Move over Nemo, New Zealand's favourite fish is the chocolate variety
As you travel around New Zealand you will find locals eating the most peculiar sounding things. Chocolate fish anyone?
Chocolate fish are not a contemporary take on seafood cuisine but instead a chocolate coated marshmallow fish that are extremely popular with the sweet toothed Kiwi. Other local favourites that could easily confuse the most well travelled tourist include pineapple lumps, hokey pokey ice-cream and L&P.
But before getting into the ‘nitty-gritty’ of kiwi slang and epicurean delights - it should be noted that the term kiwi does not just refer to New Zealand’s flightless, long beaked, native bird. It is also a nick-name for New Zealanders themselves, and a name given to green furry fruit - Kiwifruit AKA Chinese gooseberry.
Fruity favourites
Much like its sugary friend the chocolate fish, the pineapple lump is a favourite New Zealand treat. A square pineapple candy, coated in chocolate, the pineapple lump has graced New Zealand food stores since 1935 and it remains the best-seller on the mail delivery website Homesick-Kiwi.
The chocolates place in New Zealand life is held in such regard, that it features in a current television ad. Described as ‘the national treasure’ the advertisement tells a story that when the ‘creator’ was handing out gifts to countries of the world, New Zealand slept in, missing out on gold, diamonds, and oil. It got the booby prize - pineapple lumps!
Liquid gold
L&P, is a New Zealand made soft drink and a liquid favourite. Initially made from lemon juice and carbonated mineral water from the small North Island town of Paeroa, L&P or Lemon and Paeroa, has become another ‘national treasure’. A giant L&P bottle stands in the town of Paeroa - marking its birthplace and providing some good photo opportunities in the town. If you want to experience the ultimate kiwi supper try L&P with fish ‘n’ chips smothered in Watties tomato sauce. Awesome bro!
Indigenous delights
Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand offer a couple of foods that could confuse the tourists. The first is kumara, which is also known as sweet potato. A staple in early Maori diets it has survived to become popular in contemporary Kiwi cuisine, and a "must" for any Sunday roast.
The other Maori delicacy is the Huhu grub. If you are thinking it sounds like something you would find in the backyard, you would be right. Said to taste like peanut butter many only dare taste test the huhu at local wildfood festivals.
Proof of the Pudding
After a few huhu grubs you would probably want something to cleanse the palate. Pavalova perhaps? This meringue dessert is crispy on the outside but fluffy on the inside and is usually served with cream and strawberries on top.
However a trans-tasman battle has raged for years over whether pavalova was invented in New Zealand or Australia. But as the saying goes "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" and a pavlova recipe found in a 1929 New Zealand magazine, appears to have so far settled the argument. It is believed the dessert is the brainchild of a Wellington hotel chef who named his creation after the Russian ballet star Anna Pavlova who visited New Zealand in 1926.
A little Hokey-Pokey
It sounds a little magical and some would say it is - Hokey Pokey has caught generations of Kiwis under its spell. The caramelised sugar, also known as ‘honeycomb’ or ‘humbug’ in other parts of the world is usually eaten on its own however in New Zealand it is mixed with vanilla ice-cream and known by everyone as ‘Hokey Pokey’. First sold in 1940 by Meadowgold Ice Cream, Hokey Pokey became a national favourite when Tip Top Ice Cream began heavily marketing it in the 1950s. It is estimated that New Zealanders devour a whopping five million litres of hokey pokey ice-cream a year!
The brand Tip Top, still in existence today, is peculiar in itself. Tip Top founders Albert Hayman and Len Malaghan were travelling on a train when they overhead someone describe their meal as ‘tip top.’ They decided they wanted to hear people say that about their ice-cream and the Tip Top brand was born.
So while discovering New Zealand’s stunning scenery and friendly people be ready to also engage your tasetbuds. If you dare to sink your teeth in, you will discover the delights that have been keeping a smile on New Zealand faces for years.
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