Food is always interesting — but also in New Zealand?

The cuisine of New Zealand is an interesting mix with influences from several cultures. On one hand, you have the traditional Maori food that are cultural leftovers from the time when the first settlers came to New Zealand from Polynesia and brought with them food plants such as the sweet potato (kūmara) and a type of asparagus called tī. Along with native New Zealand plants and the meat of the now extinct moa bird, early Maori settlers used earth ovens called Hāngi to prepare meals. Later trade with European settlers caused some of the ingredients to change, the core recipes remained largely unchanged, however. Modern Maori cuisine also consists of a combination of both traditional Maori food, traditional British as well as more modern British food.

Since most New Zealanders are of British decent, the New Zealand cuisine also reflects that. While some parts of traditional British food culture seems to be dying out in New Zealand, a lot of it is still quite popular, including Fish and Chips and scone. Due to the British influence, Indian food is quite popular as well.

As a direct result of the geographic and cultural proximity of Australia, the two countries share quite a bit of cuisines as well. This includes the Lamington, a cake, and Vegimite. Nowadays, New Zealand and Australia largely share their food preferences while up until a couple decades ago, New Zealand would usually adopt Australia’s preferences and food trends after a while.

The continuing trend of globalization also meant a rise in popularity for fast food like in the United States or Great Britain. Consequently, both the Maori and the Pākehā (of European decent) showed increased numbers of medical conditioned like obesity.

I will possibly elaborate on this topic in greater detail in the future, with a focus in the eating habits of the Maori and the meaning of food in a religious context but for now, this should be it.