I didn't know you could eat lilli pillis

The berry has a tart, cranberry-like flavor, that has a hint of cloves. - Native Tastes of Australia

When our friends came to lunch last week one of them gave us a jar of spiced lilli pilli wild conserve. I was a bit surprised because we have a lilli pilli tree in our garden. It's actually a pretty amazing tree because many years ago it fell over and we thought it was dead. But we were lazy and didn't cut it up or anything. It was just left to lie there and it actually just went on growing - sort of sideways. And every year it has these clusters of berries. I just assumed they were not eatable. But apparently they are.

And it seems most Australians know this. So maybe I should have a go at making jam myself.

The jar I was given was from a company named Tuckeroo, which also intrigued me. It's a while since I have explored any Australian food companies. So I looked them up.

There was not really a huge amount of information on the site about its history, other than that it was founded by a man named Andrew Fielke, who also has his own website. He is a chef/consultant who has worked here and overseas, including at the Savoy in London. Mind you, you never quite know what that means do you? He could have been anything from the dishwasher to the head chef in the Savoy. Anyway in the mid 80s he discovered the glory of native foods and has built up this business. I do not know whether they make all of the foods sold on their website. I think they may just distribute some of them, because some have different labelling. The jam, however, does have 'by Andrew Fielke' on the label, so perhaps they make some and distribute others. Other things they sell are two damper bread mixes, some biscuits, some spice mixes and some glazes. They are based in Adelaide but obviously have had some success in getting their wares into shops elsewhere in Australia. I don't know where Helen bought it.

I look forward to tasting it. In fact I should probably try it before I launch into making my own. The 'tasting notes' on the website say:

"Fabulous tart Rain-forest fruit balanced with spices and strawberry gum. Great on the breakfast table or with cheese." Tuckeroo website

They recommend using it for glazes, in tarts and with cheese as well as just eating it as jam.

Lilli pillis are sometimes called Lilly Pillys or riberries. I think the riberries are just one of the different varieties and have a more pear shaped fruit. I gather these are better for cooking with because they don't have seeds. The others do, and you need to get them out before cooking with them. They say you just squeeze them to get them out, but I bet you don't. Could be fiddly if you are making jam. I bet mine are not the seedless ones.

But you can use them for a whole bunch of things that you would use a slightly sour fruit for.

"Although lillypillies are wonderful straight off the tree, the berries are suitable for everything from adding a distinct Aussie twang to cakes and muffins, to forming a terrific sauce for game meat. And all this from a plant commonly used to prevent strangers from peering into your bathroom." Max Veenhuyzen - The Guardian Australia

If you do want to make jam, here is one recipe - Riberry jam - which I note specifies riberries. The ingredients seem to match pretty much to the ingredients on my jar, although that also has unspecified spices.

Then you can make gin - or brandy or vodka - Lillipilli gin. This seemed to involve crushing the berries and then steeping them in your chosen alcohol for a month or so, before straining off into a bottle. In these days of designer gin, I guess this could be interesting.

Then there was

Lilly Pilly salad with goat's cheese and honey from a site called Food from Michelle's kitchen.

I didn't find anything truly different, but nevertheless it does seem that it might be a useful substitute for things like cranberries or pomegranates or even my wild plums.

And did I mention that of course it's a super fruit and very good for you - for beauty products too - anti-aging, and so on? A little miracle in my own back yard that I have ignored for some 30+ years.