Quandongs have been an important traditional aboriginal fruit, which is, although somewhat tart, highly nutritious and contains twice the vitamin C of an orange.
The kernel is also very nutritious but indigenous Australians tended to use this mainly for medicinal purposes.
The wood from the slow growing trees was prized for the making of traditional bowls – pitti or coolamons.
50gm, 100gm, 250gm, 500gm and 1kg of dried quandong halves (100gm reconstitutes to approx 500gm when soaked in water overnight) are available year round from Taste Australia Bush Food Shop.
Glace Quandong
Ingredients
100gm Dried Quandong
Sugar
Make sugar syrup of equal water and sugar.
Heat to 70C, in stainless steel saucepan .
Pour warm syrup over dried fruit, enough to cover it.
24 hours later add 20gm sugar and bring fruit in syrup to 70C
Turn off heat. Repeat this process for 5 more days ,which brings you to 7 days in total processing.
On the 8th day warm the fruit mixture and pour off syrup (bottle off and use for toppings etc) catch fruit in strainer ,allow to drain, dry in oven on low temperature.
Quandong Chilli Sauce
15 Quandongs (dried or fresh) rough chop
1/4 cup vinegar (don’t use sweet spiced type)
2 small chillies – chopped and de- seeded
1 tsp salt
1 tbspn brown sugar or palm sugar
If using dried quandong soak in a little warm water for half an hour, then drain.
Simmer slowly quandong and chillies in the vinegar with salt and sugar added, until mixture has become reduced and quandongs soft and mushy, about 30 mins.
Sauce should coat the back of a spoon and not just run straight off.
Quandong Flour:
Crack the quandong seeds open (you’ll need an Aussie B.O.N.K. or something with a similar nut cracking action as they’re tough).
Inside, remove the outer shell to uncover a dark brown rough coat which also needs to be removed so you can get at the oil rich kernel which you then roast to create yummy quandong flour.
Roasting is as important in the process as is roasting coffee beans ready for use.
Quandong Paste
Ingredients
100gm dried quandong
400gm sugar
juice of one lime
Cover the quandong with water and soak for a minimum of one hour.
Cook until tender (about 30 minutes). Strain
Puree the fruit and place in a pot with sugar and lime juice.
Cook for approx half an hour until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened.
Then pour into moulds and allow to cool before covering.
Quandong in Liqueur
Soak 100gm dried quandong halves in water overnight, drain and transfer to a large glass jar. Add 750ml Vodka plus cooled sugar syrup (2 cups sugar dissolved in half cup water). Stir into the jar. Seal and place in a cool dark place. Stir weekly. Should be ready in 4 to 6 weeks.
Make delicious snacks or can be reconstituted by adding one part water or juice to one part leather. An easy dessert for babies and kids. For sugar free jam reconstitute 3 parts leather to one part water.
Quandong Relish
Soak 1 packet of dried quandong halves for a minimum of 30 minutes. Drain and then cover with fresh water. Cook until soft. Drain.
Then add 1 small onion (diced), 300ml vinegar, 150gm sugar, 6gm salt and 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (optional). Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and blend. Then return mixture to the pot and simmer until it’s thick and creamy.
Pour into warm jars, seal and sterilise.
Quandong Wattleseed Cream
I soaked 100gm dried quandong in water for one hour and then cooked it until it softened before adding half a cup of sugar and letting it cook on for a further 10 mins or so (so the sugar melts). Then I drained off 50ml of liquid and while it was still hot, placed a tablespoon of ground wattleseed in it. Allowed the mix to cool.
Then whipped it with 300ml of thickened cream.
Serving suggestions: with Baked Quandong Ravioli or Quandong Parcels or….
Serve with Quandong, Hazelnut and Wattleseed Cake:
Blend 185gm unsalted butter and 185gm sugar. When light and creamy ass 185gm self raising flour, 160gm Hazelmeal, 25gm ground wattleseed, 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, 100ml quandong syrup (drained from cooked quandong above). Mixture will be quite stiff.
Spread half the mixture into a cake tin (greased and lined), then add drained cooked quandong, then top with remaining mixture.
Bake 180C for approx one hour.
