Country or region | Australia |
---|---|
Ethnic group | Indigenous Australians |
Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and historically eaten by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora, fauna, or fungi used for culinary or medicinal purposes, regardless of the continent or culture. Animal native foods include kangaroo, emu, witchetty grubs and crocodile, and plant foods include fruits such as quandong, kutjera, spices such as lemon myrtle and vegetables such as warrigal greens and various native yams.
Traditional Indigenous Australians' use of bushfoods has been severely affected by the colonisation of Australia in 1788 and subsequent settlement by non-Indigenous peoples. The introduction of non-native organisms, together with the loss of and destruction of traditional lands and habitats, has resulted in reduced access to native foods by Aboriginal people.
Since the 1970s, there has been recognition of the nutritional and gourmet value of native foods by non-Indigenous Australians, and the bushfood industry has grown enormously. Kangaroo meat has been available in supermarkets since the 1980s, and many other foods are sold in restaurants or packaged as gourmet foods, which has led to expansion of commercial cultivation of native food crops.
Aboriginal Australians have eaten native animal and plant foods for the estimated 60,000 years of human habitation on the Australian continent, using various traditional methods of processing and cooking. [1] An estimated 5,000 species of native food were used by Aboriginal peoples. With much of it unsafe or unpalatable raw, food was processed by cooking on open fires, boiling in bark containers, pounding vegetables and seeds, or hanging bags in running water. [2]
Bush tucker provided a source of nutrition to the non-indigenous colonial settlers, often supplementing meagre rations. However, bushfoods were often considered to be inferior by colonists unfamiliar with Australia, generally preferring familiar foods from their homelands. [3] [4] [5]
Especially in the more densely colonised areas of south-eastern Australia, the introduction of non-native foods to Aboriginal people resulted in an almost complete abandonment of native foods by them. [2] This impact on traditional foods was further accentuated by the loss of traditional lands, which has resulted in reduced access to native foods by Aboriginal people, and destruction of native habitat for agriculture. [2]
The 19th century English botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker, writing of Australian plants, remarked that although bushtucker is "eatable," it is not "fit to eat". In 1889, botanist Joseph Maiden reiterated this sentiment with the comment on native food plants being "nothing to boast of as eatables." [6] The first monograph to be published on the flora of Australia reported the lack of edible plants on the first page, where it presented Billardiera scandens as, "... almost the only wild eatable fruit of the country". [7]
Apart from the macadamia nut, with the first small-scale commercial plantation being planted in Australia in the 1880s, no native food plants were produced commercially until the 1990s. The macadamia was the only Australian native plant food developed and cropped on a large scale. [2] Hawaii, however, was where the macadamia was commercially developed to its greatest extent. [8]
From the 1970s, non-Indigenous Australians began to recognise previously overlooked native Australian foods. Textbooks such as Wildfoods in Australia (1981) by botanists Alan and Joan Cribb [9] were popular. In the late 1970s, horticulturists started to assess native food-plants for commercial use and cultivation.
In 1980, South Australia legalised the sale of kangaroo meat for human consumption, [10] and it is now commonly found in supermarkets and prized for its nutritional value as a lean meat. [2] Analysis shows that a variety of bushfoods are exceptionally nutritious. [10] In the mid-1980s, several Sydney restaurants began using native Australian ingredients in recipes more familiar to non-Indigenous tastes, providing the first opportunity for bushfoods to be tried by non-Indigenous Australians on a gourmet level.
