Devon is a type of manufactured meat product sold in Australia. It is also referred to as "Polony" in Western Australia, "Luncheon" in Queensland, "Fritz" in South Australia and "Strasbourg" or "Stras" in Victoria. Devon would be classed as "Luncheon Meat" in the UK. It is similar in appearance and taste to bologna sausage. Originally known in some parts of Australia as "German sausage", this name fell out of favour during World War I when Australia was at war with Germany. Gelbwurst, a Bavarian sausage, is also very similar to devon which would account for it being known as German sausage. It is usually composed of several types of pork, basic spices, and a binder, and is considered by pop culture to be a low quality meat substitute. Typical commercial preparations list the major ingredient as "Meat including Pork". One popular brand, Primo, uses the same ingredient list for both Luncheon and Veal German, with the exception being the addition of red wine powder to the latter, which doubles the retail price of the product. Whether this is an accurate reflection of the proportional cost of ingredients or not is unknown. Devon is usually served in a sandwich, often with tomato sauce. Devon can also be fried in slices.
Literary references
In Cloudstreet, Tim Winton writes: "I wouldn’t have wasted pork on this family, said Lester with a creasyfaced wink. Slice of polony, maybe."
