In some suburban Brisbane backyards and, some remnant coastal forests, lives a rainforest tree, another to hit the headlines as a functional commodity, called Backhousia citriodora or Lemon Scented Myrtle. From the leaves comes a wonderful aromatic herb that is undeniably lemon and uniquely Australian.
It can be substituted for lemon in most recipes and I’m an avid supporter of these flakes as they are called and willingly pay, yes I admit, the rather steep price of $7.99 to secure a precious 30 grams. Its sharp lemon flavour makes it an undeniable rival of lemon zest and its becoming extremely popular with chefs.
Lemon Myrtle flakes can be rubbed over lamb cutlets, which can then be roasted or grilled. It’s nice sprinkled in salads, goes well with chicken and fish and makes a nice lemon tea. There is also a recipe for lemon myrtle cheesecake and lemon myrtle tart.
Another uniquely Australian herb that can be used in baking is ground Wattleseed. A unique coffee drink called ‘Acaccino’ was produced by Vic Cherikoff, chef and producer of Australian herbs and spices. This happened by accident after he invented Wattleseed extract with a distinct aroma and flavour of coffee, chocolate and hazelnut. This extract he says then found its way into ice cream; custard, bread, whipped cream and chocolates.
Wattleseed does have a distinct nutty aroma and a coffee, hazelnut flavour and 10 millilitres of Wattleseed extract into a schooner of light beer, apparently, adds a rich, cleansing, nuttiness.
There are three Australian pepper spices. Two of these are Mountain Pepper and Dorrigo Pepper. The leaves have a better flavour, but the berries from these plants are also used. Pepperberries are very hot and come with a cautionary warning to only use 1/10th compared to conventional black pepper.
A blend produced by Cherikoff called Australian Alpine Pepper combines sumac and pepperberries. All of these peppers can be substituted for white or black pepper.
Eucalyptus Olida produces a herb that is marketed as, forest berry herb, by Herbie’s Spices, with flavours of passionfruit, berries and sweet spices that can be added to pancakes and enhance berry jams and sauces.
For chilli lovers try Cherikoff’s Australian rainforest rub, which he uses on potato chips and fries. In fact this is a very versatile herb that according to Vic has a chicken, spice, pepper and chilli heat flavour, followed by citrus aromatics and toasted seed.
Australian spices are gaining popularity and a number of products are available in the supermarket. They are still a niche product so be prepared for the hefty price tag. Supermarket suppliers are the Outback Cafe© and Outback Pride. Both of these suppliers are Indigenous communities, and provide a much needed income.
Vic Cherikoff sells a wide range of native herbs and spices off his website www.cherikoff.net/cherikoff/ Also Barbushco at www.barbushco.com.au and Herbie’s Spices at www.herbies.com.au Locally, there is Galeru www.galeru.com.au
On a final note, Lemon Scented Myrtle is native to Queensland and is even on the endangered list, so that’s a compelling reason to grow one or two. It’s a beautiful plant for the garden with masses of creamy white flowers with iridescent and showy stamens, and, of course, the beautiful lemon scented leaves. In fact most of the Backhousia species are aromatic and also produce other fine herbs.
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I am a lover of Lemon Myrtle especially cheesecake, tart and lemon myrtle shortbread biscuits. I enjoyed your overview of lemon myrtle.
Thanks Patricia. I've never tried any of the sweet recipes. Lemon myrtle shortbread sounds wonderful. Do you have a recipe you could share?
I love lemon scented myrtle and I have a bush in my yard. I would love to know how to make a lemon scented cheese cake with the actual leaves from my tree instead of buying the ground leaves from the market. How do I do this?
HI Kelli, Thanks for your post. Sorry for the late reply. I always buy the leaves, so I'm not sure. I would imagine you just dry the leaves and put through a food processor.