Bush Fruits

Fruits. Generally, bush fruits are added as garnishings and flavorings, occasionally being cooked down completely or puréed and reduced to extract their full characteristics, but losing the visual appeal unless additional whole fruits are added to finish. Some fruits are best not served whole, for example: bush tomatoes are too strongly flavored and are better chopped or used in their powdered form (akudjura). Illawarra plums do not tend to soften on cooking and their occasional astringency make blending Illawarra plums their best application. Add dark cherries in equal volume to the plums as an extender with minimal effect to the interesting yet subtle plum taste. Kakadu plums are also rarely used whole due to their fibrous seed. Spreadable Kakadu plum is the preferred starting material for glazes, sauces and as the base for chili or garlic and onion confit etc. Large wild limes, rosella and Davidsons plums can be cooked down to meat jams whereas the small wild limes are ideal for garnishes, particularly sugar-soaked and set in the center of a similarly soaked rosella flower with its petals spread. Lemon aspen is more economical in juice form as is the Top End cheesefruit. Munthari and riberry can be cooked hard and will not cook down nor lose their flavor while quandong and pepperberries are better gently simmered.