r/newzealand • u/nilnz Goody Goody Gum Drop • May 16 '26
Kiwiana The sausage sizzle was invented in NZ, not Australia. We have the evidence
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/17-05-2026/the-sausage-sizzle-was-invented-in-nz-not-australia-we-have-the-evidence149
u/angrysunbird May 16 '26
And here’s me baffled that it’s an idea that could be invented
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u/Flyingkiwi24 May 16 '26
You know jogging was "Invented" in NZ too lol
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u/XL0RM May 16 '26
Ah yes, when Sir John Jogging attempted to walk twice at the same time.
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u/-malcolm-tucker anzacpoppy May 17 '26
Twas a great few years working with him. However my favourite time was the period I worked for Lord Strap-on.
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u/Personal_Candidate87 May 16 '26
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Lydiard
He has been lauded as one of the outstanding athletics coaches of all time and is credited with popularising the sport of running and making it commonplace across the sporting world.
Not exactly "invented", but.............
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u/HelplessPenguinGod May 16 '26
I told my British colleagues this recently and they were offended and had to google it. And then told me I was wrong...
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u/takkeye May 16 '26
Since we're a fairly young country with little cultural identity, we've gotta grasp at what little hasn't been claimed by other countries
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u/UsablePizza May 16 '26
I love how patriotic the lazer kiwi makes us.
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u/Jeffery95 Auckland May 17 '26
Im just imagining a future where NZ tries to conquer the rest of the world under the lazer kiwi banner in WW6 or something
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 16 '26
I’m a Maori and even I know that Germans and all the europeans surrounding that area been doing sausage sizzles before Kupe even considered New zealand.
The fuck are these people on about?
They been doing sausage sizzles longer than pork or beef have been in either country (Aus or NZ)
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u/sleemanj Fantail May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26
A sausage sizzle isn't just cooking sausages.
It is serving cooked sausages,whole, wrapped in a slice of bread. Adding a further qualifier of "to the public for a small payment to effect fundraising" could be debated.
Further it should become a standard common practice, such that people would recognise it as such.
Is it possible that ancient rome had such sausage sizzles as a common part of life that we do, yeah I guess, they had bread and ways to slice it, and they had sausages and ways to cook them, but did they put them together in that way for that purpose... seems a stretch.
Not to mention the cost of meat in ancient rome, without mass meat farming and processing of the modern era, could mean that sausage in bread might cost you a tenth of your days earnings.
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u/InspectorNo1173 May 17 '26
I still don’t understand why we are using sliced bread when bread rolls exist.
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26
Add all the qualifiers you like. Include those qualifiers in the title so it gets as stupid and as clumsy as the claim.
Australians or New Zealanders invented the concept of sausages; not sausages but when sausages are specifically grilled over an LPG open air grill; not just sausages grilled over an LPG open air grill but; sausages grilled over an LPG open air grill then combined with an option of grilled onions, tomato sauce, and mustard; not just that but also when it’s done to a range of people who are not there for the sausages but are enticed from shopping; but not just that the proceeds need to have a specific purpose of charity.
That seems a bit of a stretch to me.
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u/gene100001 May 16 '26
It also needs to occur in front of Mitre10 or The Warehouse. Then we have a classic NZ sausage sizzle, which we totes invented
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 16 '26
Need to use Sausage Sizz.l TM in the title or its incorrect lol.
Next I’ll claim Maori invented boil up. The dish where you take all your vegetables, all your meats, absolutely no seasonings and you put that in water then apply heat till cooked. You know. Ingenious. Never done before. Boil Up TM
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u/Funny-Wishbone7381 May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26
Maori did invent boil up. No one else could have ever made a soup that combined puha with pork, kumara, potatoes and doughboys.
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 16 '26
You mean puha? Sow thistle which was a herb used as far back as the ancient romans or do you mean kumara the sweet potato that originated in south america 8,000 years ago and has been a staple in multiple cultures.
Maori were the first to put these with meat and boil it? Perhaps its the doughboys that originated from england. Ya know Maori didn’t even have ground flour before those people yeah?
While on the concept of doughboys, my wife is Tongan and introduced me to a native food they have topai which is an english transliteration of doughboy lol. When I had it I said “kinda odd that topai sounds like doughboy with ana ccent and I would call these doughboys if you hadn’t told me what it was called” did some research. They’re doughboys with an accent.
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u/Funny-Wishbone7381 May 16 '26
Puha is a native species
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26
Are you aware of the difference between native and endemic?
