Oceanian cuisine: Difference between revisions

Since the region of Oceania consists of islands, seafood is a prominent part of the diet, with vegetables such as [[potatoes]], [[sweet potato]], [[taro]] and [[Yam (vegetable)|yams]] being the main starch. [[Coconut]], and its derivative products such as [[coconut milk]], [[coconut oil]] and [[coconut sugar]], areis an important ingredient in the tropics of Oceania.

One of the most distinctive styles of cooking throughout Oceania is the [[earth oven]], a method which involves laying food on hot rocks and burying it in earth. The technique originated in Papua New Guinea and was subsequently spread by [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] seafarers.

File:Balmain Bug (841993847).jpg|thumb|A cooked [[Ibacus peronii|Balmain bug]]. Also known as the butterfly fan lobster, it is a [[species]] of [[slipper lobster]] that lives in shallow waters around Australia.

File:Australian bush tucker, Alice Springs.jpg|thumb|[[Bush tucker]] (bush foods) harvested at Alice Springs Desert Park. Bush foods are edible native plant species and animal products used by indigenous Australians as a contemporary or traditional food.<ref>Lister, Peter R., Holford, Paul, Haigh, Tony, Morrison, David A. (1996). [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/v3-228.html "Acacia in Australia: Ethnobotany and Potential Food Crop."] [http://www.ag.purdue.edu Purdue University Horticulture & Landscape Architecture]. Accessed July 2011.</ref>

File:Paniki manado.jpg|[[Paniki (food)|Paniki]] in yellow soup.

'''Polynesian cuisine''' encompasses the culinary practices of [[Polynesia]], an area notably defined as the [[Polynesian Triangle]] and occasionally, the [[Polynesian outlier]]s that have been settled by [[Polynesians|Polynesian]] seafarers. The vast area of Polynesia has had a great influence on the cuisine itself, differing as a result of climate, geography and neighbouring island groups, such as the practice of harvesting and boiling down [[Coconut sugar|coconut sap]] in the atolls from [[Micronesian people]]s or the harvesting and processing of [[Sagosago]] in the outliers from [[Melanesians]]. Polynesian cuisine has been influenced by the [[Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia|traditional ingredients]] and preparations of the Polynesians, as well as [[European cuisine|European]], [[Asian cuisine|Asian]] and [[Cuisine of the Americas|American]] culinary practices. The Polynesian cuisine had influenced the [[Malagasy cuisine]].

File:Hangi prepare.jpg|thumb|A [[Hāngihāngī]] being prepared, a New Zealand Māori method of cooking food for special occasions using hot rocks buried in a pit oven.

Image:Pavlova.png|A [[pavlova (food)|Pavlovapavlova]] is a [[meringue]]-based dessert and an icon of Australian and New Zealand cuisine.

File:Bowl of poi.jpg|A bowl of [[Poi (food)|Poipoi]], a starchy paste eaten in Eastern Polynesia.