Characteristic products

Agriculture and livestock farming are an essential part of New Zealand's economy. The country is the world's third-largest producer of sheepmeat - sheep and lamb combined - with a flock of almost 27 million animals, or almost four sheep for every human. The animals graze outdoors all year round, producing meat of excellent quality. But there is also a high consumption of beef, pork and poultry, as well as game: deer introduced from Europe have thrived in the local forests. Beef also means milk, as New Zealand is the world's leading exporter and eighth-largest producer of milk, and the fourth-largest producer of butter. The country is also famous for its cheeses, even if most are local versions of European cheeses: cheddar, brie, camembert, gouda, etc.

Largely open to the sea, New Zealand offers ideal conditions for leisure, sport and commercial fishing, with extremely rich fish stocks. The South Island and the area around Lake Taupo are world-renowned for their abundance of trout and salmon. At sea, snapper is often at the end of the line, not to mention tuna, mackerel, swordfish, blue cod or rāwaru, hoki (hake), tarakihi (sea bream), and so on.Whitebait is one of the South Island's specialties.

And let's not forget the excellent local seafood. The country's most remarkable shellfish, the paua(Haliotis iris - closely related to the North Pacific abalone) was an important part of the Maori diet. It is still widely eaten today, and its meat is prized for export. The iridescent shell is widely used in Maori culture. It serves as an ornament and is used to make jewelry. Also of note aregreen-lipped mussels and Bluff oysters, as well as scallops, kina (sea urchin), prawns, lobsters and more.

Thanks to a varied but generally mild climate, New Zealand produces a wide variety of vegetables, fruit and cereals. Kumara is a famous New Zealand variety of sweet potato, which is particularly popular in the form of French fries. Potatoes, squash, leafy vegetables (spinach, cabbage, broccoli, etc.) and corn are also popular. The country also produces a wide range of fruit: grapes, apples, peaches, cherries and red berries. It is the world's second-largest producer of kiwifruit, the emblematic fruit of New Zealand from which it does not originate. The kiwi - native to China - takes its name from a New Zealand bird, unable to fly, whose round silhouette and ruffled brown plumage are reminiscent of the famous fruit. There are several varieties, such as the yellow-fleshed Zespri Gold, or the hairless mini-kiwi, which can be eaten with its skin.

Invented in Australia, but inextricably linked with New Zealand, vegemite is a blackish, viscous paste made from yeast extracts, spices and vegetables. Its intense, highly salty, fermented taste could be likened to a bouillon-cube. Similar to the English Marmite, it is traditionally eaten spread thinly on buttered toast to soften the taste, but is also used to marinate meats. Thanks to its high salt content, the product can be stored for an extremely long time.

Mānuka honey is produced from the nectar of the mānuka tree, a member of the Leptospermum genus native to New Zealand. It has a unique, intense aroma and is said to have healing properties.

Eating habits and catering

While breakfast is an institution in English-speaking countries, lunch is often eaten on the run. Lighter and as easy to eat as it is to prepare, the lunch menu is different from the dinner menu in restaurants. Diners often dine early, before 7pm, which explains why it's difficult to find a restaurant open late at night, especially in rural areas, as the range of opening hours is wider in big cities.

New Zealanders regularly eat in fast-food outlets, but also in food courts, where you can choose from a number of fast-food outlets at a generally affordable price. Fish'n'chips and pies stalls are as popular as ever, and can be found everywhere. But there are also a host of restaurants and cafés offering a more intimate setting and a more qualitative and inventive cuisine.

" BYO " is an acronym for " Bring Your Own ", which means bring your own bottle of booze. In New Zealand, restaurants can be described as licensed (they can sell alcohol), BYO (customers can bring their own bottle of alcohol) or unlicensed (they can't serve alcohol). Some places have a double license: they sell alcohol but also let customers bring their own drinks. It's best to check with the restaurant before setting up shop, as some will charge a corkage fee.

Until the 1950s-1960s, New Zealand cuisine was based exclusively on the country's British heritage. Although declining, the amount of meat consumed by New Zealanders is impressive, and on some livestock farms it was common to eat mutton for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The traditional New Zealand meal consists of meat, potatoes and vegetables, followed by pudding. Like other Anglo-Saxon countries, notably the USA and Australia, New Zealand underwent a culinary revival from the 1980s-1990s, with the introduction of exotic ingredients, new culinary techniques and a more laudatory approach to Maori cuisine.