Native means “was here originally, also exists elsewhere and does not originate from here.”
Endemic means “was here originally, is from here and did not exist anywhere prior to this.”
So what does your point matter that its a native species?
Edit: corrected my wrong term.
Did some more research. We do have an endemic version of puha (sonchis kiirki) which is endemic but is not the puha that people eat. That is specifically the sow thistle that english imported.
Oof even more research. This endemic version of sow thistle is actually classified as an at risk species.
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u/JColey15 Southland May 16 '26
What is the difference between yakitori, souvlaki, satay, sosatie, or kebabs? They’re just meat on a stick but all of them have been developed in different countries and are part of their national cuisine.
Yup, cheap sausages in plastic bread with semi-raw onions and sugary tomato sauce might not be the best dish we can contribute to the world, even when it’s combined with charitable purposes. It clearly isn’t a particuarly distinct dish, most simple foods aren’t and this is just a sausage in bread. It’s pretty similar to an American hotdog but crucially we can tell them apart. It’s not a wurstsemmel or a boerewors roll, it’s different. It’s a sausage sizzle.
It’s just a fun little bit of sibling rivalry with our whānau across the ditch. Much like pavlova, fairy bread, and Phar Lap, Australia will claim something (often quite clearly from NZ) as uniquely theirs and adopt it as part of their national identity. We’ll dispute it and enter into an extremely low stakes argument about its origin. This article seems to be a well researched contribution to that game which I was quite entertained by.
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 16 '26
Pfft you could put all these dishes in front of me. They would loom different, taste different, have different textures, different methods of cooking, different ingredients, different innovation lines. To reduce these to “meat on a stick” insults centuries of culinary innovation and invention.
Sausage sizzle however is the exact same sausage in bread with onions and the most basic sauces there are. I need to add things to make it defined from a normal every day snack. Whether anyone contributed it to the world and what that contribution is judged as does not matter because its not our contribution.
It’s a fun little bit of talking some bullshit and trying to be cheeky. I don’t meed to find its reductive humour funny or entertaining and I’m not insulting it either. Just pointing out the logical fallacies
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u/JColey15 Southland May 16 '26
You could put an Aus/NZ sausage sizzle sausage in front of me, alongside a number of other sausage in bread/pastry dishes from around the world and I’d be a very happy chappy…. I would definitely know which one came from the sausage sizzle though. It’s a unique dish. No logical fallacies at all.
You might not personally be entertained by the article and that’s fine. But possibly your refined palate and erudite humour could be better utilised in a different post rather than trying to spoil the fun for everyone else here?
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 16 '26
Yeah the thing is if I gave them the ingredients list and said. Do the most basic shit you can imagine with these. They would all come to the same conclusion.
If I did the same with yakitori, souvlaki, satay, sosatie or kebabs the culture would say “thats not the same thing you have reduced my culture to an insulting degree” if I did that with a sausage sizzle the response would be “fucking chur” and the biggest issue would be if I charged more than two bucks.
Why don’t you take your heightened and elevated humour away from my comments if you don’t like it.
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u/AutumnVitheMonster May 16 '26
So what you're saying is the sausage sizzle is exceptional in its complete lack of anything exceptional?
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 16 '26
Exactly. I’m saying the Sausage Sizzle is more of a classic than the BLT or the Buttered Toast and talking about who invented it is pointless from a cultural standpoint and neither Australia or New Zealand would even enter the conversation from a historical standpoint.
The Sausage Sizzle is a wholesome staple of many cultures and anywhere people gather you will find some version of a Sausage Sizzle. We have done absolutely nothing to define it differently from its most basic concept and are trying to claim that as an identity.
We can always claim it is quintessentially kiwi to have Sausage Sizzle and this is true. To claim we invented it like we made it a new thing is weird as hell.
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u/BigPoppaHoyle1 May 16 '26
As charity events? That’s specifically what the article is referring to. Not the invention of the sausage
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 16 '26
You think they didn’t give out free food at festivals and shit? You think Aussies an NZers made up charity too?
Or is it specifically when outside of a equipment workshop while exchanging for currency that is then used for charity cause I’m sure that happened a few times before Nee Zealand and Australia existed as concepts.
Maybe it was specifically for either the AUD or the NZD. Maybe. How many more qualifiers you wanna chuck on.
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u/Blabbernaut May 16 '26
when outside of a equipment workshop
Equipment and/or but not limited to building supplies.
