Australia's dairy industry began with a few cows brought in on the First Fleet in 1788, which escaped for a while and were later depicted in Dharawal cave drawings. Today, increased awareness of the environmental impact of cattle methane emissions is driving a shift toward more sustainable dietary choices, while Australia’s multicultural diet has led to the emergence of coconut lychee gelato, vegan cheese and ghee with native ingredients.

This episode features certified food judge and travel writer, Mike Butler; head chef Ahana Dutt; and head chef/owner of Gelato Messina, Donato Toce. A special thanks to Dairy Australia; the National Film and Sound Archive; Nestlé; Peters Ice Cream; and the Tasmanian Archives.

This episode was inspired by items from the Powerhouse Collection including a horse-drawn Dairy Farmers cart; photos of Peters Ice Cream vans; and wallpaper fragments removed from Parramatta Park Dairy.

Culinary Archive Podcast is a Powerhouse series hosted by Lee Tran Lam. Listen to season 1 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.

Image: Alana Dimou

Join food journalist Lee Tran Lam to explore Australia’s foodways. Leading Australian food producers and creatives reveal the complex stories behind ingredients that can be found in contemporary kitchens across Australia – Milk, Eel, Honey, Mushrooms, Wine and Seaweed.

Listen to season 1 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Image: Alana Dimou

Contributing editor Lee Tran Lam is a freelance journalist who has worked with The Sydney Morning Herald, Gourmet Traveller, The Guardian, SBS Food, FBi Radio, Eater and Turkish Vogue. In 2012, she started The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry podcast, which has been recommended by Bon Appétit, Broadsheet and Concrete Playground; her recent Should You Really Eat That? podcast for SBS also received positive media coverage. As co-founder of Diversity In Food Media Australia, she edited the New Voices On Food books, which showcased under-represented communities and their food stories.  She was named a Future Shaper by Time Out Sydney.

In 1770, naturalists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander reportedly saw wild soybeans in Botany Bay. The following century, the Japanese government sent soybeans to Australia as a gift. Thanks to Chinese miners in the 1800s, tofu was most probably part of gold rush diets, but it wasn’t until just a few decades ago – with the growing vegetarian movement, waves of migration and people asking for soy in their coffee – that the soybean became part of everyday lives. Cult tofu shops, local brewers making soy sauce, artisan tempeh makers and the blockbuster growth of meat substitutes reflect the changing fortunes of the soybean; a versatile ingredient that has also been used in plastics and cars.

This episode features Darwin Su, chef and founder of Ferments Lab; Shannon Martinez, chef and owner of Smith & Daughters and Smith & Deli; Sava Goto, chef and owner of Tofu Shoten; and Topher Boehm, brewer and co-founder at Wildflower Beer.

Image: Alana Dimou.