Bush Food

Australian Bush Foods

Wattle Seed

Certain varieties of Acacia seeds collected by Aborigines west of the Great Divide are dry roasted and ground to enhance their natural nutty, coffee-like flavour.

quand2.gifQuandong

This wild, or desert, peach is the outback’s most famous fruit. It is high in Vitamin C and common to South Australia and arid areas.

Lemon Myrtle

The leaves and stems of this rain forest tree exhibit a wonderful citrus flavour and aroma.

KurrajongKurrajong Flour

Highly nutritious seeds extracted from hairy pods of Kurrajong and Illawarra Flame Trees. Roasted and ground they produce an exceptional rich, dark flour.

Macadamia Nuts and Oil

This delicious crunchy textured nut is grown widely in Queensland and New South Wales, and was Australia’s first indigenous plant to be used commercially.

Warrigal Greens

A sprawling ground cover plant found in many parts of Australia, it was used by Captain Cook in 1770 as a spinach substitute to allay scurvy.

Illawarra Plums

A unique dark red berry of the Brown Pine which conveniently grows its stone on the outside of the fruit. It is a semi-tropical tree ranging from New South Wales to Queensland.

Samphire

The young green stems form a low ground cover salt bush that is found all over Australia on coastal and inland salt flats.

Bunya Nuts

Large starchy textured nuts with a tough woody casing from the cone of the huge Bunya pine tree that is native to New South Wales and Queensland.

Lemon AspenLemon Aspen

Small pale lemon coloured fruit with a unique sharp citrus flavour and found in rainforests from Sydney to the far north.

Pepper Leaf

These hot and spicy leaves are from a large shrub that is endemic to Tasmania and Victoria, develop a subtle pepper flavour when cooked.

Clove Lilli Pilli or Riberry

This smaller variety of Lilli Pilli is noted for its wonderfully sharp spice and clove flavour.

Paper Bark

The Mellaluca tree has been used by Aboriginals for a multitude of purposes, from cooking, to carrying water, to providing shelter.

Wild Limes

Small round tropical fruit with a sharp grapefruit, lime flavour.

Muntries or Native Cranberries

Small crunchy berry with a delicously sweet apple flavour from the south-east of South Australia.

Kakadu PlumsKakadu Plum

This sharp flavoured green plum has the world’s highest recorded fruit content of vitamin C, and is found from Katherine to the Kimberly.

Eucalyptus Oil

High grade oil from the famous gum tree is sparingly used to flavour some foods.

Wild Rosella Flowers

Scarlet coloured petals of a naturalised tropical climber related to the native Hibiscus, they impart a crisp, berry-rhubarb flavour.

Bush TomatosBush Tomatos

Also called “Desert Raisins”, this small pungent berry is collected by Aborigines in the central desert regions from a shrub related to the tomato family.

Native Pear

This vine from arid areas produces a green pod with seeds which, when young, taste like fresh peas.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]