Bush Tucker Of Australia
A trip to Australia should include some fantastic meals. The food and wine here in Australia is good value and, in my opinion, out of this world. Australia is an immigrant country which means there is a massive fusion of tastes and styles that can be explored by your taste buds.
To experience the real Australian food then you have to go back in time to when the Aboriginals were the only settlers in Australia.
Aborigines are the original inhabiters of Australia and the word “Aboriginal” means “Indigenous to Australia.” These are the people that lived in Australia before it was discovered by the British and Europeans. They would eat whatever they could find on the land. This included seeds, nuts and plants. They also ate lots of fish and some meats such as Kangaroo and Crocodile
This food is known as Bush Tucker and refers to the Aboriginal foods that they used to eat. Some still follow the old traditions and eat the same foods today.
If you want to see traditional bush tucker ingredients whilst in Australia, look out for gourmet jams and chutneys. This is not how the Aboriginals used to consume these special ingredients but it has brought them to a broader audience. You will also find the word BUSH TUCKER used to describe traditional Australian meats such as Emu, Kangaroo and Crocodile.
For those of you who have seen the reality TV programmes like “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here” you may have seen the eating of live bugs. These programmes are filmed in Australia and the Witchetty Bugs are a local delicacy. The idea is to squeeze out their insides straight into your mouth. A bit like eating an oyster. The idea is off putting for most! You won’t find many places with these on the menu though.
Key Bush Tucker Ingredients
There are lots of traditional Bush Tucker ingredients:
Finger Lime has a zesty fragrance so these days you will find it in expensive Australian marmalades.
Warrigal Greens are a plan which is a little like Spinach. Did you know that the seeds from these plants were taken back to Britain by ship with Captain Cook. The aim was to reduce the disease called Scurvy.
Lemon Myrtle Not only is this ingredient used for cooking, it is more widely used for its healing properties. It has a high level of Citral in it which also makes it good for keeping mosquitoes at bay.
Macadamia Nuts These are perhaps one of the most famous food exports of Australia. If you are intending to visit Australia, you will find them in most souvenir shops, usually coated in chocolate.
If you want to experience Bush Tucker as part of your trip to Australia, there are plenty of interesting places. Firstly there are restaurants, usually in the outback where you can try Australian meat. Secondly there are local farm shops where you can try ingredients through pickles and jams. But probably the best experience is to take part in an Aboriginal bush tucker tour. These generally involve a local, guiding you through the bush and the various ingredients. At the end of the tour, there is usually a tasting. For more information on Bush Tucker, visit the Real Australia Travel Website.