November 2023
I had occasion lately to bring up the subject of tripe with my coffee-and-dog-walking crew – I’d recently seen the bible/book version of it in a Chinese butchery. I asked had any of the crew ever eaten tripe and did they like it? The reaction from them generally was revulsion based on their experiences of eating it as a child. I asked how it was cooked and the description was much like this:
TRIPE—SCOTTISH RECIPE (1926)
The desired quantity of tripe, 2 or 3 onions, about 1 pint milk, a little flour, some butter, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Wash and simmer the tripe for a few minutes (it has already been cooked) and cut it into convenient pieces. Cut the onions small and steam them till soft in butter. Make a thickening of flour and milk, add seasoning and parsley, and stir one way over the gas until it boils. Add the tripe and some of the liquor in which it simmered, and the onions. Simmer all gently for about ten minutes, adding more milk if necessary.
I wondered whether the tripe story in Australian cuisine was indeed as monotoned as was experienced by my cohort. I should make it clear that the Australia I am talking about is broadly speaking Anglo Australian. I touch briefly on the absence of recipes from other cultural cuisine in toward the end of this article.