Following popular TV programs on "bush tucker", a surge in interest in the late 1980s saw the publication of books like Bushfood: Aboriginal Food and Herbal Medicine by Jennifer Isaacs, The Bushfood Handbook and Uniquely Australian by Vic Cherikoff, and Wild Food Plants of Australia by Tim Low. [10]
An advantage of growing the native foods is that they are well adapted to Australia's environment, in particular at the extreme ends, and are ecologically sound. [2] Bush-tucker ingredients were initially harvested from the wild, but cultivated sources have become increasingly important to provide sustainable supplies for a growing market, with some Aboriginal communities also involved in the supply chain. However, despite the industry being founded on Aboriginal knowledge of the plants, Aboriginal participation in the commercial sale of bush tucker is currently still marginal, and mostly at the supply end of value chains. Organisations are working to increase Aboriginal participation in the bush-tucker market. Gourmet-style processed food and dried food have been developed for the domestic and export markets.[ citation needed ]
The term "bushfood" is one of several terms describing native Australian food, evolving from the older-style "bush tucker" which was used in the 1970s and 1980s.[ citation needed ]
In the 21st century, many restaurants are serving emu, crocodile, yabbies and locally sourced eels, and using native plant spices for flavour. Producers have sprung up across the country to serve the new markets, including Tasmanian pepper, Victorian eel farms and South Australian plantations of quandongs, bush tomatoes, and native citrus. [2]
In 2020, researchers at the University of Queensland were researching a fruit native to Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Buchanania obovata , known as the green plum. Eaten for more than 53,000 years but previously little-known among non-Indigenous people, the scientists learnt about the plum from people at the remote community of Yirrkala. It is harvested some time after the Kakadu plum harvests. Nutritional analysis showed high levels of protein, dietary fibre and the minerals potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. In addition, the folate level is among the highest of commercially available fruits. Its potential as a commercial crop for Indigenous communities is being investigated. [11]
Toxic seeds, such as Cycas media and Moreton Bay chestnut are processed to remove the toxins and render them safe to eat. Many foods are also baked in the hot campfire coals, or baked for several hours in ground ovens. "Paperbark", the bark of Melaleuca species, is widely used for wrapping food placed in ground ovens. Bush bread was made by women using many types of seeds, nuts and corns to process a flour or dough. Some animals such as kangaroos, were cooked in their own skin and others such as turtles, were cooked in their own shells. [1]
Kangaroo is quite common and can be found in Australian supermarkets, often cheaper than beef. Other animals, for example, jimba (sheep), emu, goanna and witchetty grubs, are eaten by Aboriginal Australians. Fish and shellfish are culinary features of the Australian coastal communities.
Examples of Australian native plant foods include the fruits quandong, kutjera, muntries, riberry, Davidson's plum, and finger lime. Native spices include lemon myrtle, mountain pepper, and the kakadu plum. Various native yams are valued as food, and a popular leafy vegetable is warrigal greens. Nuts include bunya nut, and, the most identifiable bush tucker plant harvested and sold in large-scale commercial quantities, is the macadamia nut. Knowledge of Aboriginal uses of fungi is meagre, but beefsteak fungus and native "bread" (a fungus also) were certainly eaten.
Australian bush tucker plants can be divided into several distinct and large regional culinary provinces. Some species listed grow across several climatic boundaries.
Adansonia gregorii | boab |
Buchanania arborescens | sparrow's mango |
Citrus gracilisrry | |
Ficus racemosa | cluster fig |
Manilkara kauki | wongi |
Melastoma affine | blue tongue |
Mimusops elengi | tanjong |
Morinda citrifolia | great morinda |
Physalis minima | native gooseberry |
Terminalia ferdinandiana | kakadu plum |
Syzygium erythrocalyx | Johnstone's River satinash |
Syzygium fibrosum | fibrous satinash |
Syzygium suborbiculare | lady apple |
Dioscorea alata | purple yam |
Dioscorea bulbifera | round yam |
Dioscorea transversa | pencil yam, long yam |
Eleocharis palustris | spikerush |
Ipomoea aquatica | water spinach |
Nelumbo nucifera | lotus |
Nymphaea macrosperma | water lily |
Cycas media | cycad palm seeds (requires detoxification: see Bush bread ) |
Semecarpus australiensis | Australian cashew |
Terminalia catappa | sea almond |
Eucalyptus staigeriana | lemon ironbark |
Melaleuca leucadendra | weeping paperbark |
Melaleuca viridiflora | kitcha-kontoo |
Ocimum tenuiflorum | native basil |
Arid and semi-arid zones of the low rainfall interior.
