Bush Tomato Relish 220g
Tasting Notes: A super tasty sweeter style relish featuring the wonderful taste & aroma of the Bush Tomato. Not a hot or particularly spicy relish but packed with flavour that makes you want more and more. Serve on crackers with hard cheese or use with meat pies or bbq. Only a small amount is needed because of the strength of flavour, try a small amount stirred through your ravioli with some olive oil.
Natural History: Bush Tomato Solanum centrale grows in the very arid desert regions of Australia seen in red on the map (Right). It is a small silvery looking shrub covered in tiny hairs and it prefers to grow on the red sandhills where the berries mature to the same colour as the sand. There are several species of Bush Tomato however some are poisonous and to the untrained eye, appear identical to the edible varieties so it is best to leave the picking up to the people who have been eating them for thousands of years.
The Bush Tomato is related to the usual garden tomato, both being members of the Solanum family. It is a fast growing shrub that fruits prolifically the year after fire or good rains.
Cultural History: 'Akatjurra' is hand harvested by Aboriginal tribes in the Northern Territory. Our bush tomato is collected by the Alyawarra Tribe who's traditional homelands are east of Alice Springs in the northern tip of the Simpson Desert. You can see where this is, the yellow dot on the map above. It is usually the women who collect the Bush Tomato and they leave them on the bush to dry in the fierce desert sun until they are just right to be picked. The tiny dried tomatoes are then collected and further dried before being ground up and then laid out in the sun again.
Left: Bush Tomato growing at Uluru or Ayres Rock (seen in the background!) in central Australia. This picture shows the flowers (purple with yellow centre) and ripe fruit. The fruit is allowed to dry on the bush before being picked by local Indigenous people and sent to us at Kurrajong. This picture was taken by Proprietor Lee Etheringtons best mate Peter Christie.
Traditionally the Bush Tomato is very important to the Aboriginal people of central Australia. It was a staple at certain times of the year and could also be ground into a paste and rolled into large balls which were then stored for use in times when food was scarce. Today the traditional name Akatjurra is used for export to Europe to avoid import taxes on tomatoes!
Ingredients: tomatoes, onions, brown vinegar, sugar, bush tomatoes (3%), oven roasted capsicum, spices, salt
Using Your Bush Tomato Relish: Delicious with bbq meats and sausages, bacon & eggs. Scrumptious on burgers, sandwiches, cheese scones or as a side with omlettes. Use in a pizza or pasta sauce, great with any hard cheese.
Made By: Kurrajong Australian Native Foods.
Storage: Up to 18 months as per best before date on bottle, best stored in refrigerator. Refrigerate once opened & use within 4 weeks as no preservatives are used.
Other Bush Tomato Creations: Bush Tomato whole and ground in 20g & 100g sizes, bush tomato & mountain pepper seasoning in 180g & spice card sizes.