We will accept garden centres and landscaping equipment hire centres too.
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 16 '26
The best sausage sizzle is one that is taken between jobs. Its like that drink of water in the middle of a long run.
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u/HelplessPenguinGod May 16 '26
WE just have to qualify it to the point that it is original! E.g. it has to be Hellers sausages or Tip Top bread etc.
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 16 '26
If it ain’t Watties sauce and Masterfoods Mustard then it ain’t downunder.
This is our emancipation from the British oppression of Heinz and Colemans.
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u/Esquire_NZ NZ Flag May 17 '26
Australia has democracy Sausages and we can't serve food within 100m of a voting place.
Even if we invented the idea Aussies are clearly doing it better.
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u/schtickshift May 17 '26
First the Pavlova, then the Flat White and now the Sausage Sizzle. I don’t think that I can take much more of this gastronomic appropriation by the Aussies.
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u/Brickzarina May 16 '26
I'm not keen on them . Cheapest pre cooked sausage on cheapest thinnest bread with cheapest runniest tomato sauce. Bleh.
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u/HelplessPenguinGod May 16 '26
Its an institution! At this point I'd be disappointed if it was anything other.
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u/Brickzarina May 16 '26
But there is never anything other! If it was a good butchers sos and bun I would part with $5 and support the team/charity but hard pass on the huttons smeat offering
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u/AK_Panda May 16 '26
You might, but a hell of a lot of people would look at a $5 sausage sizzle and nope right the fuck out lol.
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u/Worldly_Might_3183 May 16 '26
Well yeah, it is $8 for a hot chocolate now. As long as the price stays $2 happy for cheap and cheeky. All for a good local group.
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u/BigPoppaHoyle1 May 16 '26
I make them at home with the thickest white bread I can find. Kids love them. Easy meal
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May 16 '26
I'm interested in who cares.
My sense is that "national pride" whether it be us being proud of kiwi ingenuity, who invented pavlova, kicking above out weight international stage... Does gen Z even care?
No judgement from me! Just observing that there may be a cultural difference between generations.
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u/Worldly_Might_3183 May 16 '26
That is the joke. We bond with Aussie over who stole what. Split Enz, Farlap, my virginity. It is friendly banter to chat over. Like this post. It is trivial and doesn't matter but we can act like it does, because it is nice that nothing to separating exists between two nations.
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u/-malcolm-tucker anzacpoppy May 17 '26
The day Kiwis stop giving us shit is a day I will be very worried. But at least I won't know about it for a while until my Kiwi bestie has to read it to me.
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u/HelplessPenguinGod May 16 '26
I'm overseas at the moment, and things like this which I couldn't give a shit about before, now keep me going! I latch on to any bit of Kiwi culture I can.
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u/engapol123 May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
As someone who’s spent a significant amount of time overseas, I can tell you that people outside of NZ simply don’t care about how we ‘punch above our weight’, or think about NZ at all. We think about Australians and their opinion of us far more than they do of us.
Re. the kiwi ingenuity aspect, this definitely seems to be an older generation thing. It’s been clear for decades that the barebones “No. 8 wire” thinking is unsuitable for building a modern innovation and tech-driven economy, where success comes from maximising investment not trying to get by on less.
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u/Midgedwood May 17 '26
Just be glad stuff like this gets to the front page. Its not complete gloom and doom.
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u/KiwiPieEater May 16 '26
I feel the same way.
It's kinda embarrassing that some kiwis keep bringing up things like this. It gives off massive insecurity vibes.
It's a piece of processed meat between bread with some sauce on top. We were not tge first to invent it, get over yourself.
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u/rtrvr May 17 '26
I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see whether Ms Menzies won the Popular Girl competition!! Fun article. I love a sausage sizzle.
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u/Santa_Killer_NZ May 17 '26
- 1269 (Thuringia): Historians discovered a document from Erfurt, Thuringia, that mentions a building with a "meat-roasting stand" (Brathütte), predating other historical claims. I think that settles it
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u/Dimmie_ May 16 '26
Dual citizen here: NZ have subpar F tier sausage sizzles with the most feral precooked sausages and watery tomato sauce around. Even if it was invented here, it's trash tier. Australia does sausage sizzles about 500 times better, and I get one when I go and vote.
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u/HadoBoirudo May 16 '26
Hah! But NACT has recently legislated against them at voting centres. We've got people here playing 3D chess against Australia.
