Chinese cuisine is the most popular in Australian homes.

AUSVEG, the peak representative body for vegetable and potato growers in Australia, has just released the results of a recent study. The study was intended to show what cuisines have been adopted by Australians that use vegetables as a key component. This would then give growers ideas for what vegetables they should focus on, as some vegetables are specific to certain cuisines.

The research was funded by both Horticulture Australia Limited, using the National Vegetable Levy, and the Australian Government.

Those taking part in the research were asked what cuisines they had incorporated into their cooking over the last five years which used fresh vegetables as one of the components.

Andrew White, Manager of Industry Development and Communications at AUSVEG, said; “Asian cuisines, specifically Chinese and Thai, were the most common addition to consumers’ cooking repertoire over the past five years. Chinese and Middle Eastern cuisines were more likely to be adopted by older consumers over 45 years of age, whereas Thai, Mexican and French were more frequently adopted by younger consumers between 18 and 24 years of age.”

The study showed that the top 10 cuisines added to the Australian home cooking were;

1. Chinese (44 per cent of those surveyed)
2. Thai (35 per cent)
3. Italian (29 per cent)
4. Indian (23 per cent)
5. Mexican (19 per cent)
6. Vietnamese (16 per cent)
7. Greek (16 per cent)
8. Middle Eastern (13 per cent)
9. Japanese (10 per cent)
10. French (7 per cent)

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach