I wonder when I'll next get to eat muntries chutney, wattleseed shortbread and bunya nuts? It's been far, far too long.
Cann River, a dreary logging town on the Pacific Highway
was a hitchhiker's nightmare. We
had begun to despair of ever escaping Victoria. Then our luck changed, with a series of rides with a forester
followed by an abalone poacher and finally an environmental protection officer,
who took us straight to our destination - Candelo, New South Wales, a small
town in the Bega Valley.
I wanted to learn more about indigenous food plants and
how they are used, so it was fortuitous that we found ourselves staying with
the appropriately named Jenny Garden.
Jenny is setting up a bush foods garden and education facility and has
planted a wide variety of native food plants. To date, Australia has only produced one crop of world
importance - the delicious macadamia nut, but there are many others worthy of
international attention.
Jenny also acts as an agent for a commercial producer of
bush food jams, chutneys and preserves.
When we were not tree planting, weeding or chasing errant cows up and
down hills, we were able to indulge ourselves. Quandong jam, muntries chutney, lemon aspen jelly - we
managed to empty all of these jars.
Also on the menu were crushed seeds of the mountain pepper bush (hot)
and wattleseed shortbread (which disappeared with remarkable rapidity). It was good to discover, after 200
years of European settlement, a cuisine based on native food stuffs was
developing. Led by innovative
restaurants and producers, the bush foods industry is now worth millions of
dollars per annum and is expanding rapidly. It seems that the Australian staples of meat pies and fish
and chips may yet get their come-uppance.
Some people have questioned the ethics of exploiting these traditional
foods and aboriginal knowledge without consultation or adequate financial
return to hard pressed indigenous Australians.
These native plants are, as you might expect, well
adapted to Australia's climate and many will grow in areas unsuited to European
crops. The quandong (Santalum acuminatum) is a good
example. A bush or small tree
producing tasty cherry sized fruits, it grows in dry inland areas with sparse
rainfall. The kernel is also
edible with a high oil content and is a good source of protein. The quandong is a root parasite that
taps into the food and water supply of other species which aids its survival in
a harsh climate. The selection and
propagation of superior varieties is now under way and the Americans and Israelis
are also interested in the commercial possibilities of this crop.
Wattleseed is also seen as an important food source of
the future. Wattles (Acacia spp) are found throughout
Australia and many (though not all) produce edible seeds which can be roasted
and ground into a nutritious protein rich flour or used to make beverages. Aboriginal communities are particularly
prone to developing diabetes when traditional eating habits are superseded by
western overprocessed and sugar-laden foods. Wattleseed, a traditional aboriginal food stuff, seems to
help reduce the incidence and severity of diabetes and could be harvested and
processed on a commercial scale.
Among fruits and berries, one of the most highly
regarded is the midyim (Austromyrtus
dulcis). The white fruits are
speckled with purple and have a lovely sweet aromatic flavour. Too bad that Jenny's bushes had yet to
bear fruit. There are many other
closely related myrtle bush fruits known collectively as lillypillies, which
produce tasty cherry sized fruits. We had our first taste at a scrumping session in the botanical gardens
at Wagga Wagga, but that's another story.
Another well known fruit is the Davidson's plum (Davidsonia pruriens), a beautiful rainforest tree with large ginger
haired pinnate leaves and bearing grape like clusters of damson sized
fruit. The pulp is particularly
tangy and makes a wonderful jam. Once again Jenny's plant was not yet fruiting.
Perhaps the most impressive nut tree is the bunya nut
pine (Araucaria bidwillii). A close relative of the monkey puzzle, it produces huge cones containing fat, leathery shelled nuts with a
delicious starchy flavour. They
are usually eaten after boiling or roasting. They were an important aboriginal food source in parts of
southern Queensland, but they will grow elsewhere and are certainly worthy of
cultivation, although you wouldn't want the cannonball sized cones dropping on
your head. A few weeks later and
further north we were treated to our first bunya nut feed and yes, they do
taste good. Not so impressive was
the candlenut (Aleurites moluccana).
We were warned by our host not to over indulge in this hard shelled oily nut
due to its purgative properties, but to no avail - we spent a day feeling
somewhat queasy and rather anxious. We have yet to try the red bopple nut (Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia), a close relative of the macadamia nut
with a bright red husk and reckoned to be another commercial possibility.
What of vegetables? Jenny mentioned the exotic sounding warrigal greens which
she had growing in her garden.
When I saw the plant I instantly recognised that it was none other than
New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia
tetragonoides) whose seed pods floated over to New Zealand at some unknown
date to be discovered by Captain Cook.
If only he had gone to Australia first, maybe we would be calling it
Sydney spinach instead.
copyright 1997
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