Capparis spp. | native caper, caperbush |
Capparis mitchelii | wild orange |
Capparis spinosa subsp. nummularia | wild passionfruit |
Carissa lanceolata | bush plum, conkerberry |
Citrus glauca | desert lime |
Enchylaena tomentosa | ruby saltbush |
Ficus platypoda | desert fig |
Marsdenia australis | doubah, bush banana |
Owenia acidula | emu apple |
Santalum acuminatum | quandong, desert or sweet quandong |
Santalum murrayanum | bitter quandong |
Solanum centrale | akudjura, Australian desert raisin, bush tomato |
Solanum cleistogarnum | bush tomato |
Solanum ellipticum | bush tomato |
Calandrinia balonensis | parakeelya |
Ipomoea costata | bush potato |
Vigna lanceolata | pencil yams |
Lepidium spp. | peppercresses |
Portulaca intraterranea | large pigweed |
Acacia aneura | mulga |
Acacia colei | |
Acacia coriacea | dogwood |
Acacia holosericea | strap wattle |
Acacia kempeana | witchetty bush |
Acacia murrayana | |
Acacia pycnantha | |
Acacia retinodes | |
Acacia tetragonophylla | dead finish seed |
Acacia victoriae | gundabluey, prickly wattle |
Brachychiton populneus | kurrajong |
Panicum decompositum | native millet |
Portulaca oleracea | pigweed |
Triodia spp. | commonly known as spinifex |
Eucalyptus polybractea | blue-leaved mallee |
Subtropical rainforests of New South Wales to the wet tropics of Northern Queensland.
Acronychia acidula | lemon aspen |
Acronychia oblongifolia | white aspen |
Antidesma bunius | Herbet River cherry |
Archirhodomyrtus beckleri | rose myrtle |
Austromyrtus dulcis | midyim |
Carpobrotus glaucescens | pigface |
Citrus australasica | finger lime |
Citrus australis | dooja |
Davidsonia jerseyana | New South Wales Davidson's plum |
Davidsonia johnsonii | smooth davidsonia |
Davidsonia pruriens | North Queensland Davidson's plum |
Diploglottis campbellii | small-leaf tamarind |
Eupomatia laurina | bolwarra |
Ficus coronata | sandpaper fig |
Melodorum leichhardtii | zig zag vine |
Pandanus tectorius | Hala fruit |
Pleiogynium timoriense | Burdekin plum |
Podocarpus elatus | Illawarra plum |
Planchonella australis | black apple |
Rubus moluccanus | broad-leaf bramble |
Rubus probus | Atherton raspberry |
Rubus rosifolius | rose-leaf bramble |
Syzygium australe | brush cherry |
Syzygium luehmannii | riberry |
Syzygium paniculatum | magenta lilly pilly |
Ximenia americana | yellow plum |
Apium prostratum | sea celery |
Commelina cyanea | scurvy weed |
Geitonoplesium cymosum | scrambling lily |
Tetragonia tetragonoides | warrigal greens |
Trachymene incisa | wild parsnip |
Urtica incisa | scrub nettle |
Alpinia caerulea | native ginger |
Backhousia citriodora | lemon myrtle |
Backhousia myrtifolia | cinnamon myrtle |
Backhousia anisata | aniseed myrtle |
Leptospermum liversidgei | lemon tea-tree |
Prostanthera incisa | cut-leaf mintbush, native thyme |
Smilax glyciphylla | sweet sarsaparilla |
Syzygium anisatum | aniseed myrtle |
Tasmannia stipitata | Dorrigo pepper (leaf and pepperberry) |
Araucaria bidwillii | bunya nut |
Athertonia diversifolia | Atherton almond |
Macadamia integrifolia | macadamia nut |
Macadamia tetraphylla | bush nut |
Sterculia quadrifida | peanut tree |
Warm and cool temperate zones of southern Australia, including Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria and the highlands of New South Wales.
