'Food is Where You Find It'

HUNTING FOR KIWIFOOD

Food products account for 55 per cent of exports in New Zealand. In fact China is now asking New Zealand to help it keep it's promise to provide milk to all Chinese citizens. Food is a big deal inside this small country. What makes up the traditional kiwi diet? Let's take a walk into town.

Lucy Cranwell was a pioneer outsoorswoman. Her 'Food is Where You Find It' was a field guide for NZ airmen stranded on deserted pacific islands and surviving off the land. One of the main philosophies is a Maori one - If you see the birds eating it, you can probably eat it too.

THE FRUIT STAND - The good news was that local fruit stands are aplenty along the roads. What was strange was that fruit here is taking a few bold steps into the next generation. New Zealand is busy breeding superfruits genetically made to be superior. I found it odd that here, if anywhere, people would fool around with mother nature. It took us forever to eat a double crunchy, super-sized apple that was more of a workout and a full meal in the end. Other advancements include Crisp-fleshed peaches, "Easy-peel" mandarins, and Berries with eight times more antioxidants.

And of course there is also the good old Kiwifruit. Because they first came from China, Kiwifruits used to be known as chinese gooseberries. The government then decided in 1959 to rename the fruit and sell them as kiwis. Then the latest re-branding took place in 1996 towards the 'Kiwifruit Zespri Gold' name to distinguish it from other country's products. Either way, just be sure to call them a 'kiwifruit' since kiwis here don't like being likened to a sweet little fruit. I was told that the best way to eat them is strait from the skin by squeezing the flesh out from one end. None of this knife and spoon melarchy, fancypants.

For something new try the Feijoas, a green-skinned fruit that's a little like guava. It's texture and taste was totally alien to us. And we even found feijoa-flavoured beer brewed by Mata in Kaikoura.

THE DAIRY - These days many people hunt and gather food from the supermarket or in small towns, from the local general store in town, known as the dairy. This convenience store/cornershop/minimart is also special for it's delicious ice cream. Tip Top is the national brand and you should probably try New Zealand's most celebrated ice cream first - the Hokey Pokey! It blends plain vanilla with small bits of toffee. Milkshakes are quite popular and the Memphis Meltdown ice cream bar are sinfully good too.

A tip top ice cream from the dairy in Port Chalmers

THE BAKERY - Like neighboring Australia, New Zealand is a pie nation. Pop into the bakery and you will find the huge warm selection. Perhaps the first to try is a mince and cheese pie. We then graduated to a mince potato top from Auckland. Steph noted that a lot are of the frozen variety. But who can complain when such a savory and hearty street snack is available everywhere (dairy, cafe etc) for only a few dollars or less. Wash it all down with a bottle of L&P lemonade, the national pride of soft drinks.

A mince potato top from the a bakery Thames

THE FISH & CHIP SHOP - The chippy might actually be the first thing you come across in town. These are the Starbucks of New Zealand, in that there might be one on each block. The blue cod and whitebait fritters in this country are superb. Also the Kiwi fish & chip shops serve up cheaper and bigger portions than you've ever seen. In Oamaru, I watched as our German friend unravelled a watermellon sized parcel of greasy chips to share with no less than eight woofers. Of course we could only indulge in greasy take-away dinners once or twice.

Perhaps you are after something a little more exotic. Ask for a battered hot dog like a corn dog freshly made in fish frier oil.

Or, try a Kiwi delicacy known as paua fritters. David showed us how to make them homemade. They taste a lot like meatballs when they are fried in patties with a mixture of onion.

THE HANGI - The hangi is a communal Maori affair, where heaps of meat & veg are cooked in an underground earth oven. You will be surprised at how good hot buttered corn can taste from the ground. The traditional oven involves hot coals and rocks at the bottom of a pit, adding the meat layers first, then vegetables before covering the pit with banana leaves. The result is fantastic when everything absorbs an earthy, smoky taste. The lamb came out succulent with stuffing like nothing I've ever eaten before.

The Hangi - an earth cooking method similar to pacific island techniques that still also exist as far away as southern Chile.

Kumara - They will blow away any other sweet potato you have had, especially if cooked in a hangi. Kumara was introduced to New Zealand from Polynesia, and some even believe that the potatoes originally came as floating seeds from South America via Hawaii and other pacific islands.

DESSERT - One final note is on desserts and diplomacy. The pavlova was created in either New Zealand or Australia, named after Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova toured both countries in the 1920s. The only concrete evidence available is from the dancer's biographer who pinpoints the invention to when the chef of Wellington hotel made the cake for Anna in 1926. Regardless both countries still lay fierce claim to the "pav". Perhaps it's best to avoid such topics when in either country and stick to politics or religion. And don't mention the strawberry Lemmington either!