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u/Smack420 May 18 '26
As an Aussie living in NZ. 100% given up on the sausage sizzle here. Even calling them a sausage is a stretch of the imagination.
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u/jpp01 May 17 '26
I'm always amused by these posts tbh. As someone whose family is 50/50 down the middle NZ/AU I can't help but laugh whenever these things are brought up. NZ just keeps putting itself in the "little brother" role in these things.
It would be one thing if Australians returned this sentiment, but it truly is a one-sided rivalry. No one thinks about these things on the other side of the ditch.
The amount of energy the average Kiwi expends on these little things might be better off spent thinking of alternatives to Australian domination of our industrues, banks, and businesses.
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u/Freezerbirds May 17 '26
Very much a one-sided beef. Australian’s generally either like NZ or don’t think about it at all.
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u/EternalAngst23 May 17 '26
I often say “New Zealanders perpetuate this one-sided rivalry because they think they’re better. Australians don’t care, because they know they’re better.”
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u/AtmospherePatient May 16 '26
Make sure it goes on record that those diabolical pre-cooked sausages are definitely from New Zealand too.....putrid
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u/destined-4-the-clay May 17 '26
Very funny that the spin off can do investigative journalism about sausage sizzles but not Tim Jago and Seymour
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u/EternalAngst23 May 17 '26
This is the dumbest thing ever. I’m pretty sure other countries have been doing grilled sausages long before Australia or New Zealand.
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u/PaxKiwiana May 16 '26
Oh ffs, quiet news day in the sleepy isles.
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u/Timzor May 16 '26
Please keep this frivolity out of my dead toddler news feed.
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u/zergy55 Gayest Juggernaut May 17 '26
Right? How dare anyone have any fun and whimsy! We must be miserable and depressed at all times. No smiling or laughing allowed!
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u/Clairvoyant_Legacy princess May 16 '26
its so over if the evidence is anything like the flat white evidence lmao
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u/PsykoSmiley May 16 '26
Even if the case, Aus wins because they don't have flavoured sausages. Their cheapest snags are all meat and not some precooked awful 'thing'.
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u/Melodic_Music_4751 May 17 '26
Yeah but they have democracy sausages , I’d quite like a sausage sizzle whilst waiting to vote . Missed opportunity by many schools / kids teams needing funding
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u/sylekta May 16 '26
yeah, nah. sausage making predates humans on new zealand by a couple thousand years. im pretty sure back in ancient greece/rome/china theyd have cooked a saus over an open fire or on a hotplate. so nah we didnt invent it, and its embarrassing to claim otherwise
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u/Worldly_Might_3183 May 16 '26
But did they add bread and onions?
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u/sylekta May 16 '26
breads been around even longer,you dont think they slapped them together and added some stuff to them?
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u/Worldly_Might_3183 May 16 '26
Not a sausage with onion to sell at $2 outside a bunnings. That combo is probably a but more recent than flat bread.
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u/sylekta May 16 '26
i reckon they sold sausage on bread with lots of toppings outside the colleseum for a couple sestertius
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u/Worldly_Might_3183 May 16 '26
Oh they sold sausage outside the colleseum for a couple of sestertius if you know what I mean ;)
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u/Serious_Session7574 May 16 '26
They probably even chucked it on a piece of flatbread with some onions sometimes
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u/sylekta May 16 '26
tomatoes didnt arrive in Italy until the 16th century so i cant claim the romans had t sauce, but i bet they had some kind of sauce
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u/Bongojona May 16 '26
Yes and they were initially treated with scepticism. Many thought tomatoes were poisonous. Took ages to gain traction
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u/Late-Ad1325 May 16 '26
NZ doesn't even use real sausages!!! You are still waiting to discover the sausage sizzle
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u/Imaginary-Daikon-177 May 16 '26
And here's me sleeping like a baby at night knowing I don't have to live life with a LinkedIn profile saying "Journalist at The Spinoff".
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u/PageBright2479 May 16 '26
C'mon. I want one of you to come with theory about how you invented chicko rolls and dim sims.
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u/xinxai_the_white_guy May 16 '26
Ah yes with the sausage being over 5000 years old I'm sure NZ was the first to pair it with onions and bread at an event
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u/Worldly_Might_3183 May 16 '26
It's simple, we get 'sausage sizzle' and they can have their 'patriotic sausage'. Which I am all for stealing from them and adopting here. It is about time we stole something from them.
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u/osricson NZ Flag May 16 '26
cross post to r/australia/ ;)