Scientific name | Common name | Edible part of plant | Use | Details | Citation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Acacia mearnsii | Black Wattle | Bark | Tea | Bark can be soaked to make a tea, which is claimed to be good for indigestion. | [12] |
Kennedia prostrata | Running Postman | Flower | Garnish | The nectar from the flowers is edible. | [12] |
Lomandra longifolia | Sagg | Flower | Garnish | Young leaves, flowers and seeds are ideal | [12] |
Wahlenbergia multicaulis | Bushy Bluebell | Flower | Garnish | [12] | |
Wahlenbergia stricta | Flower | Garnish | [12] | ||
Xanthorrhoea australis | Grass Tree | Flower | Garnish | The nectar from the flowers is edible. | [12] |
Viola hederacea | Wild Violet | Flower | Salad | The flowers are edible and can be used in salads. | [12] |
Astroloma humifusum | Native Cranberry | Fruit | Fruit | The berries can be consumed, when ripe. | [12] |
Astroloma pinifolium | Pine Heath | Fruit | Fruit | The berries can be consumed, when ripe. | [12] |
Billardiera longiflora | Mountain Blue Berry | Fruit | Fruit | Edible fruit when ripe | [12] |
Billardiera scandens | Apple Dumplings | Fruit | Fruit | The berries can be consumed, when ripe. | [12] |
Coprosma nitida | Mountain Currant | Fruit | Fruit | The berries can be consumed, when ripe. | [12] |
Coprosma quadrifida | Native Currant | Fruit | Fruit | Edible berries – raw or stewed | [12] |
Dianella brevicaulis | Shortstem Flaxlily | Fruit | Fruit | The berries can be consumed, when ripe. | [12] |
Dianella revoluta | Spreading Flaxlily | Fruit | Fruit | The berries can be consumed, when ripe. | [12] |
Dianella tasmanica | Blue Flax Lily | Fruit | Fruit | The berries can be consumed, when ripe. | [12] |
Chenopodium nutans (Syn Einardia nutans, Rhagodia nutans) | Climbing Saltbush | Fruit | Fruit | The fruit can be consumed, when ripe. | [12] |
Solanum laciniatum | Kangaroo Apple | Fruit | Fruit | Only the very ripe fruit is edible....Note: the green fruit is POISONOUS. | [12] |
Tasmannia lanceolata | Native Pepper | Fruit | Fruit | If the berries are dried, they can be consumed. | [12] |
Acmena smithii | Lilly Pilly | Fruit | Jam/compote | Berries can either be eaten raw or made into a jam or compote. | [12] |
Carpobrotus rossii | Native Pigface | Fruit | Jam/compote | The ripe fruit eaten raw or made into a compote. | [12] |
Acacia mearnsii | Black Wattle | Gum | Condiment | [12] | |
Eucalyptus gunnii | Cider Gum | Gum | Condiment | The gum is sweet and edible. | [12] |
Lomandra longifolia | Sagg | Leaf/shoot | Salad | Consume the young leaves | [12] |
Phragmites australis | Common Reed | Leaf/shoot | Salad | [12] | |
Suaeda australis | Seablite | Leaf/shoot | Salad | [12] | |
Tasmannia lanceolata | Native Pepper | Leaf/shoot | Salad | Dry the leaves before consumption. | [12] |
Xanthorrhoea australis | Grass Tree | Leaf/shoot | Salad | The young leaves can be consumed. | [12] |
Ozothamnus obcordatus | Native Thyme | Leaf/shoot | Seasoning | When the leaves are dried, their taste resembled that of thyme. It can be used as a seasoning. | [12] |
Correa alba | White Correa | Leaf/shoot | Tea | The leave may be used to prepare a tea. | [12] |
Hardenbergia violacea | Sarsparilla Vine | Leaf/shoot | Tea | In order to make a tea, the leaves need to be initially boiled, then dried. | [12] |
Kunzea ambigua | White Kunzea | Leaf/shoot | Tea | A refreshing tea can be made from the dried leaves. | [12] |
Atriplex cinerea | Grey Saltbush | Leaf/shoot | Vegetable | In order to remove some of the salt from the leaves, the leaves need to be thoroughly soaked in water. After rinsing, the leaves can be used as a type of vegetable / salad. | [12] |
Tetragonia implexicoma | Bower Spinach | Leaf/shoot | Vegetable | The leaves are edible in both a raw or cooked state. | [12] |
