(Bush) tucker time

in #food5 years ago

I was out for a hike in the scrub about a week ago and came across this tree with these little orange things on it. Now, as I'm always up for a bite to eat I thought I'd give them a go; Who knows, could be some good tucker! I thought to myself. Umm...Tucker?

The word tucker is a slang term for food here in Australia. The word came from the english word tuck which means hearty meal and during the gold rush back in the day it was "Australianised" by the miners (diggers) to the word tucker which referred to their meal rations. It is not commonly used these days although most people will know what you mean if you visit here and use it. (Generally)

Believe it or not much of the slang terminology Australian's are known around the world for is not actually used these days. We generally don't go around saying things like bonza, crikey, cobber, strewth, fair-dinkum and the like much anymore...But it's bloody funny to hear tourists come here and use it thinking it's the norm. Anyway...

Further to the word tucker is another term, bush tucker, that probably unsurprisingly refers to food that comes from the bush - We tend to be a logical bunch here in Australia and keep it simple.

So, bush tucker refers to food collected around the place like: Finger lime, lemon myrtle, quandong, riberry, bunya nut and macadamia nut, kutjera, Davidson’s plum, boab, native gooseberry, desert lime, lady apple, wild orange, white elderberry, wild passionfruit, snow berry plus many more. It also includes fauna sourced from the bush like kangaroo, crocodile, emu, shellfish, goanna and witchetty grubs.

There's a lot out in the bush that will sustain life however generally it's difficult to find and nowhere near as good as a decent hamburger...Unless it's a crocodile burger of course. Added to that is the danger of eating something that will make you sick, or worse cause you to cark it. Cark it means to kick the bucket...Which means to die.

Bush tucker is becoming increasingly popular in many fine restaurants around the country though as chefs, foreign and domestic, seek a new edge to their creations. It wouldn't be uncommon to find bush tucker on the menu in some of the countries' most expensive restaurants. I didn't need to go to such lengths though...

OK, I'll be honest, I don't know what these things are in this picture; Some sort of seed pod that looked tasty. I was unwilling to try it though, for fear of dying and whilst my survival skills are pretty good I wasn't game to try something I couldn't identify; Especially considering I had dried apricots and trail mix with me, so no desperate need to eat an unidentified thing of a tree a wombat may have pissed on.

I want to leave you with a video from YouTube of a guy called the Bush Tucker Man (Les Hiddins). This guy is an Aussie legend. He did two deployments in the Vietnam war (1966 and 1968), one of which as a forward scout. He was also the main author of the Australian Army's military survival manual which teaches our defence force troops how to survive in the harsh Aussie outback. Needless to say, this bloke knows his tucker! The ABC TV series is a bit old now but will give you an idea about bush tucker if you care to take a gander. (A look.) Click this link: Bush Tucker Man

So, if you find yourself beyond the black stump (a long way from anywhere) one arvo (afternoon) and you're camped near a billabong (water hole) feeling a bit hungry you better know your bush tucker because if you eat the wrong thing you'll be cactus (dead). Just fire up the bush telly (camp fire), find yourself some witchetty grubs and throw them on. Hopefully you have a coldie (beer) in the esky (cooler) so you can suck some piss (alcohol) while having a yarn (chat) with your cobber (friend). When it's cooked just get into your grub (food) and hope it doesn't make you chunder (vomit) or cark it (die). Witchetty's taste shit-house (very terrible) so it will help if you have some dead-horse (tomato sauce/ketchup) to help them go down. Out in the never never (outback) is a bonza (good) way to spend a night and have a ridgy-didge (genuine) Aussie experience. If you're a tourist she'll be right (it'll work out) no matter if you're a seppo (American), a sheepshagger (New Zealander) or even pommy (English) you're all welcome...Just don't tell porky's (lies) and if you do make it a good one as we all love a good furphy (lie). Oh, and don't be a piker (someone who doesn't want to fit in with others) or you'll probably get into blue (fight) and receive a swift kick up the clacker (anus/ass) and we'll send you packing. Don't leave any brown eyed mullet's (shits) in the billabong like a yobbo (uncouth person) either! Strewth (exclamation/mild oath) we shouldn't have to tell you!

