The Science of Spice

166 Spice Profiles

Region of cultivation

Acacia victoriae and other edible species

of wattle are native to arid and semi-arid

regions of Australia. They are cultivated

in South and Western Australia, Victoria,

and New South Wales.

The plant

Edible wattle seeds are

produced by a small number

of evergreen shrubs or small

trees in the bean family.

Powder

This robust spice is usually

bought pre-ground as a coarse

dark brown powder that resembles

ground coffee. It can be stored in

a sealed container in a cool, dark

place for up to two years.

Green pea-like

pods turn brown

or yellow and

become papery and

brittle as they ripen

Cream-

coloured

flowers are

edible and

sometimes

used as a

culinary

decoration

BOTANICAL NAME

Acacia victoriae

(most commonly used species)

ALSO KNOWN AS

Gundablue wattle.

MAJOR FLAVOUR COMPOUNDS

Pyrazine compounds.

PARTS USED

Seeds.

METHOD OF CULTIVATION

Ripe pods are dislodged using a mechanical

tree shaker or beating by hand with a stick.

COMMERCIAL PREPARATION

Seeds are separated from pods by threshing

and sieving, then dried and roasted.

NON-CULINARY USES

Has been used as animal feed; fruits, seeds,

and gum from wattle trees used in traditional

Aboriginal medicine for many ailments.

AUSTRALIA

(SEMI-ARID AND ARID

REGIONS)

WATTLE

Roasted | Woody | Musty

Wattle has been used as a staple food

by the aborigines of Australia for at

least 4,000 years. Only a few of the

hundreds of acacia species that grow

in Australia have edible seeds, and

some others are toxic. Over a period

of thousands of years, the indigenous

population identified the edible

species. They either ate the seeds

fresh, straight from the pod, or dried

and roasted or baked them, crushing

them between grinding stones to

produce flour. Increasing commercial

interest in the seeds has led to the

development of small-scale plantations

in Australia, although a significant

proportion of the crop is still harvested

from wild trees. As “bush food”

increasingly features on Antipodean

restaurant menus, wattle’s importance

as a culinary spice has grown.

Spice story

Wattle is both

flavoursome

and high in

protein (about

20 per cent)

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