[Music] people have been hunting and gathering farming cooking and eating food on the Great Southern continent for tens of thousands of years but how have different cultures and their history in this country influenced the foods we eat in modern Australia I think I can help you with that one I don't need your help thank you very much oh really so you can tell me exactly what types of food Aboriginal Australians have been eating for about 50,000 years well yeah yeah you know I mean join me Miranda and me Norman as we go on a food expedition to explore the bush foods eaten by Aboriginal tribes prior to British colonisation the dietary changes caused by the first wave of European settlements and how waves of migration after World War Two have shaped what we eat today all to discover exactly how history has created Australian cuisine [Music] for about 50,000 years aboriginal hunter-gatherer groups lived off the native flora and fauna the diet was high in protein and fiber in fact there are almost 5000 different types of native foods they had to choose from meat came from animals they hunted kangaroos Magpies and possum joanna's which tail eagles and crocodiles crocodiles geez all I've ever done with crocodiles a wrestling you wrestle crocodiles the type of food eaten by aboriginal groups depended on where their lands were crucial tribes and those close to water waves ate more seafood fish eels and for example did you know that Parramatta a suburb and River of New South Wales is an Aboriginal word that means eel waters and did you know that in northern coastal regions the Torres Strait and other neighboring islands they eat turtles and dugongs dugong say oh please do go on that's not funny yeah you just don't get it I get it Oh in the summer local tribes traveled up into the alpine regions of what is now Victoria and New South Wales to eat Bergen moths which migrated there in huge numbers oh man I am terrified of moths cuddly faced butterflies oh man I am terrified of butterflies smaller delicacies included witchetty grubs and honey Oh ant you scared of ants too let's move on hi bush tomatoes desert yams and other root vegetables were also part of the diet at mealtimes groups came together around the campfire they wrapped animals and yams in fire and use pit ovens for cooking or threw them onto the hot coals for roasting small foods were also wrapped in bark leaves and organic materials for steaming in fact underground ovens that date back almost thirty thousand years have been discovered at Lake Mungo seeds from grasses shrubs and ferns were ground and eaten as a paste or cooked in hot coals to make cakes or loaves the thirty-six thousand year old grinding stones that were discovered at Cudi Springs in central northern New South Wales may be the earliest evidence of the bread making process in the world I love bread or protein and following the popularity of the macadamia nut which is an Australian nut more bush tucker like pepper berries Bush tomato and lemon medal at being growing commercially just like mate I'm an Australian nut please stop icon almond not [Music] then eating patents changed fundamentally rice that's right and all kinds of things were introduced into Australian cuisine but for that we need to go back to 1788 when the British First Fleet landed in Botany Bay and established a penal colony food-wise their plan was to start farming the staple foods of the British diet but the harsh soil and weather conditions around the settlement made it hard to grow food the first British settlers lived off goods imported from England a basic diet of flour salted meat oatmeal and tea they were reluctant to eat strange-looking marsupials preferring animals they recognized fish pigeon goose and Swan did you say they ate a swan ah yes and also it wasn't like they ate Swan they ate Swan Oh in Tasmania which was then known as Van Diemen's land desperately hungry settlers tried stuffed wombat and fried echidna with mixed results would you say there is an iconic Australian food from this time yeah it's also a symbol of life in the Aussie bush it's Davis of course damper popular bread among swagman and other travelers it's made of flour salt and water it was probably invented by drovers who needed a food source they could easily be carried to remote areas and wouldn't spoil [Music] when gold was discovered in Australia in the 1850s people came from Europe America and Asia in the hope of finding their fortune some Chinese migrants gave up the quest for gold to establish restaurants or market gardens others became grocers supplying restaurants with fresh greens a huge shift and influence on Australian cuisine as this was such a rarity before and it wasn't long before cities and ports had their own Chinatown the Chinese introduced new flavors and cooking techniques including ginger soy sauce and of course the wok in the steamer and European migrants brought with them the trend of street vendors selling ready-made foods like pies and pasties these were our first fast-food outlets they sold what is now recognized as an iconic Australian food the pie floater iconic never heard of it that's because you're not South Australian the pie floater is a pie drowning in a bowl of pea soup and if you think it sounds awful that's because it is in 1864 the English and Australian cookery book was published the first attempt to establish an Australian cuisine it had recipes that combined native and exotic ingredients want to make stuffings a hare or kangaroo there's a recipe for that in here by Federation in 1901 the staple foods were mutton lamb chops meat pies with tomato sauce and colonial curries curries were made using native animal meats and farmed produce and were brought over from India which was then part of the colonial British Empire the Australian colonies were now also influenced by different spices from China and from India and coconut from Southeast Asia after the first world war food production packaging and transport became a lot faster improved supply of basic items like eggs butter flour and sugar as well as new grocery items like desiccated coconut and cornflakes led to the dawn of a go Golden Age of Australian baking a whole range of new cakes biscuits and desserts were created including lamingtons and Anzac biscuits the perfect accompaniment to a cuppa tea the national drink and in 1923 a Melbourne scientist used the yeast leftover from beer production to create the Vegemite one of the nation's favorite spreads fruit habits from British colonial heritage remained and the most important family meal of the week was the Sunday lunch roast yep as that was becoming an iconic food of the nation other world influences came into play [Music] hey Norman how did our food choices become so multicultural well after World War two a wave of European migrants and refugees came to Australia and they brought new ingredients flavors and dishes Greeks and Italians introduced coffee and exotic vegetables like capsicum eggplant zucchini artichokes olives and garlic Australians also adopted their concept of outdoor entertaining alfresco dining pasta dishes a staple in many European countries became increasingly popular in Australian homes and in the 1960s US fast food companies increased their presence in Australia with the offer of fast cheap but unhealthy food options that would drastically change our eating habits changing attitudes in the 1970s saw an end to the White Australia Policy and the introduction of the universal migration policy which brought people from Asia Africa the Pacific as well as Britain in Europe refugees fleeing the Vietnam War brought their culinary tastes with them and have had a dramatic impact on our eating habits from a bowl of pho I think it's my belief it's pronounced food and the stir-fry a popular meal that's quick and uses fresh healthy ingredients by the end of the 20th century Italian Greek Chinese Vietnamese alien Lebanese and Middle East and cuisines have well and truly become standard fare in Australian restaurants and homes wow what a diverse and interesting history it seems like so many influences have helped to shape our food choices can we actually identify such a thing as uniquely Australian cuisine I just couple evaluates what yes Norman say eights one [Music]