Cycnogeton procerum (formerly Triglochin procera) | Water Ribbons | Leaf/shoot | Vegetable | The leaves are edible in both a raw or cooked state. | [12] |
Typha domingensis | Bulrush | Leaf/shoot | Salad | Consume the young shoots from the plant. | [12] |
Typha orientalis | Broad-leafed Bulrush | Leaf/shoot | Salad | Consume the young shoots from the plant. | [12] |
Arthropodium milleflorum | Vanilla Lily | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | The tubers can be consumed in both a raw or roasted state. | [12] |
Arthropodium strictum | Chocolate Lily | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | The tubers can be consumed in both a raw or roasted state. NOTE: the chocolate scented flowers are NOT edible, however. | [12] |
Bolboschoenus caldwellii | Sea Clubsedge | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | The roots are edible once they have been roasted. | [12] |
Bulbine bulbosa | Golden Rock Lily | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | The bulb of the plant can be consumed after it has been roasted. It is particularly nutritious. | [12] |
Burchardia umbellata | Milk Maids | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | The tuber of the plant can be consumed once it has been roasted. | [12] |
Clematis aristata | Travellers Joy | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | Once the taproot has been roasted, it is edible. | [12] |
Clematis microphylla | Small Leaf Clematis | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | Once the taproot has been roasted, it is edible. | [12] |
Convolvulus angustissimus | Pink Moonflower | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | Once the taproot has been roasted, it is edible. | [12] |
Eleocharis sphacelata | Tall Rush Spike | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | The roots are edible | [12] |
Geranium solanderi | Southern cranesbill | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | Once the taproot has been roasted, it is edible. | [12] |
Microseris walteri | Yam Daisy, Murnong | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | The tubers can be consumed in both a raw or roasted state. | [12] |
Phragmites australis | Common Reed | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | [12] | |
Xanthorrhoea australis | Grass Tree | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | The young roots are edible | [12] |
Typha domingensis | Bulrush | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | [12] | |
Typha orientalis | Broad-leafed Bulrush | Root/tuber/bulb | Vegetable | [12] | |
Dodonaea viscosa | Native Hop | Seed | Alcohol | Seeds can be used instead of hops to brew beer | [12] |
Acacia melanoxylon | Blackwood | Seed | Nuts | [12] | |
Acacia retinodes | Wirilda | Seed | Nuts | Both the seeds and green pods can be consumed. | [12] |
Acacia sophorae | Boobyalla/Coast Wattle | Seed | Nuts | The seeds can be consumed in both the raw or roasted state. | [12] |
Brachychiton populneus | Kurrajong (Tas prov) | Seed | Nuts | The seeds of this plant are particularly nutritious. The seeds can be consumed in both the raw or roasted state. | [12] |
Lomandra longifolia | Sagg | Seed | Nuts | [12] | |
Phragmites australis | Common Reed | Seed | Nuts | [12] | |
Acacia mearnsii | Black Wattle | Seed | Nuts | [12] | |
Sarcocornia quinqueflora | Samphire or Glasswort | Stem | Fibre | Consumption of the younger stems of the plant is suggested | [12] |
Phragmites australis | Common Reed | Stem | Fibre | [12] |
Acrotriche depressa | native currant |
Billardiera cymosa | sweet apple-berry |
Billardiera longiflora | purple apple-berry |
Billardiera scandens | common apple-berry |
Carpobrotus rossii | karkalla [13] |
Exocarpus cupressiformis | native cherry |
Gaultheria hispida | snow berry |
Kunzea pomifera | muntries |
Rubus parvifolius | pink-flowered native raspberry |
Sambucus gaudichaudiana | white elderberry |
