A Taste of Australia: A Recipe for Anzac Biscuits

This overview of Australia – its geography, its culture, its people, and a recipe, too – was prepared by John Ambrose while a Business Administration student in the College of Business at Southeastern Louisiana University.

Introduction

Australia is the world’s six largest nation in land mass. Australia has a population of about 21 million, concentrated in the major cities along the coast: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. English is the spoken language, and Australia English is a major variety of the language. It has a unique accent and a small number of peculiar terms, some of which have found their way into other varieties of English. Anzac biscuits (originally called soldiers’ biscuits) came into being around 1915 (during World War I) when soldiers’ wives and/ or mothers would bake and send the biscuits to the troops stationed overseas.

Country Information

· Geographic Facts

Here are three geographic facts about Australia:
1. Australia has a population of 17.5 million on the smallest continent in the world.
2. The geographic size of Australia is 2.97 million squares miles.
3. The capital of Australia is Canberra.

· 3 “Serious” Facts
Here are three serious facts about Australia:
1. When meeting someone for the first time, it is usual to shake the person’s right hand with your right hand. People who do not know each other generally do not kiss or hug when meeting. When you first meet someone, it is polite not to talk about personal matters.
2. It may seem strange for a society that came from convicts, but Australians value honesty. It is acceptable to be dishonest to pull some-one’s leg or play a joke, but on serious issues, honesty is the best policy.
3. Britain discovered Australia and as a result, used it as a place of imprisonment for thousands of convicts and political prisoners. About 160,000 of Britain’s unwanted were shipped out there. Many died on the high seas during the eight month journey.


· 3 “Fun” Facts
Here are three fun facts about Australia:
1. Australia produces 95 per cent of the world’s precious opals and 99 per cent of its black opals. The world’s opal capital is the quirky underground town of Coober Pedy in South Australia. The world’s largest opal, weighing 5.27 kilograms, was found here in 1990.
2. The iconic kangaroo is unique to Australia and one of our most easily recognized mammals. There are an estimated 40 million kangaroos in Australia, more than when Australia was first settled.
3. The world’s longest piece of straight railway track stretches 478 kilometres across South Australia’s vast, treeless Nullarbor Plain. Australia’s longest stretch of straight road – 148 kilometers – is on the Eyre Highway in Western Australia. It’s just a tiny portion of the 2,700 kilometer sealed road that takes travelers from Perth to Adelaide.

· A “Potpourri” Item
Here is an unusual fact about Australia:
1. Australia was founded by convicts. Its homicide rate is 1.8 per 100,000 populations. The United States was founded by religious zealots, and its homicide rate is 6.3 per 100,000, Thus, the American rate is almost 400% greater than Australia!

Food Information
· Recipe

I received this recipe for Anzac biscuits from Robert Manson of Loyola University of New Orleans.


Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup rolled oats (regular oatmeal) uncooked
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tbsp golden syrup (or honey)
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tbsp boiling water

Method
• Combine the flour (sifted), oats, coconut and sugar in a bowl.
• Melt the butter and Golden Syrup (or honey) in a saucepan over a low heat.
• Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the water and add to the butter and Golden Syrup.
• Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Spoon dollops of mixture, about the size of a walnut shell, onto a greased tin leaving as much space again between dollops to allow for spreading.
• Bake in a moderate oven, 180C / 350F, for 15-20 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack and seal in airtight containers.

· My Kitchen Story

I was in the kitchen preparing the Anzac biscuits last night. I had all the ingredients laid out on the counter-top. I washed my hands and began preparing the biscuits. It wasn’t too difficult because I had all the instructions in front of me. Whenever I ran into a problem, I just called up my friend Robert (who provided the recipe). I mixed all the ingredients and put the biscuits in the oven. While I waited for the biscuits to finish, I did homework and laundry. I began to smell the biscuits from the oven. They smelled delicious. So, when they finished I took them out of the oven to let them cool off. Once they where cool enough to taste I tried one. I liked it. I brought some over to my brother’s apartment and asked him to try the biscuits. I didn’t tell him what it was because I didn’t think he was going to try it if I told him what it was. So, he tasted it and surprisingly he enjoyed it!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Contact Info: To contact the author of “A Taste of Australia: A Recipe for Anzac Biscuits,” please email john.Ambrose@selu.edu.

David C. Wyld (dwyld@selu.edu) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/.

Originally published at: http://trifter.com/asia-pacific/australia/a-taste-of-australia-a-recipe-for-anzac-biscuits/.

++++++++++++++++++++++