FOMENTING FERMENT

I must confess to experiencing a slight feeling of ferment when I read in the Food column (“In a ferment”, December 22) that “New Zealand is a young country without the long food heritage of European or Asian nations”.

New Zealand has a very long food heritage. It arrived from Britain in the early 19th century, served a growing nation

well, and although it began to be affected in the late 20th century by influences from the Asia-Pacific region, its British origins remain a core part of New Zealanders’ everyday dining.

As distinguished food scholars like Rachel Laudan also point out, New Zealand cuisine is impressive: it represents one of the farthest geographic leaps that a food tradition has ever made. It is also impressive in its lineage of English, Scottish and, in the background, French culinary traditions. Many of the recipes we use today are centuries old.

I find it strange that New Zealand’s mainstream food tradition is not more celebrated than it is and I can only think this is because it is not fashionable to do so. When I ask food pundits what they think New Zealand food is, they can often only reply that it is “fresh”, “based on great ingredients” and “flavoursome”. To paraphrase Edmund Burke: those who turn their back on history are doomed to repeat platitudes. John Corbett (Epsom, Auckland)