Australian foraging

[TXyakr]

Cool info Batch!
Manioc (S.A.) or Cassava (Africa) is poisonous until the root is ground up and the juice drained from it then the coarse flour is typically roasted. Millions of people in South America and Africa still eat it today. I buy it at local West African or Brazilian shops and eat it with my rice and beans here in Texas. Delicious.

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eati...-eat/5-cassava

What poisonous plants do y'all eat on a regular bias you dare devils?

Cassava/Manioc Stats from 2012:
Interesting because like some forage plant foods of Australia they are poisonous in their natural form but have been eaten buy the indigenous people long before the Europeans "discovered" their continents.

World production of cassava is around 250 million tonnes (Mt) a year.
It's the third largest source of food calories in tropical countries after rice and maize (corn).
Africa produces about half of global supply, with Nigeria about 45 Mt, world's top producer.
Thailand, leading global exporter of cassava, 4 Mt of roots, produces 25 Mt/year.
Cassava/Manioc is native to Central and South America but was brought to Africa by the Portuguese Traders in the 16th century then spread around the world. Today the plant is sold as an ornamental summer annual in the nursery trade in North America and Europe. Pretty variated leaves but if you choose to eat the roots be sure to process them correctly. Or Rick may not be able to ask you how it all turned out. LOL

Call 1-800-222-1222 if you screw up, and consume too much cyanide

Diarrhea
Nausea
Vomiting
Abdominal pain
Headache

OMG that Tapioca pudding was not prepared correctly, should I call Rick and tell him about it or the Poison help line?

http://www.unctad.info/en/Infocomm/A...ILE---Cassava/

[TXyakr]

Common names are confusing, identification of plants can be very difficult and if you harvest a plant at the wrong time it can make you sick or kill you and if you prepare it incorrectly that can also be very bad, so get your ducks in a row or eat at McDs.

Some Aboriginal Australians ate "flax" seeds but what "flax" seeds and how did they harvest and prepare them???

Was it Dianella revoluta, common names: Blueberry Lily, Blue Flax-lily?
http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2...-revoluta.html

Get a copy of this field guide to find out: "Wild Food Plants of Australia" by Tim Low
http://www.timlow.com/books/wild-food-plants

Probably not: Linum usitatissimum
http://www.cancer.org/treatment/trea...erals/flaxseed

Or the genetically modified rape seed that Canola oil is made from and grown on millions of acres in Alberta, Canada, and UK etc.
100s of millions of people consume that "poisonous" rapeseed oil everyday.

[trollchicken]

i know we have been discussing plants but i was wondering if anyone knows any insects other than the witchetty grub that you can eat

[crashdive123]

Not in Australia, but there are a lot of insects that are edible. In some parts of the world insects serve as a major protein source in diets - I'm just glad I don't live in one of those parts of the world.

This info may get you started.
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1380e/I1380e01.pdf

[TXyakr]

i know we have been discussing plants but i was wondering if anyone knows any insects other than the witchetty grub that you can eat

I wonder if you saw that photo on this page at Tom Low's website of the 30 gram witchetty moth larger than some sparrows?

If that does not convince you to get a copy of Tim's Field Guide what will?

http://www.timlow.com/books/book-chapters

Also the book listed in references section of link in crashdrive123's comment #24 above

Low, T. 1989. Bush tucker: Australia’s wild food harvest. Sydney, Angus & Robertson.

I have eaten many insects most are at least somewhat bitter, it is best to know how to identify them and prepare them properly, thus a good field guide with great instructions is critical. When I was young my father told me that grubs tasted just like bacon, but did not offer much more information as was his method of instruction. So I found some and tried them on my own. Well being a relatively intelligent child I quickly figured out on my own that removing the black instestinal track made them fry up over the coals on a rock or in a cook pot and taste much better. He was actually a great Dad and knew that lessons I learned on my own would be remembered better. A little vomiting and purging rarely kills anyone but does help with memory. LOL

OH yeah, queen ants, crickets, purged earthworms, water nymphs all that can be good as long as you avoid the toxic ones. So a local guide or written field guide might just help a bit, or a quick vomit reflex. Just sayn' ha ha ha

[hunter63]

What ever you do, save a one or a piece of what ever,.... to show the EMT's what you ate...This time>

[TXyakr]

Foraging for food anywhere is climate and season dependent but this is especially true in most parts of Australia because it has some of the most erratic climate in the world:

http://austhrutime.com/climate.htm

Thus it is pointless to search for certain insects and other arthropods to eat if they are not in abundance or at a stage of life that is very small or inedible etc. Hence a written guide or time with a local guide is VERY IMPORTANT, unless you have photographic memory of everything you read online or have great mobile phone service and/or an app on your satellite phone or something like that.

[TXyakr]

What ever you do, save a one or a piece of what ever,.... to show the EMT's what you ate...This time>

I know a young lady friend who during her college years while visiting New Orleans just told the EMTs in an unsteady voice "Pat O'Brien's". As soon as they got her to Tulane Hospital she was hooked up to a stomach pump. Problem solved. Another victim of too many New Orleans famed hurricanes. Not the windy type with insects and vegetation flying everywhere. Ha ha ha

To spare her further humiliation I will not publicly mention her name.

[Enigma]

Tim Lowe's books are what I would term 'basic'. The best books EVER to come out on Australian plants, both edible and medicinal, is a recent 4 Volume set by Cheryl Williams.

[Enigma]

The Bogong Moth. That was a massive annual feast for Aboriginals.