When it comes to Australian meals many people think about the typical Aussie meat pie or our ANZAC biscuits but the one often forgotten is the Australian Bush Tucker. The Aboriginal people of Australia have inhabited the land for over 60,000 years. Aboriginal tribes lived off the flora and fauna of the Australian Rainforests, including our bush tucker.
Bush Tucker can be any food that is native to Australia. Most of this food is still enjoyed by many Australian’s today. Most of this bush tucker is extremely nutritious and are packed with lots of proteins and fibres.
Some bush Tucker examples:
Plants
- Red fruits are often made into chutneys and jams as well as plums such as the Davidson plum which contains 100 times more Vitamin C than oranges.
- Berries such as native gooseberries, snowberries and white elderberries.
- Bush vegetables such as sweet potatoes, sea celery and bush potatoes.
- Wattle, Honeysuckle, Mistletoe
(Source: https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2017/08/edible-australian-flora/)
Seeds and Nuts
- Mulga seeds
- Bunya nut can be eaten raw, cooked or turned into a paste
- Macadamia nuts
- Quandong seeds
(Source: https://www.timeout.com/sydney/restaurants/the-rise-of-bushfood)
Spices and Herbs
- Mountain pepper
- Native basil
- Curry Myrtle
- Kunzea
(Source: https://thespicepeople.com.au/2018/07/09/wonderful-native-spices-used-australian-cooking/)
Animals
- Kangaroo’s are popular as it has more protein than beef
- Emu
- Wild bush turkey
- Grubs and insects including the witchetty grub, cicadas and caterpillars
(Source: http://www.watarrkafoundation.org.au/blog/traditional-aboriginal-foods)