Wattleseed & Quandong Cockles
* 325gm Unsalted Butter, softened
* 120 gm Icing Sugar
* 2 Tbsp Australian Honey
* 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
* 2 cups of SR Flour
* 1 cup of Custard Powder
* 1 tsp wattleseed
These gorgeous biscuits literally melt in your mouth.
1. Cream butter and sugar for 5 mins. Add Honey and Cinnamon and beat for another minute.
2. Sift flour, wattleseed and custard powder, add to butter mixture.
3. Roll into small balls and place on lined trays. Press down with a fork.
4. Bake at 180°C for 15 to 20 mins, until just golden. Don’t over cook.
5. Transfer to wire cooling racks.
6. When biscuits are cool, join with Outback Pride Quandong Jam.
Quandong Jam
100gm Dried Quandong, 2 granny smith apples, 600gm castor sugar, 1 lemon or lime, juiced
Put the quandong in a bowl, cover with water and leave to soak for about 8 hours or overnight. (Yields just about 500gm of fruit)
Peel, core and roughly chop the granny smith apples and then place the apple and the quandong in a pan with the quandong soaking water and lemon juice. Simmer for about 30 minutes until soft, stirring from time to time. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sugar, Stir until sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, boil rapidly for 20 to 25 minutes stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Remove from the heat, blend if required, but be sure to leave chunky pieces of apples and quandong in the jam. Pot and cover as usual.
Quandong Jam (CWA recipe)
Makes 8cups
1kg fresh quandongs
1kg caster sugar
100ml water
Chop up the fruit and combine with sugar and water in a large saucepan and put it over medium heat, stirring constantly as it comes to the boil. Lower the heat so it simmers. Cook until it reaches setting point (usu 45mins ish). Test by dropping a teaspoonful onto a cold saucer. Let it cool, and when you push it with your finger, it should wrinkle.
Be careful not to overcook and caramilze the sugar as this will alter the colour and flavour of the jam.
Once its ready, pour into sterilized jars and seal. Should keep about a year unopened in the pantry, refrigerate once opened.
Quandong, Port and Desert Sauce Suits kangaroo, duck, pork and rabbit
INGREDIENTS – makes750ml
| 50g of Dried Quandongs 500ml apple juice 200ml port | 1/2 teaspoon Tropical Pepperberry Sea Salt 1/2 teaspoon Saltbush 2 teaspoons cornflour, dissolved in a little cold water |
METHOD
- Place the dried quandongs in a saucepan with the apple juice and leave overnight. Then bring to a simmer for 10 minutes, turn off the heat, and allow them to cool and stand for at least a further 2 hours to rehydrate.
- Add the port, Tropical Pepperberry Sea Salt and Saltbush and bring back up to a simmer for 5 minutes.
- Briskly stir in the dissolved cornflour to thicken slightly before removing from the heat.
Quandong Liqueur & Macadamia Nut Cake
150gm macadamia nuts (finely ground)
1 jar Quandong in Liqueur (pureed)
250gm butter
220gm sugar
4 eggs
300gm plain flour
6 teaspoons baking powder (six is correct)
Grease deep 25cm round cake pan and cover base with baking paper.
Blend butter until smooth and then add sugar gradually. Beat until light and fluffy and pale.
Add eggs one at a time beating well between additions.
Then slowly add the sifted flour, baking powder and nut mixture. Alternate with 1 cup of quandong puree until all combined.
Pour into prepared pan and bake in moderate oven 45 minutes. If cake tester comes out clean it’s cooked otherwise reduce the heat and cook for up to another 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and spread any remaining quandong puree over the top. Allow to cool. Serve with whipped wattleseed cream
Quandong and Rosella Confit Syrup
Place half cup of dried quandong in a bowl with half cup of dried rosella and just cover with water. Leave for 4 hours (you may need to top up the water a little to keep the fruit just covered)
Into a pot place a cup of sugar and a cup of water. Heat, until sugar dissolves. Stir occasionally.
Add soaked quandong and rosella including the soaking water and simmer until quandong is tender. Stir in a teaspoon of Desert Lime Powder and half a teaspoon of Native Thyme. Cool. Store in fridge in a sealed jar.