OYSTERS
Oysters, of course, are eaten raw, or they may be cooked and served as soup. Oysters are edible and safe all the year round.
CLAMS
Clams and most of the other bivalves must be cooked. The big clams of the Barrier Reef are all edible and there are records of captains of ships, long forgotten, sending men ashore to the Reef to collect clams, and detailed accounts of the cooking of them. Practically all these accounts state the clams were boiled before eating.
CONICAL AND SPIRAL SHELLFISH
Abelone
Whelk
Conus
The flesh of all the conical and spiral shellfish is edible and free from toxic poisons, with one exception, and many are very palatable.
The exception is one family of spiral cone-topped shellfish, the “Conus” family. Many of these have a poison dart or tongue which can inflict a very painful wound (one known fatality was at Hayman Island in 1935). These poisonous “conus” family of shellfish are not usually found out of tropical waters. They can be identified by the spirally-shaped conical top of the shell.
ABELONE
Particularly recommended for food are Abelone (Haliotis). These are a flat spiral up to five or six inches in length and four to five inches across, by about an inch and a half high.
These are invariably found below low tide level and like a position on rock among kelp and long seaweeds. They have some mobility and move sluggishly around the rock. They can be found by feeling gently among the weeds. They feel like a roundish part of the rock and, if taken suddenly, can be pulled free. However, if given a chance to clasp the rock with their myriads of suction cup “feet” they cannot be pulled free with the hand, and a knife must be inserted under the shellfish to lever it loose.
Shell
Meat (remove shaded portion)
To cook abelone, remove the shellfish from the shell, cutting the muscle at the top of the shell. Remove the intestines, and with a sharp knife trim off the ridge with the suckers, scrape off the blackish lining, and the base of the fish where it is rough from the rock face.
Beat the remaining portion heavily, and then toast on both sides till brown. Eat with salt to taste. Two are an adequate meal for one person.
The flavour is rather sweet, like lobster meat, only very much richer.
Another method of cooking is to cut into small half-inch squares after beating and allow to stand for about half an hour. The abelone “bleeds” with a bluish juice. Boil in this juice for five minutes, add milk and thickening and salt to taste, and boil for a further five minutes. May be eaten hot on bread or toast, or served cold as a savoury. The flavour either way is excellent.
Native people cooked abelone by dashing the fish down sharply on its back immediately it is taken from the water and then tossing the shell and fish on to a fire of hot coals and baking in the shell.
WHELKS
These large shellfish measure up to five or six inches in length and are found in rock pools among kelp and seaweed. The flesh itself is too tough to eat even when beaten. Break the shells open with a rock and remove the shellfish entire. Put these in water and boil for ten minutes and then strain off the liquid into another billy and add milk, thickening and salt to taste. The result is a really delicious soup. The flavour is identical with crab, very rich, and most palatable.
CRUSTACEANS
All the crustaceans are safe to eat and free from toxic poisons, but freshwater crayfish and yabbies are subject to parasite infestations which may be harmful to man, and therefore the flesh should be extremely well cooked as a safety measure.
Crustaceans are usually boiled, but it is quite practical to simply kill the creature and wrap the shellfish in either an old wet newspaper, a ball of clay or large green leaves, such as banana leaves or palm leaves. The wrapped shellfish is then placed deep in the hot ashes of a fire. Be sure you place it in the ashes, and not the surface coals. Cover the bundle completely and leave for six to twelve hours. The food will not have burnt or dried out, but will be cooked deliciously.
This is an excellent means of cooking all meats. Freshly-killed wild duck, pigeons and all fresh meat is tough. If cooked in the ashes for ten to twelve hours the meat, how-ever, will be tender. The meat cannot burn because the temperature of the ashes is slowly reducing all the time. This is an excellent way to cook large fish in camp.
OTOPODS AND GASTROPODS
The flesh on the tentacles of all the octopods and gastropods (octopus and cuttlefish, etc.) is edible, but many are extremely tough and rubbery. The flesh of octopus tastes exactly like lobster. To cook, beat the octopus tentacles and boil in very hot oil, 10-15 minutes. It is probable that there are other ways of preparing these for food, because they are a favourite delicacy among Mediterranean peoples. Caution: one small species of ringed octopus–4” to 6” long–has been known to give fatal stings.
INSECTS
Some of the insects are a valuable source of food. Consider the bee and the food value of its honey.
Honey is so rapidly assimilated by the body that, if given by any means to a person unconscious from exhaustion, it will be almost immediately assimilated and restore consciousness and strength.
Honey is probably the most valuable single natural food for an emergency ration, and certainly the best “energy-giver” for walkers and climbers, except for glucose and proprietary products of a kindred nature.
In addition to the bees, certain species of ants store honey in their bodies, and have marked food value, and the wood grub (the “witchetty grub” of the blacks) is a delicacy when toasted, if one can overcome a natural prejudice. This is simply a matter of mental conditioning.
VEGETABLE FOODS
GRASSES, FERNS AND HERBAGE
GRASS TIPS
The young whitish tips of all grasses are edible, and most are very palatable and tender. They can be eaten raw, and have a’ considerable food value. This applies to bamboo, which is botanically a giant grass. The seeds of all grasses are edible, and a valuable protein source. ‘
FERNS
The young fiddles of many of the ferns are regarded as edible, but only a few are palatable, and many have a tendency to “scour.” Bracken tips are edible, but are not recommended for food by this writer.