Cooking in the Greek Diaspora in Australia

[voula_slat]

It is no secret that there are Greek communities established throughout the world, and for the most part, they seem pretty close knit. I live in Australia and I am part of the Greek community here. I noticed that the cuisine tends to change based on the location, maybe because of ingredient availability, maybe because of the food preferences of the general population in the area (maybe because of local Greek restaurants?).

I wonder if any of you have noticed this?

Some observations I have about Australian Greek food:

1. I think we may use more butter than they do in Greece
2. We appear to use more meat
3. Different types of seafood than is available in Greece
4. Seasonality is different here than in Greece

I believe all these things affect the Greek cuisine while here. I am sure there are other factors but I can't think of them right now.

 

[Lenio]

I'm from the US, not Australia, but I have the same observations. I think being from the Diaspora our parents and grandparents had to adapt with the ingredients that were available (an inexpensive) here. My parents used to tell me they would go to the fish market and ask for the heads, since fish was so expensive, which they would just give them for free. The soups and baked dishes they would make from those were delicious.

 

[voula_slat]

I'm from the US, not Australia, but I have the same observations. I think being from the Diaspora our parents and grandparents had to adapt with the ingredients that were available (an inexpensive) here. My parents used to tell me they would go to the fish market and ask for the heads, since fish was so expensive, which they would just give them for free. The soups and baked dishes they would make from those were delicious.

This is interesting to me... we have similar observations living in different countries. I guess when our family came over, they tried to make do with the resources available. In a way, that's the Greek Way! My family did the same thing with the fish heads - there's tons of flavor in the heads, especially with the cheek meat... it was a real treat when we would get them.

 

[k_tsoukalas]

I agree with this, as well. It's the way it is in the United States where I live. One can find Greek products because there is a big Greek community here, but the climate and cuisine as a whole has major differences.