Dec 282022
Editor’s Blog Topics About Food
EDITOR’S BLOG Topics
 • Slang• Holidays• Food• Odds & Sods
 • Music• Animals• Writers• Daylight Saving
 • Sports• People• Problems• Big Things
 • Charity• Awards• What Is It?• Comments

This is a food blog that offers a few recipes. This blog is full of delicious recipes and stories, as well as practical tips to get the most out of food.

Pumpkin Eating

Lovely email from Tess in the USA, “Until I make it to Australia in person Alldownunder.com is the next best thing! I want to comment on a post regarding pumpkin eating.”

“Actually we DO like to eat pumpkin too. Traditionally, especially around the holidays, pumpkins are carved out and the meat is cooked in a similar manner as squash or blended with other ingredients to make pumpkin pie, a traditional part of an American Thanksgiving dinner.”

“… How do Aussies eat their pumpkin?”

6 kilos per adult
Well Tess, pumpkin seeds arrived in Australia with the First Fleet in 1788. Since then it has become so popular that the average Aussie adult eats 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds) per person every year.

Pumpkins are very versatile and easy to prepare.
There is pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin scones, spiced pumpkin pies and of course pumpkin cooked with a pork roast. We use pumpkin in rocket salad, stuffed in ravioli with ricotta, and … I could go on and on. Our local stores carry a variety of pumpkins: Kent, Queensland Blue, Butternut, Jarrahdale and others. You’ll also find it on the menu in restaurants.

We love eating our pumpkins. I think I’ll leave cutting faces into them to you 🙂

Why Can’t I Buy It Anymore?

D MacG asked, “Why are you not producing your curry pies this year?” Umm, well, I don’t sell pies. You could write to Coles or Woolworths and ask.

I do know how D feels because I just learned that my dog’s favourite pet food is no more. A manager at VIP Petfoods emailed me, “Unfortunately with the supermarkets push towards more and more own branded product, they decided to stop ranging this product.”

Have you noticed how many of your own favourite things are disappearing?

Copra is not Crisco

Michele wrote to say, “You have copha as an alternative to Crisco That is not correct I have to say copha does not do what Crisco can. Margarine actually works better.”

“To make buttercream with copha would not work. It isn’t whip able and it can only be melted. If you look all over the web ex Americans are screaming do not use it. Not the same in any capacity.”

My apologies to the Americans. I did not know you tried to use copha to make frosting. I stand corrected and have updated my food conversions page.

For the Aussies, Crisco is the brand name of a very popular soft vegetable shortening used in a variety of ways in America. It has nothing to do with our Crissy hamper company Crisco.

No Longer Australian

Veronica wrote us wanting to know …

“Can it be made well known that the Government allowed our icon products to be sold to Foreign ownership. ie Vegemite is no longer Australian?”

We wrote about that problem in our article Is Australia Being Ripped Off? quite a while ago, but sadly nothing has changed.

In November 2011 Fosters board members gave their approval to sell the 150 year old Australian company to the Anglo-South African brewing giant SAB Miller.

Shareholders must still vote on the over $10 billion offer for this Aussie beer icon and it will face the scrutiny of the nation’s competition regulator. Do you care?


Write a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *