? But there is also pork, venison, salmon, oysters, paua (abalone), mussels and some varieties of New Zealand clams, kumara (sweet potato) and kiwis. Kiwi cuisine would be New Zealand’s.

Many of the islands in Oceana that are close to Asia use rice and noodles, just as the Asian culture does. The starches are a staple in the diet, served with almost every meal. One dish that is popular is called nasi goreng. Nasi goreng is created when fried rice is mixed with other items. Sometimes the leftovers from the night before are thrown into the dish and it is served for breakfast. Chicken is also cooked frequently on the islands. Some islands spice the chicken up and grill it, while others make a type of chicken soup out of it. Many of the island chickens are allowed to run wild and are skinnier and have more muscles because of it.