Australian Native Products
Fruits | Seeds & Nuts | Herbs, Spices & Vegetables | Oils | Other
Fruits
Akudjura – (Bush Tomatoes) – Akudjura is one Aboriginal name for the native bush tomato which is a strong flavoured fruit from the desert, tasting of tamarillo and caramel. Akudjura can be obtained either whole or ground with the ground product easily added to bread mixes, salads, sauces, cheese dishes, chutneys, stews or mixed into butter.
Davidson’s Plums - The tartness of these large crimson rainforest fruits make them well suited to dressings, sauces and desserts. Davidson’s Plum coulis with a creamy dessert is an ideal compliment.
Illawarra Plum – This fruit from the south coast of NSW is plum like in flavour with a pleasant yet subtle resinous quality. Plum sized and seedless, the Illawarra Plum can be sauced and performs well with chilli or ginger, complementing our game meats. Preserves, cheesecakes, muffins and other desserts can be made from the plums. The fruit behaves in a similar way to gooseberries in turning bitter with over cooking, the bitterness disappears on cooling and we suggest using stainless steel saucepans for simmering.
Kakadu Plum – The green Kakadu plum is a mild apricot flavoured and olive sized fruit which in 1982, was discovered to be the worlds highest fruit source of vitamin C. The flesh can be simply cut from the seed and used as a garnish for fish or added to sauces or fruit compotes. The whole plums pickle well in hot vinegar flavoured with native herbs.
Lemon Aspen – This tangy, yellow, citrus-flavoured fruit comes from an east-coast rainforest tree and is as versatile as a lemon. Whole Lemon Aspen fruits or just the juice can be used in pastries, desserts, sauces and marinades and the pulp from juicing can flavour shortbread to be further infused to extract its unique flavour.
Munthari – Commonly called native cranberries, Munthari (or muntries) are small green and red fruits with a Granny Smith apple flavour. They compliment apples in pies, flans and desserts providing that visual difference and also make excellent sauces, garnishes, preserves and an ideal fruit to serve with a cheese.
Quandong – Sometimes called wild or desert peaches, these red fruits have a tart apricot and peach flavour and are well known by country folk for making jams and pies. The kernels of quandong fruits are also highly flavoured. Roasted they can be used to impart an aromatic nutty taste to dessert or savoury sauces or used in a crumb topping. Available whole and frozen.
Riberry – Another popular fruit, riberries belong to the rainforest lillipilli family. They are small pink berries with a cinnamon and clove character. Use for sauces and relishes to accompany meats, fish, or cheese. Riberries can also be used in ice creams, sorbets and other chilled desserts and glaze well.
Wild Limes – Sourced from several species of Native Australian citrus species, these fruits can be found from rainforests to arid areas. With a very strong , tart lime flavour and an edible although slightly bitter yellow/green skin, wild limes make a superb mayonnaise and are well suited to desserts stewed in syrup or honey or traditionally glazed. Try them in sweet or savoury marmalades.
Wild Rosella – The tropical rosella buds of the wild hibiscus have a crispy berry and rhubarb taste. They lend themselves to pie fillings and other pastries, ice creams, sorbets and fruit stews. Rosella in a coulis with a lemon myrtle oil is an excellent flavour combination.
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Seeds & Nuts
Bunya-Bunya Nuts – These nuts are similar in size and flavour to chestnuts and were a feasting food of Aborigines in the Bunya Mountains of Southern Queensland. Each nut is encased in a thin woody shell which can be sliced with a knife after boiling the nuts and while they are still hot. The shelled nuts can then be blended and re-fried to make a pastry, used as a potato substitute in curries and stews, minced for use in chocolates, nougat, ice cream or other desserts and even preserved in sweetened rum.
Wattleseed or Wattle – The seeds of a particular dry land wattle are roasted and ground to produce the coffee-chocolate-hazelnut taste. Bring a small quantity of wattle to the boil to soften the grounds. Strain off the liquid extract and store in the refrigerator or freezer. Use the boiled grounds in marinades, as a crumb for meats or as a batter for fish. Use the extract with or without the solids to make wattle ice cream, Pavlova and wattle pancakes. Wattleccino (wattle cappuccino) is fast becoming famous. Only one teaspoon of wattle per cup is needed so it is very economical.
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Herbs, Spices & Vegetables
Lemon Myrtle – A rainforest tree from the east coast of Australia, the lemon myrtle leaf, when crushed or infused, releases a tempting combination of taste and aroma similar to a blend of sweet lemon grass, lemon and lime oils. Try lemon myrtle in soups, sauces fruit stews and pickles or try sousing fish in hot vinegar and lemon myrtle. Lemon myrtle makes an excellent herb butter or custard, a refreshing tea or it can be added to breads. The lemon myrtle flavour can cook out with too much heat so add last and infuse or cover the simmering vessel to seal in the volatile oils. Available as dry leaf, ground herb or as an oil.
Mountain Pepper leaf – The alpine mountain pepper leaf can be used dry or ground and added to hot dishes as a seasoning or used whole like bay leaves it has a smooth, woody character with a hot zing between pepper and chilli which reduces with cooking. To enhance the zing, use ground pepper leaf as a seasoning on soups or mains just before serving.
Native Pepperberries – The small purple/black berries have a hot peppery zing and can flavour or garnish almost any sauce or even be baked into a unique pepperbread. They are very suited to our game meats to enhance the gameness. Their unique flavour will even enhance a traditional pepper steak providing that special touch of the bush.
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Oils
Eucalyptus Oil – A characteristically Australian flavour which is to be used in tiny amounts. Try it in desserts (eg.Eucalyptus and honey ice cream) or blended with butter as a spread. It lends itself to flavouring soup and sauces, particularly lamb.
******Note not all eucalyptus oils can be used as food flavouring******
Lemon Myrtle Oil – Available in 200ml bottles and diluted in vegetable oil, it may need to be diluted further as required. 1 x 200ml bottle should flavour close to 1000 serves. It is especially useful simply brushed over cooked or smoked fish prior to service or used as a seasoning in soups or desserts.
Macadamia Nut Oil – Ideal as a salad dressing, on pasta, in mayonnaises or batters and bread mixes, in low temperature stir frying and as a base for macadamia nut cream sauces for poultry or baked vegetables.
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Other
Paperbark – Paperbark can be used for preparing food and as a platter or display garnish. Cook poultry, vegetables and seafood by wrapping the food in the paperbark and tying the parcel with vine or twine. Bake in the oven until done or on a hot plate or in a skillet until outside of bark is charred. The finished dish can be in the bark wrap, however make it obvious that the bark is not to be eaten.
Witjuti Grubs are just that: tasty grubs are like borers and found in live wood in stems, trunks and roots of certain wattles. They are good sources of calcium and iron. An acquired taste, depending upon the wattle, they have different flavours.
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