What do Australians eat for Christmas and why?

Answer 1

Christmas dinner in Australia varies, often according to which part of Australia one lives in, and one's personal cultural heritage.

Many Australians enjoy a traditional roast turkey, duck or chicken, and roast ham or honey-glazed ham is popular. This may be cooked in an oven, or on the "Weber" barbeque outside, along with roast potatoes, pumpkin and other trimmings. This is because, during the Australian summer, kitchens can become very hot with the oven being used so much. It is preferable to simply move the cooking to outdoors. Others may take to the nearest park or beach, and simply cook up a barbeque there, consisting of a variety of meats.

Prawns, crabs and salads are also very popular. Australians eat more seafood around Christmas time than at any other time of year, with many specialist seafood outlets taking orders for prawns to ensure supply meets demand. Australians do not eat "shrimp on the barbie"; Australians eat prawns, not shrimp, and very few people waste good prawns by throwing them on the barbeque. Cold seafood is popular because, again, Christmas Day can be very hot, and it is more pleasant to have a cold treat than a roast dinner.

For desserts, Christmas cakes based on the heavy fruit cakes and puddings as made in Britain (and usually served with custard, cream or ice cream) are also popular, as are fruit mince pies. The ever-popular pavlova with fresh cream and fruit is often consumed, as are flavoured ice creams and "Christmas logs", made with ice cream, chocolate, nuts and various other things. Trifle is also common, as is fruit salad.

Generally, because Australia is so multi-cultural, there is a wide range of foods available that conform with Christmas traditions the world over.