From the 1980s onwards, New Zealand also relaxed its migration policy and many migrants settled here, from Southeast Asia, China, Korea and India, as well as from the Pacific, the Middle East and Southern Europe. Today, the Asian and Polynesian communities together account for almost a third of New Zealand's population. Although they had difficulty finding the ingredients they needed for their cuisine when they first arrived, the diversity of imported products has grown over time, offering more authentic foreign cuisine restaurants in the process.

Classics of New Zealand cuisine

There are few local specialties per se, as New Zealand cuisine is above all a melting pot of British and Maori specialties punctuated by foreign influences, notably Asian and Mediterranean. The most native of local dishes is hangi. The Maoris still practice this traditional Polynesian cooking method, consisting of an oven dug into the earth in which food is steamed thanks to the heat released by heated stones. More and more non-Maori enthusiasts are enjoying the characteristic flavor of hangi. Large quantities of food can be prepared in this way, for the whole community. It is still customary for Maoris to prepare a hangi when feeding large numbers of people. Traditionally, fish, seafood and tubers - including the famous kumara or sweet potato - were the main ingredients, with the addition of pork, lamb, potatoes, squash and cabbage. Also noteworthy are suckling pig prepared for special occasions and rēwena, or "Maori bread", which is made with fermented potatoes, although its appearance is reminiscent of a loaf of farmhouse bread.

As in Australia, barbecuing is a major feature of New Zealand culture. Grilling lamb chops, sausages, beef ribs or chicken with a beer in hand seems to be the national sport, especially during the festive season, but really as long as the weather permits. The dish is accompanied by potato salad, garlic bread and raw vegetable salads. Of course, fish and seafood are also part of the " barbie ". Fish'n'chips, an English borrow, is a must, as are meat pies, small pies generously filled with minced meat, onions and sometimes cheese. Finally, the kiwiburger is simply a classic hamburger also topped with beet and a fried egg.

While these specialties may seem a little poor, the local cuisine has been turned upside down by the massive arrival of Chinese, Vietnamese, Arab, Indian, Italian, Thai and, of course, Polynesian communities, which have enabled local chefs to revisit the classics of Kiwi cuisine with new ingredients. You'll also find a host of restaurants where you can enjoy a good noodle dish, tasty sushi, a hearty kebab, a finely spiced curry or an authentic pizza.

Desserts and drinks

By far the most emblematic of local desserts is the pavlova. Created in honor of Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova during her tour of New Zealand in the 1920s, its paternity is disputed by Australia, a country also visited by the dancer. Made from a thick meringue, crisp on the outside and melting on the inside, it's topped with whipped cream and decorated with fruit, the strawberry-kiwi duo being a must. Hokey Pokey ice cream, a vanilla ice cream with honeyed caramel chips, is also a must. Other Anglo-Saxon pastries include cupcakes, muffins and cookies.

Until the 1990s, tea rooms proliferated throughout the country, offering cream tea with scones, cucumber sandwiches and a variety of pastries in a hushed, British atmosphere. From the 1990s onwards, coffee - which was generally just hot water and instant coffee - saw a spectacular increase in consumption. New Zealanders gradually developed a passion for strong coffees and espressos, as consumed in Southern Europe and Italy in particular.

For over half a century after the First World War, the compulsory 6 p.m. closing of pubs restricted beer-lovers to a meagre half-hour of short but intense after-work relaxation. The abolition of this law in 1967 transformed the predominantly male atmosphere of these pubs into a friendly, pleasant place. In 1999, the minimum drinking age was lowered to 18. Many beers are produced locally, especially on the South Island: Speights, Steinlager, Monteights, Macs and Tui are the best-known. But many microbreweries offer their own concoctions, and many other lesser-known brands can be tasted throughout the country.

Many of New Zealand's vineyards are now internationally renowned. Wine production, relatively modest until the 1970s, reached 329 million liters in 2020, making the country the world's fifteenth-largest wine producer and seventh-largest wine exporter. The Marlborough, Hawke's Bay and Gisborne regions dominate the country's wine industry. Marlborough is famous for its sauvignon blanc, Gisborne for its chardonnay, while Central Otago and Martinborough are known for pinot noir and pinot gris. Hawkes Bay is famous for its Cabernets.