Vegemite: The iconic Australian sandwich spread. It's made from brewers' yeast so you know it's good.
Vegemite: The iconic Australian sandwich spread. It's made from brewers' yeast so you know it's good.
Brendon Thorne/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images
CNN  — 

What exactly is Australian food?

While locals dine on fried rice, Thai curries, Mediterranean cuisine and the like, those dishes don’t really belong to Australia. They’re part of multicultural Australia but are often claimed by other nations.

Apart from the homegrown kangaroo – and perhaps the now-American-owned Vegemite – there must be others. Some are cliched, some are obvious, some may surprise. But Australia’s culinary history can lay claim to these 40 Australian food items (with a few Sydney-area recommendations on where to get them).

40. Witchetty grubs

This nutty-tasting grub has been an indigenous mouthful of Australian food for centuries.
This nutty-tasting grub has been an indigenous mouthful of Australian food for centuries.
courtesy culinary madness