Tukka Restaurant

This is quite old and I thought I had put it up previously but can't find it now so I post again.

A most delight glossary - makes you hungry just reading it!

Native Ingredients

Anisata

Anethoela anisata

Taste: Delicate aniseed flavour from the leaves.

Where from: Rainforests along the east coast.

Bonus: Related to the Lemon and Cinnamon Myrtle. Also known as Aniseed Myrtle.

Blue Quandong

Elaeocarpus grandis

Taste: The flesh is a deep red and has a rich berry taste with a spicy finish.

Where from: Rainforests in southeast QLD.

Bonus: The berries are metallic blue a little bigger than a blueberry, with a large stone.

Black Apple

Planchonella Australis

Taste: Deep purple, red flesh, tart crab apple flavour with high tannins.

Where from: Rainforests in southeast QLD.

Bonus: The fruit has a huge stone and very little flesh.

Bush Tomato

Solanum centrale

Taste: Spicy piquant flavour, similar to concentrated sun dried tomatoes with strong tamarillo/caramel character.

Where from: Central desert regions.

Bonus: The plant dies in humidity. Also known as Akudjura in its ground form, Desert raisin or Desert tomato.

Cinnamon Myrtle

Anethoela anisata

Taste: Delicate aniseed flavour from the leaves.

Where from: Rainforests along the east coast.

Bonus: Related to the Lemon and Cinnamon Myrtle. Also known as Myrtlifolia.

Davidson Plum

Davidsonia pruriens

Taste: Sharp acidic plum taste.

Where from: Rainforests of northern NSW, southern and far north QLD

Bonus: It's related to the pine family. The fruit contains two flat and very hard seeds (they look like stingrays).

Desert lime

Eremocitrus glauca (now Citrus glauca)

Taste: True citrus bite with a distinctive and concentrated lime flavour closed aligned to the West Indian lime.

Where from: A native to the Brigalow Belt of central QLD and SA.

Bonus: The fruit is dark green in colour with a porous skin.

Finger lime

Microcitrus australasica (now Citrus australasica)

Taste: A citrus flavour between lime and grapefruit.

Where from: Rainforests in northern NSW and southern QLD.

Bonus: Grows from a spiny shrub, the fruits are slender and cylindrical and can be green, red or orange. The flesh is made up of many globules, similar in touch and appearance to caviar. Also known as Rainforest lime.

Illawarra Plum

Podocarpus elatus

Taste: Plum/cherry characteristics with a little less sweetness and a pleasant yet subtle resinous quality.

Where from: Eastern seaboard rainforest from southern NSW to southern QLD.

Bonus: High in vitamin C and is a fruit of the 'Brown Pine'.

Kakadu Plum

Terminalia ferdinandiana

Taste: Mild apricot flavour with a mango-style stone.

Where from: Found in the Kakadu region of NT to the Kimberley's in northwest Australia.

Bonus: It's an olive-sized green fruit. In 1982 it was discovered to be the world's highest source of vitamin C.

Lemon Aspen

Acronychia acidula

Taste: Strong citrus flavour with tart aftertaste flavours of eucalypt and honey.

Where from: Tropical northeast, eastern and far north Queensland.

Bonus: The aspen family of trees is the evolutionary precursor to the citrus family.

Lemon Eucalypt

Eucalyptus staigeriana

Taste: A lemon flavour but without the acid background of the common lemon.

Where from: Monsoon rainforests in far north QLD and NT.

Bonus: The leaf oil is one of the purest sources of lemon oils. Also known as Lemon Wardnee, Lemon Ironwood.

Lemon Myrtle

Backhousia citriodora

Taste: Smooth blend of lemon and lime with a spicy, highly aromatic lemongrass accent.

Where from: Rainforest tree from the east coast of Australia.

Bonus: It looses almost all its volatile oils (and hence its flavour) if cooked at too high a temperature.

Lilly Pilly

Syzygium luehmanii

Taste: Distinctive clovey, fruity taste with a spicy backbone.

Where from: Southern NSW through to northern QLD.

Bonus: It's related to the clove and there are over 60 varieties of edible Lilly Pilly ranging from the very bland to the highly fragrant. Riberry, Small Leaf Lilly Pilly and Cherry Alder.

Macadamia Nut

Macadamia integrifolia 

Taste: It's an oily and delicious nut.

