Australian food history
Throughout the history of Australia, there have been a wide variety of multi-cultural cuisines. Starting from Indigenous Bush Tucker to modern burgers, many factors have influenced on what we eat.
What did the aboriginal people eat?
There are many different key features of indigenous cuisine. Before Australia was colonized by European influences, the Aboriginal people ate a very well-balanced and healthy diet. This diet consisted of grubs, insects, nectar, fruit, berries, nuts ad other food sources. The children and women gathered all of the food above, because large weapons and strength weren't required to collect most of the small foods. The men hunted for animals/fish including kangaroo's, emus and koala's.
What equipment did the aboriginal people use to hunt AND gather their food?The aboriginal people used a variety of different tools/weapons to cook and gather the food. For large animals, such as kangaroo's and emu's, they used spears, boomerangs and other sharp weapons. This is greatly different from modern methods of killing animals, because machinery is used rather than traditional "hunting". After the animal was killed, they would be carried using leaf sacs.
Insects and other bush tucker was killed and gathered differently. Stone axes and adzes (OzeMail, 2005), were used for that job because large spear's weren't required. Additionally, small leaf bowls were used to bring the food back. |
What does the video "yummy honey ants" show us? |
The video, "Yummy Honey Ants", shows us some of the techniques when it comes to gathering and eating the bush tucker. A tall metal rod is used to dig into the ground to reach the honey ant nest. Once the nest is reached, the abdomen part of the ant is bitten of because it contains all of the honey.
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additional factors of aboriginal cuisine + health
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factors contributing to multicultural cuisine
There have been many factors contributing to multiculturalism cuisine in Australia. Australia, being a rapid developing first world country has attracted lots of people since European colonization. The wide influx in immigration and migration has allowed people to live in Australia, bringing their culture and heritage along with them. Food has been key in worldwide multiculturalism, especially important for the people who moved to Australia from other places in the globe. With business and economy being important in today's society, restaurants and shops have opened containing what some have brought to Australia. Fresh gourmet Italian pasta, or even rich, tender Moroccan Chicken.
Where once the Australian diet was based strongly upon its British and Irish heritage, by the end of the 20th century, Australians were regularly enjoying Italian, Greek, Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese cuisines cooked in restaurants and homes. Due mainly to later immigrants to the country, Australians have a growing interest in multicultural foods and drinks from across Asia, The Middle East, Europe and Africa, (Australian Gov, 2008).
Where once the Australian diet was based strongly upon its British and Irish heritage, by the end of the 20th century, Australians were regularly enjoying Italian, Greek, Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese cuisines cooked in restaurants and homes. Due mainly to later immigrants to the country, Australians have a growing interest in multicultural foods and drinks from across Asia, The Middle East, Europe and Africa, (Australian Gov, 2008).
rECIPE THAT I HAVE PRODUCED - LEMON MYRTLE CUPCAKES
Lemon Myrtle Cupcakes was a dish that I produced to highlight one of the key types of food in Australian cuisine. Cupcakes have been commonly known as a significant tasting desert food for decades.
*NOTE* Lemon Myrtle Cupcakes was produced by me, however the photo on the left is not exactly how it appeared. RECIPE BELOW -
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