New Zealand Foodways

Aotearoa

National

⚠ TWO PEOPLES AND A TREATY, and the food record follows both. Māori reached Aotearoa around 1250-1300 CE — the last major landmass settled by humans — and the settler nation dates from the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, whose English and te reo Māori texts differ materially and whose breach is the subject of a continuing settlement process that has returned FISHERIES and land to iwi. What this row describes is the national and Pākehā layer: PASTORAL above all — New Zealand runs vastly more sheep than people, is one of the world’s largest DAIRY exporters, and its lamb, butter and milk powder are its economy. Plus a serious wine industry (Marlborough sauvignon blanc, Central Otago pinot noir), horticulture (KIWIFRUIT, which is a Chinese gooseberry renamed for export in the 1950s, apples, avocado), and a very large PACIFIC and Asian presence, Auckland being the largest Polynesian city on earth. ⚠ AND THE DISHES ARE SHARED WITH AUSTRALIA more than either country enjoys admitting: pavlova, the meat pie, the lamington and Anzac biscuits all appear on both sides of the Tasman.

Atlas — where and when

Where in the world

Communities and languages

  • New Zealanders community documented
  • Pākehā community documented

Languages: English, Māori

Related foodways

Recorded as relating to this foodway

  • part of New Zealand Regional Foodways documented
  • part of Pacific Foodways in New Zealand documented

    ⚠ Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world.

  • related to Australian Dishes and Everyday Food disputed

    ⚠ PAVLOVA IS DISPUTED AND NO ORIGIN IS ASSIGNED. The located printed evidence, including the OED’s revision, favours New Zealand, which is recorded as evidence rather than as a verdict. The meat pie, lamington and Anzac biscuit are shared across the Tasman.

  • related to Māori Foodways documented

    ⚠ A ROOT. Māori are tangata whenua and their food system is not a regional variation of a settler one.

Regional cuisines

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.