• Crocodile meat tastes similar to fish.crocodile image by Henryk Olszewski from Fotolia.com
  
  Extensive worldwide immigration has played a large role in shaping the development of Australian food, as has native aboriginal cuisine, fresh sea produce and the country's wide range of climates. The result of all these influences has produced some of the most wide-ranging and varied cuisine in the world.
  
  

Traditional Australian Food

• Simple to prepare, damper is a mix of flour and water cooked over a bush fire in an aluminum pot. It benefits from a splash of beer in the mix, according to the website Amazing Australia. The pie floater comes originally from Adelaide and Australians now enjoy it all over the country. It is simply a meat pie floating in a bowl of pea soup and drenched in tomato sauce. Vegemite is a yeast extract that manufacturers extract from the leftovers of beer brewing. It is traditionally eaten in a sandwich and has a very salty taste. Like Marmite or Promite, it is something of an acquired taste that aficionados cannot do without.
  
  

Bush Tucker

• Native Australian food, or bush tucker, originally comes from rural areas of the country but is becoming more and more popular in the cities. Kangaroo is a deliciously sweet, deep red meat, according to the "Rough Guide Australia." So tender are the fillets, that most people choose to serve and eat them rare. Cooks often braise the tail in the same way they would oxtail. From northern Australia comes crocodile meat, which has a fish-like taste and a texture like chicken. Emu is a tougher meat than crocodile, so Australians generally serve it in thin slices. Witchetty grubs are a bush tucker delicacy about the size of a little finger. You can find witchetty grubs in the roots of certain trees and eat them raw or roasted to enjoy a taste similar to peanut butter.
  
  

Seafood

• Australia's best food comes from the sea, according to "Lonely Planet Australia." Three very common Australian seafoods are crayfish, prawns, and barramundi. Crayfish looks and tastes similar to lobster but without large claws. Prawns; in particular, sweet school prawns and eastern king prawns, are found on the east coast and said to be the best. Barramundi is a common fish in the rivers and seas around Australia and its sweet, mild, delicate flavor is similar to striped bass or red snapper.
  
  

International Cuisine

• A large range of international cuisine is available in every big Australian city. Italian food has become a staple of the restaurant scene as has Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese, with the latter offering some of the cheapest restaurant food available in the county. Malay and Indonesian street stalls serve noodle soups and satays in most major cities whilst Mongolian restaurants serve thinly sliced barbecued meat mixed with vegetables and soy sauce.
  
  

Fruit

• Australia's varied climate fosters its growth of a wide range of different fruits. From its temperate zones come apples oranges and plums whilst its tropical areas are perfect for mangos, kiwi fruits, pineapples, nashi pears, lychees, and bananas.