Australian Native Ingredients - A glossary of the different ingredients available. Discussing their provenance, cooking with them & the health benefits that these plants have.
Outback Spirit

Finger Limes
Provenance and the Plant Our amazing Australian Finger Lime grows uninhibited up to 7 metres high. It's a denizen of the lowland subtropical rainforests of the coastal border region of Queensland and New South Wales. While there is scant knowledge of how Indigenous Australians used and husbanded this tree, we do know that the fruit was eaten and no doubt relished as it was also by the early settlers to this region. While the settlers would clear the rainforest for grazing land, they would often leave behind stands of Finger Limes, so valued were the fruits to eat and to make jams from. The fruit is...
Outback Spirit

Kakadu Plum
Provenance and the Plant We respect and thank our Aboriginal supply partners for imparting their incredible knowledge to us about this amazing plant. The Kakadu Plum is not just endemic to the Kakadu Region but is found right across the Top End from East Arnhem Land in the east to the Country around the Dampier Peninsula and Broome in the Kimberley, the top western region of WA. The tree is prolific in these coastal woodland regions and the mature trees are tall and slender with a wide canopy and a spreading habit. They have broad, large , green leaves and the fruit,...
Outback Spirit

Davidson's Plum
Provenance and the Plant One of the larger Indigenous fruits, the Davidsons Plum grows hugging the slender trunks (D.jerseyana) or hanging in pendulous clusters (D.pruriens) from the trunks of these towering rainforest trees. The leaves of the tree are broad and large and look a bit like giant fern fronds , and this is especially so of the lovely pinkish crown of the new growth. These ancient trees are indigenous to the north-eastern rainforests of New South Wales (jerseyana) and Far North Queensland (pruriens) and while rare and endangered in the wild, are now cultivated commercially in both states for their magnificent fruit. With their dark...
Outback Spirit

Bush Tomatoes
Provenance and the Plant We respect and thank our Aboriginal supply partners for imparting their incredible knowledge to us about this amazing plant. The Bush Tomato is from the same botanical family as tomatoes and potatoes. The shrubs are small (up to 30cm) in the wild, with grey to sage-green leaves and small, yellow fruits similar to cherry tomatoes in size. The tomatoes are sun-dried on the bush: the fruit shrivels in the desert heat of summer and the colour deepens to a rich ochre colour and resembles a reddish, brown-coloured raisin. The process of drying is essential as it reduces the levels...
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