464:...starvation on nardoo is by no means very unpleasant, but for the weakness one feels, and the utter inability to move oneself, for as far as appetite is concerned, it gives me the greatest satisfaction. Certainly, fat and sugar would be more to one's taste, in fact, those seem to me to be the great stand by for one in this extraordinary continent; not that I mean to depreciate the farinacious food, but the want of sugar and fat in all substances obtainable here is so great that they become almost valueless to us as articles of food, without the addition of something else...
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Once the grain was winnowed, it was ground using a millstone, to create flour. Millstones have been discovered which have proven to be as old as 50,000 years. The flour was then mixed with water to make a dough and placed in hot ashes for baking. The results could be small buns, today referred to as
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Women harvested the fully ripe, dry seeds of the plant by beating the grass (or pod-laden trees in the case of wattleseed) with sticks to dislodge the seeds. Some species were eaten at the green stage and, when ground, would produce a juice at the side of the millstone, which was drunk directly.
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It is possible that the explorers, in preparing the bread themselves, were not preparing it in the traditional way of the
Aboriginal people, which may have involved soaking seeds prior to grinding in order to remove the
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when raw, and require elaborate treatment including shelling, crushing, leaching in running water for up to five days, then cooking. After this they are made into small loaves, which can keep for a number of weeks.
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the seed for them, and they were able to collect this seed, making the women's job much easier. After allowing the grain to dry, the women could begin to prepare the flour.
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Some seeds (such as the seed of acacia) need to be heated, hulled and then ground dry, while others (such as those of grasses) can be ground with water.
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survived on bush bread for some time after they ran out of rations due to the death of their camels. The
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The dough could also be eaten raw. Cooking was a good way to prepare the bread if the group was about to travel for some time.
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There is some evidence that the nardoo contributed to their deaths. Wills' last journal entry includes the following:
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Seeds varied depending on the time of year and the area in
Australia that the people lived. In Central Australia,
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Bread-making was a woman's task. It was generally carried out by several women at once, due to its
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seed bread was also common in the Top End. The two species of water lily used were
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deficiency) and environmental factors also contributed to their deaths.
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Women had expert knowledge of how to detoxify certain plant foods. The
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Bush food: Aboriginal food and herbal medicine by
Jennifer Isaacs
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356:. These were ground, then mixed to a paste to make bread.
297:) are also occasionally used in the making of bush bread.
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is more commonly used to describe the bread made by non-
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in the 1970s). The tradition of cooking bread in hot
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Food
Standards Australia New Zealand: Online Version
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604:"Did Burke and Wills die because they ate nardoo?"
255:' nests. The ants had effectively collected and
305:After the grain was collected, it needed to be
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110:that is then baked. The bread is high in
16:Seedcakes baked by Aboriginal Australians
610:: The Burke & Wills research gateway
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537:Fieldhouse, Rachel (28 September 2018).
491:. However, other research suggests that
336:Bread could also be made from roots and
160:nature. It involved collecting seasonal
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332:Bread-making from other plant products
137:With the arrival of Europeans and pre-
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233:could also be used in the flour mix.
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321:, or a large loaf, known today as
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1117:Registered Aboriginal Party
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38:being prepared in hot coals
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106:by crushing seeds into a
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521:March 14, 2011, at the
188:Bread-making from seeds
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1004:Loanwords into English
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423:Ill-fated explorers
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294:Vincetoxicum lineare
229:were commonly used.
219:Panicum australianse
215:Panicum decompositum
916:Outstation movement
755:Western Australians
454:Marsilea drummondii
273:), prickly wattle (
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1599:Self-determination
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1433:Caledon Bay crisis
1256:Fire-stick farming
1169:Maralinga Tjarutja
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67:
64:
57:
54:
50:
46:
37:
32:
27:
19:
1620:
1577:Native title
1531:Tent embassy
1514:Pintupi Nine
1501:
1421:Bathurst War
1408:
1391:Yininmadyemi
1376:Sandpainting
1371:Papunya Tula
1366:NATSIA Award
1354:Music groups
1276:Scarred tree
1246:Dugout canoe
1225:
936:Sacred sites
851:The Dreaming
793:Sportspeople
628:
612:. Retrieved
597:
585:. Retrieved
580:
558:
546:. Retrieved
542:
511:
467:
463:
459:
452:
444:
436:
433:Cooper Creek
422:
392:
387:carcinogenic
382:
372:
367:
363:
358:
335:
327:
319:johnny cakes
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155:
136:
123:
116:carbohydrate
95:
91:
90:
18:
1572:Land rights
1475:King plates
1291:Sweet foods
1261:Food groups
1231:Bush tucker
971:Language(s)
906:NAIDOC Week
856:Enumeration
765:Individuals
730:Communities
383:Cycas media
126:, although
1660:Categories
1463:Prehistory
1386:Visual art
1339:Didgeridoo
1251:Fibrecraft
1226:Bush bread
1092:Mass media
1019:Placenames
896:Marn Grook
886:Kurdaitcha
869:Aboriginal
831:Corroboree
750:Victorians
740:Tasmanians
642:, pp168–9.
503:References
474:thiaminase
441:sporocarps
403:bunya pine
395:Queensland
360:Water lily
350:lotus root
279:), mulga (
249:dry season
231:Wattleseed
223:spinifex (
132:Indigenous
92:Bush bread
76:Aboriginal
23:Bush bread
1485:Black War
1480:Massacres
1319:Artefacts
1216:Boomerang
1208:Bushcraft
1132:Sorry Day
946:Songlines
821:Astronomy
778:Musicians
773:Activists
497:vitamin C
489:beri-beri
478:vitamin B
451:) plant (
407:bunya nut
352:and wild
348:used the
198:millstone
96:seedcakes
66:Australia
47:Seedcakes
1671:Bushfood
1492:Missions
1344:Dreaming
1241:Coolamon
1112:Politics
956:Tjurunga
614:13 March
587:12 April
519:Archived
487:disease
311:coolamon
307:winnowed
267:Pigwig (
134:people.
102:made by
1524:Apology
1458:History
1401:History
1301:Woomera
1077:AIATSIS
931:Seasons
881:Kinship
846:Deities
836:Country
813:Culture
803:Writers
717:Peoples
548:1 March
443:of the
377:of the
342:Top End
243:In the
225:Triodia
166:legumes
112:protein
1628:Treaty
1567:Health
1545:Issues
1009:Palawa
865:Flags
861:Elders
638:
493:scurvy
471:enzyme
449:nardoo
445:ngardu
405:cone (
381:palm,
346:Yolngu
323:damper
257:husked
221:) and
162:grains
141:white
139:milled
128:damper
124:damper
36:Damper
1638:Voice
1633:Truth
1562:Crime
1349:Music
1334:Dance
1296:Waddy
1281:Soaks
1266:Humpy
1057:ATSIC
437:padlu
429:Wills
425:Burke
379:cycad
375:seeds
338:corms
178:dough
170:roots
151:coals
143:flour
108:dough
100:bread
94:, or
56:Bread
1381:Vibe
1359:Rock
1311:Arts
1221:Buka
1141:TSRA
926:Riji
826:Bora
636:ISBN
616:2015
589:2008
550:2021
427:and
366:and
354:taro
174:nuts
120:diet
114:and
52:Type
457:).
393:In
172:or
1662::
606:.
579:.
567:^
541:.
529:^
217:;
184:.
168:,
164:,
701:e
694:t
687:v
618:.
591:.
552:.
495:(
480:1
447:(
227:)
213:(
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