Recommended Bushfood Bible?

Recipes. What more can one say? You killed it, you eat it. First you gotta cook it...

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hubris
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Location: Yass NSW

Recommended Bushfood Bible?

#1 Post by hubris » Wed Jul 14, 2004 9:06 pm

Gday guys,

After a few weeks of hunting in vain for a good small book with information of aboriginal bushfoods I've found almost nothing. I even got told by the lady at the Botanical Gardens (decendent of Atilla the Hun I believe) that I wasn't authorized to eat fruit from the national parks, or private property unless I had a letter of blaaaah....blaaahh...blaahhh...

Can anyone recommend a good little handbook with bushfood in it? I'm interested in everything including natural herbs for eating, medicinal purposes.
Saul 'Winks at Goats' & 'Paddles from Crocs'

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snakeeater
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Check this out...

#2 Post by snakeeater » Thu Jul 15, 2004 5:49 am

I did a search using Dogpile.com and came up with lots of hits on the web. This is the url of the search results page for you:

http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/searc ... Baustralia

The first entry is actually a bibliography that might have the kind of book that you are looking for.

Good luck,

Snakeeater

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hubris
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Location: Yass NSW

#3 Post by hubris » Thu Jul 22, 2004 10:10 am

Well, I ended up getting Tim Low's Wild Food Plants of Australia... and for anyone else who interested in this stuff... I spent last night reading it cover to cover and it great. So many things I've been walking past and not realised that it actually was a tasty sweet tuber full of honey like water :roll:

It doesn't concentrate on the arid areas of the NT and central aus. (I think because those areas have been so well covered) but has heaps on the east coast from tassie to queensland.

It has a small section on fungi, but makes that point that of all the fungi tested in Australia, only one, the Death Cap - which was brought here anyhow - will kill you. I'm going to start trying to document the fungi up in the brindabellas and kosiosko... I'd like to grab a kilo of tasty mushies on the walk into camp and cook them all up with some yummy tubers!

saul.
Saul 'Winks at Goats' & 'Paddles from Crocs'

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erron
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#4 Post by erron » Thu Jul 22, 2004 12:39 pm

Yeah, i remember that book now, Saul, a good one. :)

Always liked the idea of eating wild mushies myself. There are sometimes course in identification at the local Adult Education places. One of the things I've wanted to do...


Erron

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dadpad
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#5 Post by dadpad » Sun Dec 18, 2005 10:32 pm

this thread is quite old but some may be interested

A book by Beth Gott and Nellie Zola called "koorie plants koorie people" is excellent for Victoria.

the most important food plant you will come across is microceris lanceoloata aka yam daisy also known as myrrnong (spelling varies) quite difficult to find unless its in flower. it looks like a dandylion flower but the petals are less numerouse and more open. 1 or 2 small underground bulbs at the base of the plant are the edible part. They contain a sweet sap, steam them for a nice mouthfull. Tubers are washed and then eaten raw or cooked. They were cooked in the ground until half melted down to a sweet dark-coloured juice, or baked with grass or in baskets. The tubers have a taste of coconut and when boiled were sweet and moist. Yam daisies were harvested year-round, but are least palatable in early winter. should you choose to harvest these LEAVE SOME BEHIND
http://davesgarden.com/pics/kennedyh_10 ... 464_tn.jpg

other edible bulbs are chocolate lilly, (a bit mettalic tasting but quite edible) lots of small bulbs
bulbine lilly, Bulbine bulbosa (starchy root quite good to eat)
milk maids Burchadia umbellatum (watery tuber but yeah i'd eat it)
Most orchids bulbs are edible too.

Mountain pepper
http://www.diemenpepper.com/images/pepperleaf.jpg
http://www.diemenpepper.com/images/pepperberry.jpg
The leathery leaves of Tasmannia lanceolata contain a hot tasting compound (polygodial) which, together with many of the aromatic compounds common in other essential oil bearing plants, results in an unusual fragrant, spicy taste and a 'bushy' rainforest feel.
leaves or berries in your cooking dont try these raw or you will burn your mouth.

want more? tell me what area and i will try to help

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stace
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#6 Post by stace » Mon Dec 19, 2005 7:39 pm

dadpad
Great post !! ol Hubris isn't around much anymore but it is an interesting topic.

Whats up in the New England area thats edible any ideas??

stace

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dadpad
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#7 Post by dadpad » Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:18 pm

Sorry Stace you'll have to forgive me, I dont know where New England area is (Parkes?), give me a major town and I will work on it. Most of those l mentioned above should be available. the other thing to avoid is someone misidentifying something i have posted about, having a nibble and getting sick. OK so
...............................ALL CARE NO RESPONSIBILITY.............................

If you are going to eat something make sure you know what it is, from your own resources/research, not mine.

Dianella Longifolia should be in berry soon these are good to eat. i will post a pic of the berrys when i have one.
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duane01
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#8 Post by duane01 » Fri Oct 27, 2006 5:25 pm

sorry for bringing this one back up, i have several books on this subject.tim low has several books on edible plants, but i think one of the better ones is the SAS survival Handbook by John LOFTY Wiseman. when i unpack my other ones i will post them here aswel. i think this area of hunter gatherer goes hand in hand. i have sampled many of our wild foods and not once have i been sick. just remember to apply the sample test and you cant go wrong. EXCEPT mushrooms. unless POSITIVELY indentified dont mess with them. they can kill very quickly if you mess up. or on the other hand can make you see all sorts of wonderfull things. :D
i shot an arrow in the air
i wonder whos' got it now??????????

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