New Zealand Food

Typical Food and Meals

 

New Zealand is an island nation with its waters containing a large variety of fish and seafood. Despite this, until recently shellfish hasn't played an important part in the diet of New Zealanders. The consumption of fish has traditionally been low as meat has been the main preference for meals. Having said this, fish and seafood has always been significant in the Maori diet and you will notice that the names of many of them are still used today in Maori.

 

 

Breakfast

A typical New Zealand breakfast consists of cereal (especially the iconic Weet-bix for kids) and some toast which is accompanied by a cup of coffee, tea or a glass of juice or milk. Sometimes on the weekend there is time for a cooked breakfast. This cooked breakfast can also be bought/eaten at coffes most mornings. A typical cooked breakfast has scrambled egg, bacon, cooked tomatoes, mushrooms, hash browns and baked beans. It's very easy to want to skip lunch after such a big breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch

Lunch is normally something simple and not too heavy since dinner is the main meal of the day. It is quite common just to have some sandwiches or hot pies for lunch though some people enjoy the healthier salads and fruit. Sometimes New Zealanders have a "Sunday Lunch" with consists of roast beef (or some other meat) and roast potatoes, pumpkins all slowly cooked in the oven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner

Dinner is the main meal of the day and is eaten around 6pm. It normally contains meat and cooked vegetables, especially potato.

Fish and chips is another typical New Zealand meal (a traditional brought over from England) which is commonly sold wrapped in newspaper. They are cheap and a great alternative when you don't want to cook (however not necessarily the most healthy alternative). You can buy this meal at Fish & Chip shops, also known locally as Takeaways. For a more local flavour, you can ask for a variety of the local fish or maybe even a Paua fritter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lollies (Sweets) 

Minties, Pineapple Lumps, Jaffas, Winegums, Jellybeans, Pebbles, Jet Planes, Milkshakes, Eskimos, Oddfellows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maori Hangi

The Hangi basically consists of putting meat and vegetables in baskets and cooking them slowly under the ground. Hot rocks are put in a pit with the food put on top which are then covered with earth so the heat does not escape. After about some hours the earth is removed and the food is ready. See more details aboutHow to make a Maori hangí.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Desserts

The favourite desert in Nueva Zelandia is the PAVLOVA. It is a type of merengue covered in whipped cream then topped with fresh fruit such as kiwifruit (the most common) or strawberries. Why does it have a Russian name? In honour of a Russian ballet dancer that visited New Zealand in 1926.