Enchylaena tomentosa | ruby saltbush [14] |
Acacia longifolia | golden rods |
Acacia sophorae | coast wattle (All Acacia seeds can be ground into a bush flour.) |
Eucalyptus dives | peppermint gum |
Eucalyptus olida | strawberry gum |
Eucalyptus globulus | tasmanian blue gum |
Mentha australis | river mint |
Prostanthera rotundifolia | native thyme |
Tasmannia lanceolata | mountain pepper |
Tasmannia stipitata | Dorrigo pepper |
Apium insulare | Flinders Island celery |
Atriplex cinerea | grey saltbush |
Burchardia umbellata | milkmaids |
Eustrephus latifolius | wombat berry |
Microseris walteri | murnong |
Neptune's necklace (the beady seaweed) – the beads are pierced to get rid of the salt water before being cooked [15] |
Warrigal greens – tastes like spinach, pest-resistant and spreads easily |
Coast sword-sedge – the leaf bases can be eaten raw or roasted [16] [17] |
Malcolm Douglas was one of the first TV presenters to show how to 'live off the land' in the Australian Outback. Major Les Hiddins, a retired Australian Army soldier popularised the idea of bush tucker as a food resource. He presented a TV series called The Bush Tucker Man [18] on the ABC TV network in the late 1980s. In the series, Hiddins demonstrated his research for NORFORCE in identifying foods which might sustain or augment army forces in the northern Australian Outback.
Starting in 2002, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! became notorious for its "Bushtucker Trials", some of which involved eating meat-based bush tucker (such as mealworms, locusts and kangaroo testicles) to win meals for the camp.
In early 2003, the first cooking show featuring authentic Australian foods and called Dining Downunder was produced by Vic Cherikoff and Bailey Park Productions of Toronto, Canada. This was followed by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) production of Message Stick with Aboriginal chef, Mark Olive. [19]
In 2008, Ray Mears made a survival television series called Ray Mears Goes Walkabout , which focused on the history of survival in Australia with a focus on bush tucker. [20]
In the TV survival series Survivorman , host and narrator Les Stroud spent time in the Australian outback. After successfully finding and eating a witchetty grub raw he found many more and cooked them, stating they were much better cooked. [21] After cooking in hot embers of his fire, he removed the head and the hind of the grub and squeezed out thick yellow liquid before eating.
The SBS documentary series Food Safari featured bush tucker in an episode that went to air in 2013. [2] [22]
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to enable dishes unique to a region.
Australian cuisine is the food and cooking practices of Australia and its inhabitants. Australia has absorbed culinary contributions and adaptations from various cultures around the world, including British, European, Asian and Middle Eastern.
Major Leslie James Hiddins, known as "The Bush Tucker Man" is a retired Australian Army soldier and war veteran. He is best known for his love and knowledge of the Australian bush, in particular "bush tucker", as featured in the TV series Bush Tucker Man (1988–1996). Hiddins is recognised by his distinctively modified Akubra hat. He has also written several books for children and adults, and in 2019 launched a website that includes a searchable digital database of bush tucker.
Santalum acuminatum, the desert quandong, is a hemiparasitic plant in the sandalwood family, Santalaceae, which is widely dispersed throughout the central deserts and southern areas of Australia. The species, especially its edible fruit, is also commonly referred to as quandong or native peach. The use of the fruit as an exotic flavouring, one of the best known bush tucker, has led to the attempted domestication of the species.