If you talk like this when you get here you'll fit right in...Actually...No you won't. Just be yourself...We're pretty easy going.


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I wonder if there's a website dedicated to identifiying 'bush tucker' like this particular item?

These things can look harmless enough, and if you're in a desperate situation they can be quite tempting and that is where the danger lies.

Better safe than sorry. I'm off to Google to see what I can find.

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I'd be interested to know what it is. The actually orange thing looked to be a seed pod and not a fruit as such but who knows...Might be good? I'll await your findings.

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I enjoyed getting to learn a few Aussie words. ;)

Did you take any of the fruits back with you so you could eat them later if you determined they weren't poisonous?

Nah, they were only seed pods. Bush tucker isn't the most appealing food generally.

Yeah, we certainly know how to make up words here in Aus. It's quite entertaining really and even state to state there's words people use that those in another state may not understand. All English language, but slang. It's funny.

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Bummer that it wasn't some tasty mango-like fruit. That's sort of what it looked like.

You do have a lot of interesting words. I watched a video on Conan trying to learn to speak like an Australian. Here it is.

I'm still trying to work out what that tree was - I'll get there.

Yep, we speak English but we sort of add an Aussie flair. It's fun teaching overseas people stuff but beware, we have an odd sense of humour usually so you never know exactly what you're being taught. 😉

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Most people around here don't have much idea what the plants are. I'll eat wild berries sometimes and people will freak out because they don't know the berries are safe. It's kinda fun.

Yeah, I've heard you all have a reputation for messing with people. I think I'd just expect everything to be a tall tale.

We do tell the truth you know...Not every thing is a porky. (lie)

I'll tell you what though, there's little funnier than an American learning to talk like an Aussie. 😂

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Ha ha, we believe a lot!

LMAO....!

Good video. I feel like I could sit round the campfire and converse with @galenkp now.....

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Happy to be of service!

The rule of thumb here is that if someone is giving you some shit, good-naturedly, then they like you. You should hear how my mates talk to me! It's odd, but the way it is.

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Lol mate 👍

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Bonza post hey cobber? :)

Was a great Captains Cooks.

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Was a great Captains Cook.

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Wow! A whole other language! I thought your English in Australia was better than American!

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Haha, generally yes, it probably is...We love our slang here though.

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Maybe those bush tuckers taste great. Then, we will never know because you didn't try it.

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Yes, and maybe I would be dead.

I'm always happy to provide some entertainment for my followers but dying in agony through eating an unidentified thing is not my idea of fun. Still, I'm heading up that way again this weekend so I might try some. If you never see another blog from me after Sunday then you know I died...Please post your condolences here so my family can read them.

Hahaha 🤣 Don't eat it, we still need to see steem to the moon

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Yeah, I'm not going to eat it...Not worth the risk. Besides, we have so much good food here there's little to be gained by eating something like this. I'd rather have a pizza.

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Luckily you didn't eat that, remember what happened to Adan for eating a fruit he didn't know, hahaha.

To be honest I don't know what happened.

hahaha .. Adan ate the fruit that God told him not to eat, a fruit that they "didn't know", and well ... they banished them from paradise!

Have a great day 😉

I still hear some of those being used occasionally. And at least I've heard most of those now XD

Sometimes my partner and his family stillcome out with things that are apparently common Australian slang that I've never heard. Maybe you had to grow up here XD

I use some a bit. I call my mates digger or cobber sometimes. If I'm honest I use quite a bit of slang. I'm proud of my Australianess and whilst I'm no Croc Dundee or Steve Irwin I can Aussie with the best of them! I think that's one of the cool things here...We are a cultured and sophisticated society mostly, but get away from the city and we're a bunch of bushies.

Crocodile burger huh? I have had alligator a few times but never as a burger. Sounds interesting.

Nothing like a good croc burger.

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