Masters spearmint milk, conti roll and long mac topped up among list of top food and drink unique to WA

To some, Australian cuisine is defined by the likes of Vegemite, Arnott’s Shapes, Tim Tams, and a weekend Bunnings snag — foods and flavours that with very few exceptions you can only find here.

Likewise, Western Australia also has its own unique culinary identity, with a range of tastes popularised only in the west.

From green spearmint milk to a fried egg in your late-night kebab, WA has plenty of iconic foods and drinks you won’t find anywhere else — and might leave some outsiders scratching their heads.

“Iconic WA products are not necessary about making profit but making a true connection to the region,” Curtin University food marketing expert Min Teah said.

“For example Master’s spearmint milk, it’s West Australia born and it’s also only distributed in Western Australia. It’s unique.

“Then you also have Kirk’s Kole Beer. It wasn’t Kirks before. When it first started, it was by a company called Gest. So it was a small homegrown brand that was sold and through mergers and acquisition.

“These drinks have so much familiarity for Western Australians growing up with it, it’s part of so many people’s lives, its nostalgic.

“People embrace and cherish local creations and then suddenly it just becomes a true icon because you will find it everywhere in WA but nowhere else around the world, it’s truly ours.”

The Sunday Times has compiled a list of some of our State’s iconic food and drink gems that prove WA does things a little different.

It’s green, it’s minty, and if you didn’t grow up a Sandgroper, it probably leaves you a little baffled as a flavour combination.

First launched by Masters in 1964, this iconic flavoured milk has spent more than five decades as an undisputed local legend and school lunch special.

“Masters Spearmint Milk is one of those iconic Western Australian products that generations of locals have grown up with,” Masters Milk senior brand manager Zabean Bhanji said.

“For decades, it has been a canteen staple, an after-sport treat and a much-loved favourite, cementing its place in the State’s culture.

“While the rest of Australia might not quite understand the appeal of green milk, Western Australians certainly do.