Finally getting stuck into prepping bunya nuts (was gifted 2 pine cones), hopefully for pesto. Leaving them for a bit helps loosen things up. So easier to break up the cones. .

Please note, i am not a bunya nut expert. Have done this twice before, after YouTubing heaps of advice. So fingers definitely crossed. #bunya #bunyanuts

Hit and miss in terms of how many usable nuts you get per cone. #bunya #bunyanuts #food

Bunya pines are native to Australia though not specifically from my region (up in south east Queensland). They are culturally significant to first Nations peoples here.

"A collaborative cross-cultural research team have discovered that movement of the culturally significant Bunya Pine by Indigenous Peoples varied among regions and intensified in south-east Queensland to maintain cultural connectivity following European colonisation."

(Link to article in next toot).

Bunya nut article link below.

“We are increasingly aware that what we thought of as ‘wild’ ranges of species did not take into account traditional indigenous activities,” Maurizio said.

“Indigenous Peoples have manipulated environments and species for millennia. However, conservation and restoration science often overlook ancient human plant dispersal," he said.

https://www.botanicgardens.org.au/discover-and-learn/watch-listen-read/genomic-research-highlights-indigenous-ecological-knowledge

Genomic research highlights Indigenous ecological knowledge for Bunya Pine | Botanic Gardens of Sydney

As the Bunya Pine dropping season begins, new research shows that Indigenous Australians increased the spread of Bunya Pine to preserve culture following European colonisation

Botanic Gardens of Sydney
Final haul of bunya nuts from the 2 pine cones. 45 was my best count. #bunyanuts #bunya
Boiled the bunya nuts until i saw the ends split a bit (under an hour-ish). The water goes reddy brown.
#bunya #bunyanut #food

Now drained and set aside to cool.

Read that you can drink the reddened bunya water too so had a taste (it's not a strong flavour but nice in a brothy kind of way). Though i also read it's a dye. 🤷‍♀️

#bunyanut #bunya #food

The de-shelled bunya nuts. De-shelling is my least fave part of the process. It's a lot of work for a relatively small quantity of bunya and feels like it takes forever. But hey, at least i didn't cut myself with the knife! Yay!

The pesto making is going to have to wait for another day. #bunya #bunyanuts #food

@psychopoesie
Well done. You did this last year as well didn’t you. How did that lot go?
@feather1952 yeah. 2024 was the last time. It went well too. Well enough that i went out asap and foraged more bunya nuts. 😂
@feather1952 mum was too unwell after that for another go (foraging plus prepping). Wasn't particularly in tune with the season this year till i was randomly gifted these two.
@psychopoesie
I didn’t remember it quite right then, but I knew you’d done it. It’ll be interesting to see how you go with this little lot. You remind me of how I was when I was younger & I love hearing what you’re up to & doing. Life really is awesome for the most part, even when you get curve balls.

@feather1952 no worries. Didn't remember either (and had way more cause to). Just suspected it was further back. Still had to look up my photos to work it out.

Pleased you're enjoying hearing about these little adventures of mine. Life is good.
😊🌸x

@psychopoesie Not unlike chestnuts...
@psychopoesie whoops, I should have read on! Yep, my fellow book and fibre artists love the dye!
@caity no worries. i kept the water so i have options 😊