TRY SOME BUSH TUCKER

Also known as Botany Bay Greens, this leafy vegetable is native to Australia and New Zealand. Packed with vitamin C, it was one of the first native ingredients to be adopted into the diet of European settlers who used it to fight scurvy. A member QUANDONG of the sandalwood family, the quandong grows in arid and semiarid areas of the country. Sweet and tangy, the fruit can be stewed, dried or eaten as is; full of vitamin C, it is also a cure-all, reportedly good for treating toothache. With its LEMON MYRTLE green leaves and clusters of soft, fluffy yellow flowers, lemon myrtle is as pretty as it is tasty. One of the most widely used native ingredients, its leaves can be infused into oils for dressing salads and into dairy-based desserts or dried and added to spice mixes. Looking FINGER LIMES like a stretched lime, this year-round fruit is filled with caviar-like bubbles that literally pop with citrus flavour. High in vitamin C, Indigenous Australians have used them for medicinal purposes for thousands of years; the pulp and juice can be used as an antiseptic. Native to BUNYA NUTS south-east Queensland, especially around Bunya Mountains National Park, the bunya tree only bears fruit once it reaches 100 years in age, and then crops every two to three years. The nuts are found inside soccer ball-sized cones and can be eaten raw, roasted or milled into flour. Growing PEPPERBERRY naturally in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, as the name suggests this native produces small peppercorns that have a slightly sweet taste with a peppery kick in the tail. Endemic to MARRON south-west Western Australia, these freshwater crayfish have a sweet subtle taste and are quite the ingredient du jour at the moment. One of the GREEN ANTS most curious of bush tucker ingredients, found in the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland, these little insects have a green tinge and a fruity citrus taste; dried they can be added to spice mixes or sprinkled on ice-cream.