Where from: Eastern cost of Australia.

Bonus: It was first produced commercially around 1900 in Hawaii. It took until 1963 for commercial development to begin in Australia. High in fat, but cholesterol free. QLD Nut, Bush Nut.

Muntries

Kunzea pomifera

Taste: Granny Smith apple flavour with a sweet sultana finish and a hint of spice.

Where from: Coastal and inland sand dunes near the VIC-SA border, inland to the Victorian Mallee and desert regions, and the SA Coorong region.

Bonus: Also known as Munthari, Native Cranberries.

Native Melon

Cucumis trigonus

Taste: Very mild flavour, with a melon-like texture.

Where from: Grows throughout Australia in flood plains.

Bonus: This is a ground creeper that will grow very quickly after rain to produce its fruit. The native melon is an ancient plant from Gondwanaland, and an ancestor of the rock melon and cantaloupe melon.

Native Mint

Prostanthera rotundifolia

Taste: A true mentha with a gentle and pleasing aftertaste, closer to peppermint than garden mint.

Where from: Northern NSW and southern QLD, also common in park and gardens around the country.

Bonus: Not to be confused with Cut Leaf Mint (or Native Sage), which has a very different flavour. We use the biological variety 'Prostanthera Rotundifolia'. Also known as Wild Mint, Mint Bush.

Cut Leaf Mint

Taste:

Where from: Found in NSW and VIC, but also grown in QLD.

Bonus: N/A

Native Tamarind

Diploglottis Australis

Taste: The fruit is delightfully tart, with a hint of mandarin and quite juicy.

Where from: Eastern seaboard of QLD and NSW.

Bonus: Small vivid orange berry with an outer shell like a lychee. It's native and was used by Aboriginal groups as a food. There is also a non-native Tamarind in the Kimberly region and Arnhem Land introduced by Indonesian fishermen in search of sea cucumbers.

Native Thyme

Taste: Complex flavour of thyme, tarragon and gum leaf.

Where from: Central QLD desert.

Bonus: N/A

Paperbark

Melaleuca quinquenervia

Taste: Not used as a food product.

Where from: Throughout Australia.

Bonus: Used to wrap food in order to keep them moist throughout slow baking process and giving a 'mushroom-smoked' flavour to the food. Also known as Melaleuca.

Pepperberry

Tasmanian lanceolata

Taste: True pepper taste, but more powerful and builds at the back of the palate.

Where from: It grows in TAS, with closely related species from NSW (Dorrigo Pepper) and QLD.

Bonus: Black berries, with a hot seed cluster and are bright red when crushed. Also known as Mountain or Tasmanian pepperberries.

Pepperleaf

Tasmanian lanceolata

Taste: Pepperry and slightly hot with an unusual fragrant, spicy, herby taste.

Where from: It grows in TAS, with closely related species from NSW (Dorrigo Pepper) and QLD.

Bonus: N/A. Also known as Mountain or Tasmanian pepperleaf.

Quandong

Santalum acuminatum

Taste: Tart apricot/peach flavour with a touch of cinnamon.

Where from: Throughout arid parts of Australia, but concentrated in SA.

Bonus: It is in no way related to the Blue Quandong of QLD. Also known as Native Peach or Desert Peach.

Sandpaper Fig

Ficus coronata

Taste: The fruit is deep purple with a fig-like taste.

Where from: It grows in rainforests overhanging creeks and billabongs in southeast QLD.

Bonus: It's called sandpaper fig because it has very rough leaves, similar to sandpaper.

Strawberry Eucalypt

Eucalyptus olida

Taste: Subtle strawberry flavour combined with the eucalyptus oils.

Where from: Northern NSW.

Bonus: This leaf can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes.

Sugar Bag

Native Bee Honey

Taste: Exceptional honey and mellow port flavour.

Where from: Northern NSW and southern QLD (this is the one we use, there are other kinds from different regions).

Bonus: This honey has a thin consistency and a higher sugar concentration compared with other honeys. Native Bees are stingless. A large hive may produce only one litre of this delicacy.

Warrigal Greens

Tetragonia tetragonoides

Taste: Similar to spinach, but a bit closer to green beans.

Where from: Coastal regions on sandy soil or in salt marshes and plains.

Bonus: Captain Cook dined on warrigal greens and stingray in 1770. The warrigal greens were eaten to stave off scurvy. Aboriginals have been eating this plant for thousands of years. The leaves of this ground creeper are arrow shaped and must be blanched before eating. Native Spinach or Tetragon.

Wattleseed

Acacia victoriae

Taste: Coffee/chocolate/hazelnut flavour.

Where from: Different varieties of Acacia grow almost everywhere in Australia. Wattleseed is usually taken from a particular dryland wattle.

Bonus: The seeds are roasted to bring out the flavour. There are over 600 species of Acacias (Wattle), of which, 40 are edible. The Wattle is Australia's national floral emblem. Also known as Wattle, Acacia.

Wild Hibiscus Flowers

Hibiscus sabdariffa

Taste: They have a raspberry/rhubarb/plum flavour with a firm texture.

Where from: Coastal regions all around the Bay of Carpenteria.

Bonus: These are the cullex of the flower, rather than the flower itself. Also known as Wild Rosella.

Wild Raspberry

Taste: Delicate and very pleasant raspberry flavour.

Where from: Northern NSW and southern QLD.

Bonus: They are very small raspberries and only fruit for a short time each year.

Game meats & fish

Barramundi

Whole baby Barramundi

Taste: Soft flakey flesh, with a wonderful flavour.

Where from: Wild from North QLD or saltwater farmed in QLD.

Bonus: This is an ancient fish belonging to the family of giant perch dating back 55 million years. Today it lives in the brackish rivers, creeks and swamps of lush tropical and sub-tropical northern Australia.

Crocodile

Taste: It tastes like what it has been fed. Feed it chicken, it tastes like chicken; feed it fish it tastes like fish.  The crocodile we use is fed on a natural fish diet and is similar to mild squid.

Where from: Farmed at Cairns Crocodile Farm, Cairns, QLD.

Bonus: We use three-year-old farmed crocodile. It has to be cooked like squid, very briefly in a hot pan or it goes rubbery and tough. It is salt-water crocodile.

Moreton Bay Bugs

Taste: They have a slightly sweet flavour, similar to mild lobster.

Where from: Caught from Moreton Bay, Brisbane.

Bonus: They are a crayfish and are a very close relation to Balmain Bugs. Only the meat from the tail is used.

Yabbies

Taste: A deliciously sweet crayfish flavour.

Where from: These are farmed in dams throughout QLD. Ours are from a farmed in the Sunshine Coast.

Bonus: They are also known as red claws and they are a fresh water crayfish.

Emu

Taste: A mild gamey flavour with a slightly earthy taste.

Where from: Farmed at Makin Emus, in Adelaide.

Bonus: It’s a red meat and despite resembling beef, it’s qualified as poultry. It’s incredibly low in fat, even less than venison and very high in iron. It is best served rare or medium rare. There are many Aboriginal names for this bird including Oorooba, and they generally stem from the guttural drumming sound the bird makes.

Kangaroo

Taste: It has a distinctive, mildly gamey taste with a rich texture.

Where from: Wild harvested (shot) in the area around Roma in QLD.

Bonus: The mainland Kangaroo and Tasmanian wallaby are very lean protein-rich meats, low in cholesterol, high in polyunsaturated fatty acids and iron. Unlike sheep and cattle, the marsupials are not treated with the potent chemicals that are used to keep introduced animals healthy.

Wallaby

Taste: Very mild flavour similar to beef, and not as gamey as kangaroo.

Where from: Wild harvested (shot) from Tasmania.

Bonus: The meat is very tender and cooked medium rare.

Possum 

Taste: The flavour is similar to rabbit, but with a milder flavour like lamb.

Where from: Wild harvested from Tasmania.

Bonus: The animal is not protected in Tasmania, although some species in some habitats around Australia are protected.  Like all our game meats this is export quality meat and prepared under the highest quality processes in this country. The majority of possum meat is exported and we are one of the few domestic restaurants to offer it on our menu.

Wild boar

Taste: The flavour is similar to pork, but has a richer flavour and is a firmer meat (not tough, but it is denser). It isn’t gamey like European Wild Boar.

Where from: Wild harvested (shot) from central QLD and NT.

Bonus: It is prepared to export standards for US and German markets. There are over 6 million Wild boars in Australia, sold almost exclusively for export. There are only about half a dozen restaurants in Australia with wild boar on the menu. We use the back strap (from the group of muscles lying along the spine) and the meat is cooked to medium.