New Zealand

The food culture of New Zealand is strongly characterized by the English colonial rule: Even today you can buy fish and chips for example at every street corner. However, a distinct New Zealand cuisine evolved, combining European as well as Asian influences with domestic products. Meat, fresh vegetables and fruits are the main ingredients of New Zealand dishes. One specialty is the traditional hangi from the Maoris, which is meat and vegetables wrapped in leaves and cooked in an earth oven.
The pavlova is considered to be a typical desert. This sweet is a meringue tart filled with cream and fruits. It is considered to be a national dish in Australia as well as New Zealand. Both countries lay claim to the invention of the pavlova. It is clear that the tart is called after the Russian ballerina Anna Pawlowa who had guest appearances in both countries in the end of the 1920’s.

Most of the people who live in New Zealand are New Zealanders with European descent, the so called Pākehā. This ethnic group mostly descends from the British islands but also from Germany, Italy, Poland, Netherland and numerous other European countries. The second biggest population group are the indigenous inhabitants of Polynesian origin, the Māori, who represent 14.6% of the population. Also, many Asians are residents in New Zealand. Thus, in New Zealand different cultures from the Pacific area meet the western lifestyle of the British to which the country still has a strong bond.
The Māori have a distinctive narrative culture with countless sagas and tales that are only passed on orally to the next generation. Important subjects for these myths are among others the formation of the world and New Zealand. The latter is inseparably connected to the tale of the demigod Maui, who fished New Zealand from the sea. Other tales tell the story of the journey of Kupe, who discovered New Zealand for the people of Hawaiki, and also of the settlement of the country as well as of the life of the Māori in the modern New Zealand. Even though publication in the language of the Māori increase, the majority of the literature of New Zealand is written in English. The earliest documents about New Zealand are reports from European discoverer. To these belong especially the diaries from James Cook, which he kept during his three journeys to the Pacific, as well as travel reports from Georg Forster, who accompanied Cook on his second Pacific-journey.