Bush Tukka Guide

Author -  Samantha Martin

In this gorgeous and compact book, Samantha Martin – the ‘Bush Tukka Woman’ – shares her knowledge and love of bush tukka as taught to her by her mother and other Aboriginal elders. Her Bush Tukka Guide offers rich and wonderful insights into how Aboriginal people survived for centuries unearthing the bounty of this sometimes lush and often desolate land.

From honey ants to billygoat plums, mountain bush pepper to mangrove snails, Australia’s Aboriginal people have known for centuries about this sunburnt country’s remarkable wealth of bush foods. Samantha Martin, the ‘Bush Tukka Woman’, shares her knowledge and love of bush tukka through detailed descriptions of how and where to source each plant or animal species. She also shares her favourite bush tukka recipes, including lemon myrtle slow-cooked kangaroo and caramelised cluster figs with ice-cream. Packed with fascinating information, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in unearthing Australia’s remarkable bush tukka.

The book is divided into three chapters covering plants, animals and some recipes to get you started using bush tukka at home. Learn how to find billygoat plums and mountain bush pepper in the wild; discover the reasons Aboriginal people ate magpie geese and honey ants; and test out the delicious flavours of bush tukka recipes like bunya nut pesto, lemon myrtle slow-cooked kangaroo or caramelised cluster figs with ice-cream.

Samantha Martin is a descendant of the Kija and Jaru from the east Kimberley region of Western Australia. She was born into a long line of traditional hunters and gatherers, and had the opportunity to learn from her family how to eat off the land and surrounding waters. Samantha understands the nutritional properties and diversity of Australian bush foods, and now wants to help others introduce native foods into their kitchens. She is also passionate about sharing her knowledge of basic survival skills, including how to hunt, prepare and cook bush foods. Known as the ‘Bush Tukka Woman’, her four-part documentary My Bush Tukka Adventures with Samantha Martin, has been screened on SBS/NITV (National Indigenous TV station) for the past six years.

ISBN: 9781741174038

Publisher:  Hardie Grant Explore

Published: April 2014

Pages: 200