Alpine Pepper, Mountain Pepper and Pepperberries

There are several types of native pepper. The pepper fruits, known as pepperberries, and leaves are all harvested from trees. The southern, Mountain pepper has a very spicy heat and aromatic flavour, while Alpine pepper is extremely hot. Dorrigo pepper from QLD also has spicy heat throughout the leaves and berry fruit. None of them is a true pepper, although they all have a hot and very interesting flavour. The leaves are dried and/or ground, while the pepperberries can be used in your pepper mill. The other peppers can be used in any dish in which you would use common pepper.

Uses: peppered gnocchi with venison ragout, pepperberry olive oil, pepperberry and black olive tapanade, pepperberry aioli, red capsicum and pepperberry relish.

Wikipedia: Alpine or Mountain Pepper and Pepperberries

Forestberry Herb

This herb can also be found as a powder. It has a strong passionfruit, strawberry character with hints of cumin and caraway. Add this to fruit, particularly berry, tropical or stone fruit, to enhance the flavours and add an interesting spicy note. It is a strong spice and 5g per kg is all that is necessary to bring out the flavours in other foods. It's nature's own flavour enhancer. Use to enhance curries, chutneys, dressings and stir fries. Also great in fruit cake!

Uses: use in a mixed berry sauce, plum or cherry and forestberry herb sauce for duck, venison with blackberry and forestberry herb sauce, blackcurrant and forest berry cheesecake.

Wikipedia: Forestberry Herb

The possibilities for the use of bush foods are endless. Who knows, we may all be scrambling about the base of a bush tomato tree in the dessert soon. At least we hope that after reading this guide you'll know what to do with some of the fruits of this incredible array of Australian native foods.

Bibliography

• Wild Lime: Cooking from the Bush Food Garden, Juleigh Robbins
• A Taste of the Bush Vol. 2, Jill Richardson
• www.cherikoff.net
• www.bushfood.net
• Bushfood on Wikipedia