Going native is hard to swallow

Australian native foods are a hit with tourists, but locals are far less enthused about eating kangaroo, emu and crocodile meat, according to a report from a University of Adelaide gastronomy graduate.

Jessica Ramsden, who recently graduated with a Le Cordon Bleu Masters of Arts in Gastronomy, says there's a difference between experiencing something unique (once) and putting it on the weekly shopping list.

"Although native flavours are starting to appear in chutneys, sauces and spice blends, you won't find crocodile meat in the cold cabinet or lemon myrtle on the spice rack, let alone fresh Warrigal greens or Kakadu plums alongside the salad mix and Packham pears," Jessica said.

This is partly as a result of the industry's small scale, but also reflects the lack of 'cultural infrastructure' that makes Thai or French cuisine, for example, so popular - with oodles of exotic tourism destinations, local restaurants, cookbooks and ready supplies of ingredients to try at home.

"Food preferences are also the result of habit," Jessica said. "Research shows that we gravitate to flavours that taste the most familiar. With such conservative palates, Australians are not going to embrace challenging new native flavours."

But this could all change in coming years, with recent research from CSIRO showing the health benefits of native foods, and more environmentally aware consumers choosing foods that are more sustainable to produce and make a positive difference to communities.

Jessica said native foods "tick all the boxes of these emerging consumer trends".

"Native foods are tapping into an emerging groundswell of more adventurous eating in Australia and in the future, saltbush lamb, lemon myrtle pasta and wattle seed ice-cream might become as 'Aussie' as meat pies, lamingtons and Vegemite," she said.

Based in Melbourne, Jessica is part of an international cohort of students who have completed the Le Cordon Bleu Master of Arts in Gastronomy from the University of Adelaide this year. It is the only program of its kind in the world that can be completed entirely online.