D
idyouknowthereis a fruitthathasthe
highestrecordedlevelsofvitaminC inthe
world– morethanorangesorkiwifruit–
andit growsnativelyinAustralia?Gubinge,
alsoknownasKakaduplum,is oneofmorethan
6500 nativeplantsthatareedibleandmedicinalwith
a muchlongerlineagethantheEuropeanbotanicals
andspicescommonlyfoundonourpantryshelves.
Butwedon’ttalkaboutthem,saysWarndu
co-founderandcookRebeccaSullivan.“Nothing
bothersmemorethanpeoplepaying$30a bagforgoji
berries,andtheywon’tspendthatkindofmoneyon
somethinglikeDavidson’splumsthatcontaintriple
theamountofantioxidants,”shesays.It’swhyshe,
alongsideherpartnerDamienCoulthard,a teacher
anddirectoroftheSouthAustralianNativeTitle
BoardfromAdnyamathanhacountry,createdthefree
nativesubstitutionguideande-bookavailableontheir
website.“Insteadofusingthymeina dish,usenative
thyme– we’renotmakingit difficultforyou,subone
ingredientinandoneout.”Theguideshowsyouall
theflavoursandcomparisons,alongwithrecipeson
theWarnduwebsitethateventhemostamateurcook
canmaster.Warndualsosellsoils,teasandpantry
packsallfilledwithnativeAustralianplants.Some
ingredientslikestrawberry-gumleaves,areground
freshtoorderandsealedinbags,perfecttohave
onhandinyourpantry.
Themainfocusmovingforward,Sullivansays,
is theneedtogrowtheseingredients“respectfully
andsteadily,whilemakingit thenorm– we’veseen
it inthespiritindustry,nownooneblinksaneye
at saltbushbeingincorporatedingin”.
Themostsuccessfulcaseofnativeplantsinspirit
production is Brendan and Laura Carter’s ApplewoodDistilleryinSouthAustraliaandtheirlimited-release
rangeofnativebotanical-inspiredgins.
Carterexplains:“Weallwantthenormalisation
ofnativeingredients,butfarmerswillonlyplantwhat’s
profitable.Spiritproductionusesthelargestamount
ofrawmaterial,doesn’tgooffandlastsa longtime.”
Throughtheirdevelopmentandrelationshipswith
farmers,theynowhavea steadysupplyofhigh-quality
nativeingredients.Theirfeatureginsusuallysellout
in 48 hours,andoncethey’regone,they’llneverbe
repeated.Augustsawthereleaseofa fingerlimegin,
whichdisplaysthemostbeautifullimeandalmost
spicygingerandblackpeppercharacters.Butthis
is onlyjustthebeginningsaysCarter.“We’rejust
scratchingthesurface– mostAussiesknowbarely
anythingaboutIndigenousingredients.Food,booze
andstoriesareculturalpillarsthatopenthedoor
tolearningaboutthem.”
Theeducationaroundtheseplantsandtheir
propertiesis highonthelistofprioritiesforAustralian
NativeFoodandBotanicals(ANFAB),thepeak
nationalbodythatrepresentsallinterestsinthe
rapidlygrowingnativefoodandbotanicalsspace.
ANFABChair,SuzanneThompson,recognises
thedistinctlackofeducationandculturalconnection
tothesefoodsbymostpeoplelivinginAustralia.“We
needtorelearnandreawakenthepracticesofbush
foods,integralagriculturalknowledge– weneedto
startthinkinglong-termintegration,”saysThompson.
A wayofachievingthiswouldbepermitsand
certificationforthefarmersandgrowersofthesenative
plants,a collaborationwiththeIndigenouspeople
whoseknowledgeofthelandandnativeplants’
propertiescomesfromtheirbloodlinesandfamily
stories – bringing this ancient knowledge into theFinger limePepperberryQuandong50 GOURMET TRAVELLER