17 Jul Messy Little World Tour: Australian Snack Taste Test – From Tim Tams to Vegemite, We Tried It All!
We love to immerse ourselves into whatever subject we’re learning about at Messy Little Homeschool. One of my favorite ways to extend our studies is by using food. If you have kids like mine, you know that snacks are the way to their hearts, and I can just slip the learning in there, while their mouth are full! Using treats as our textbooks, let me show you what we ate on our culinary journey around the continent of Australia.
You know those moments when a simple idea turns into a full-blown adventure? That’s exactly what happened when we decided to explore Australian culture. Armed with finds from World Market,The Australian Food Shop, and Amazon, we embarked on what turned out to be quite the flavor journey! Two seven-year-olds have nothing but honest opinions. We decided to rate everything on a scale of 1-5, though somewhere along the way one of them declared “S for Fantastic” was even better than a 5, and honestly, who am I to argue with that logic?
The Chocolate Champions (Because we might as well start with the crowd pleasers!)
* Tim Tams came in strong with both Dark Mint and Original varieties. The mint version earned a solid 4/5, with the consensus being “It tastes like a Girl Scout cookie!” (High praise!)
* Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramello Koala made its adorable appearance, after you embrace the mess of the caramel, who can resist a chocolate shaped like the cutest Australian animal known to man?!
* Old Gold Rich Dark Chocolate with Cherries and Coconut was a surprise hit with the kids. “It’s like a cherry-flavored Mounds bar!” was the consensus, to my horror, and to their delight.
* Kit Kat Gooey Caramel showed us that other countries get all the fun Kit Kat flavors
The Savory Sensations
* Cheezels earned our highest honor… drum-roll please… “S for Fantastic!” I could eat a whole bag, no problem.
* Arnott’s Shapes came in two varieties:
– Original Pizza Flavor, reminded me of Combos.
– Mini Chicken Crimpy, still have no idea what that flavor was supposed to taste like, but it kind of tasted like the pizza favor and was good!
* Twisties Cheese were like Australian Cheetos, think boomerang-shaped cheese puffs.
The Cracker Corner
* Cranberry and Pumpkin Seed crackers & Almond and Fig crackers, mixed reviews from me and kids, butI thought that both paired very tastily with the Australian cheese we tried.
The Candy Collection
* Soft Licorice All Sorts in original flavor, basically flavored black licorice, so if black licorice is your thing, you’re in!
* Violet Crumble (honeycomb covered in chocolate – “It’s the way it shatters that matters!”) The weirdest snack of the day (in my opinion!) with a lingering burnt honey flavor… not our favorite.
* Minties, think Mentos without the shell, nothing wrong with that!
* Eclairs, soft caramel candies that were “like a soft Werther’s.”
* Darryl Lea Fabulous Sour Candy Mix… I mean who does’t love a slightly sour gummy?
The Vegemite Moment
Oh, Vegemite. Where to begin? Let’s just say it earned a solid 1/5 and prompted some interesting facial expressions! If you’re not familiar, Vegemite is this dark spread that Australians apparently love. As one twin described it, “It tastes like soy sauce and mint!” followed by a desperate reach for water. But you know what? We learned that some foods are definitely an acquired taste! And it lead to a great discussion about how different cultures develop different tastes and we never yuck someone else’s yum… at least not in front of them!
The Sweet & Savory Hit
The unexpected star of the show? Lingonberry sauce paired with Australian cheese on crackers. This combination earned a full five stars and had everyone reaching for seconds.
Want to see the full taste-testing adventure in action? Check out our video where you can watch all the real-time reactions!
The Educational Takeaway (Because There’s Always One)
This wasn’t just a snack session; it was a full sensory exploration of Australian culture. Between bites, we discussed:
- Geography: Where these snacks came from and finding Australia on the globe.
- Cultural Appreciation: Why certain flavors are popular in Australia? How different each thing was from our usual snacks.
- Math: Rating systems and averaging scores.
- And possibly most important! How being brave enough to try different things can lead to discovering new favorites!
The verdict? While not everything was a hit (looking at you, Vegemite), this messy, giggly taste-testing adventure proved once again that learning happens everywhere – especially in the kitchen with curious minds! This is what learning can look like – messy, unexpected, and absolutely perfect in its imperfection. Ending with a table covered in various crumbs and wrappers.
I hope this inspires you to grab something unfamiliar next time you’re at the store to spark your own tastebud led learning adventure. Just maybe skip the Vegemite… unless you’re feeling particularly adventurous.
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