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

@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 😊