Terminalia ferdinandiana, most commonly known as the Kakadu plum and also called the gubinge, billygoat plum, green plum, salty plum, murunga, mador and other names, is a flowering plant in the family Combretaceae, native to Australia, widespread throughout the tropical woodlands from north-western Australia to eastern Arnhem Land. Used as a traditional bush food and bush medicine for centuries, the fruit has especially high levels of vitamin C.
Kangaroo meat is produced in Australia from wild kangaroos and is exported to over 61 overseas markets.
Davidsonia is a genus containing three rainforest tree species native to Australia, commonly known as the Davidson plum or Davidson's plum. The fruits superficially resemble the European plum, but are not closely related. All species have an edible sour fruit with burgundy-coloured flesh and are highly regarded as gourmet bushfood. The genus Davidsonia is named after John Ewen Davidson who claimed the land from which the tree was first botanically described.
Syzygium luehmannii is a medium-sized coastal rainforest tree native to Australia. Common names include riberry, small leaved lilly pilly, cherry satinash, cherry alder, or clove lilli pilli.
Citrus glauca, commonly known as the desert lime, is a thorny shrub or small tree native to Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia. The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records the common names native kumquat and desert lemon.
Themeda triandra is a species of C4 perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and red oat grass or as rooigras in Afrikaans. Kangaroo grass was formerly thought to be one of two species, and was named Themeda australis.
Vic Cherikoff is regarded as an authority on Australian native foods and its associated industry, having been involved in the selection and commercialization of many of the 35 or so indigenous Australian plant foods now in the market place.
Bush bread, or seedcakes, refers to the bread made by Aboriginal Australians by crushing seeds into a dough that is then baked. The bread is high in protein and carbohydrate, and forms part of a balanced traditional diet. It is also sometimes referred to as damper, although damper is more commonly used to describe the bread made by non-Indigenous people.
The modern Australian native food industry, also called the bushfood industry, had its initial beginnings in the 1970s and early 1980s, when regional enthusiasts and researchers started to target local native species for use as food. Indigenous Australians had been harvesting many species for use as food and medicines for millennia. In the mid 1970s Brian Powell recognised the commercial potential of quangdong fruit and began its cultivation in orchards. Following this, the CSIRO became involved in quangdong research.
Peter Hardwick is an Australian food horticulturist and environmentalist, recognized as an early pioneer of the Australian bushfood industry. He publicly challenged the established belief that native Australian food plants were not suitable for cropping; conceived the commercial strategy of processing strong flavored native food plants; and, developed the use of wild and seedling genetic diversity to overcome the lack of domesticated varieties previously considered a limitation with Australian native food plants.
Buchanania obovata is a small to medium-sized understorey tree in woodlands native to northern Australia, in particular in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Common names include green plum and wild mango.
Wild Food Documentary is a documentary television series hosted by Ray Mears. The series airs on the BBC in United Kingdom, it is also shown on Discovery Channel in the United States, Canada, India, Italy, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands and Russia. The show was first broadcast with an episode set in Australia and ended with "Woodland". The theme tune is not unlike the one heard in World of Survival.
Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is an Aboriginal Australian-owned 320,500-hectare (1,237 sq mi) pastoral lease, within the MacDonnell Shire area, 300 kilometres (190 mi) south-west of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, 135 kilometres (84 mi) east from Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-east of Kings Canyon/Watarrka National Park and 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Mount Ebenezer Roadhouse on the Lasseter Highway. The property is a pastoral lease held by the Imanpa Development Association.
The cuisines of Oceania include those found on Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea, and also cuisines from many other islands or island groups throughout Oceania.
AMID all the beauty and variety which the vegetable productions of New Holland display in such profusion, there has not yet been discovered a proportionable degree of usefulness to mankind, at least with respect to food.
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