Australian finger limes are the fruit equivalent of fish roe or caviar. For the past few weeks, a bowl of Australian native plant seeds and fruits has been on display in the visitor centre at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. A ranger on duty, opened one of the pods of finger lime and explained how the edible seeds, which we both sampled, would turn to a darker shade of red as they were exposed to the air. Visitors to the gardens are requested not to pick or eat any of the plants.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Gardens produces an Aboriginal Plant Use Trail pamphlet and I took one to follow the path just past the Pollen cafe to the finger limes (Citrus australasica). Up the main path in the gardens, beyond the rainforest gully is a fine specimen of lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) with its aromatic leaves and just past the waterfall yam daisies (Microseris lanceolata).
In a lecture during March at the National Museum of Australia on The Moth Hunters by Dr Josephine Flood, she explained that the bogong moth is full of protein when it aestivates in the mountains from 1 October. Pygmy possums feast on them. The moths gather “like tiles on a roof” with up to 17,000 moths on one square metre of rock. They make a shrieking sound at dusk when flying.
One archaeologist who spent some time researching in the Brindabellas lived on a diet of bogong moths and yam daisies. Dr Flood said in the 1980s she roasted them for just one minute on each side and one guest at a party at her place “ate them like peanuts” from a bowl on her mantlepiece.
There is a new Bush Tucker garden at the National Arboretum. It has been established during the past month in the Southern Tablelands Ecosystem Park (STEP) and features species chosen from “Ngunnawal Plant Use: a traditional place use guide for the ACT region”. Prior to that, the custodians of the STEP regional botanic garden area had been tending some edible Australian plants.
In the Discovery Garden at the Arboretum, specimens of finger lime are growing in individual planters. The bushes are still small but their thorns are wicked. First fruit is awaited with anticipation.
I first saw native finger lime in the home garden of Dr Leo Dobes of Griffith (Kitchen Garden February 2005) when he said the plant was grown as an experiment but it had become popular in his household, having acclimatised to Canberra winters. Leo’s kitchen gardening neighbour, Dr Maurice Haddad, said at the time that the pulp of finger lime was like iridescent pink caviar served with fish.
Last week I checked on the progress of the Dobes’ tree after 13 years. Leo says it is growing very well as it is sheltered by an olive tree. He loves the fruit and it has all been eaten, straight off the 1.5 metre tall shrub. To avoid the thorns, he wears strong quality gardening gloves. The finger lime has masses of small pink flowers in spring and it bears more than twenty fruit which don’t ripen at the same time so the season is extended. Tasters should wait until the skin is dark brown for full ripeness, then the ‘pearls’ explode in the mouth.
Leo Dobes has found that these tropical rainforest trees grow better with a spray of water on the foliage in hot weather and he uses recycled waste water from the kitchen.
In the goodfood spice issue on June 5, a side bar suggested six ways to add sparkle to your diet by dusting dukkah or berbere blends on cooked food. In the Gourmet Traveller June issue, renowned British cookery book author Claudia Roden, who was born in Cairo, explained that the spelling ‘dukkah’ comes from the classic Arabic word to pound which, in Egypt, is pronounced ‘do’a’. Originally it was blend of hazelnuts, sesame, cumin and coriander seeds.
Gewurzhaus in the Canberra Centre produces an Australian macadamia dukkah in which the traditional elements have been replaced with native Australian nuts and spices. The ingredients include macadamia nut, sesame, lemon myrtle, wattleseed, strawberry gum, bush tomato, aniseed myrtle, blood lime and native thyme. Somewhat addicted to this combo lately, I have been adding it to grilled fish and chicken just prior to completion of cooking and it forms a crust. It is also good on fresh sourdough bread with olive oil.
Last week friends and I shared the warm veggie patch salad and poke bowl which are on the Pollen menu. The sushi salad included brown rice, three colour quinoa, zucchini, carrot, red cabbage, avocado, black sesame seeds and yuzu wasabi dressing. Dukkah is added to the green brekky bowl and a sweet waffle. If you are lucky at the Gardens’ cafe, a kookaburra and a magpie will sit on the Main Path sign directly above some of the outdoor tables. They make an irresistible Australian image.
