This is a book about how to utilise and enjoy foods which are unique to the Australian environment. It tells how to find, grow, process and cook the fruits, seeds, nuts and roots of wild plants.
Chapters on foraging in the city and in the bush tell you how to recognise plants, what parts are edible, where to find them, and how to gather, process and cook them. And you are reminded not to forage the wild plants out of existence.
Because of the danger to the environment by people carelessly foraging for food in the wild, the authors offer an alternative to those who live on the Australian seaboard and in large cities throughout the country. They suggest that rather than rampage through the bush contributing to the destruction of the slim wild resources, people should grow these plants for their own use and commercially. The chapter on creating your own backyard foraging patch shows you how to do this.
Bush food is now part of the menus of many restaurants in Australia, and so there is a chapter on recipes that gives you the chance to extend your range of menus and to enjoy the nutritious and tasty nature of Australian wild food. Among the recipes are ones specially contributed by leading chefs who believe that using indigenous wild food in cooking is the way to create a unique Australian cuisine.
Many colour photographs and drawings lavishly illustrate this fascinating text, which is a vital contribution to our understanding of the Australian environment. At the same time it gives us the chance to actually experience the foods, even in the comfort of urban living.
