Rev Posted February 21, 2005 double posting cos itll get lost where it is... Feature : Boabs For thousands of years the Aborigines used every part of the tree – the bark for twine, the porous trunk for moisture and the fruit for medicine. The hard fruit pods are also useful as bowls and utensils. The thick, furry pod containing dry segments of fruit, a little like dried apple in texture. The fruit is very high in vitamin C (10 times that of an orange, it’s believed) and has an almost citrussy flavour. The roots are fresh-tasting and crunchy, a little like a radish or waterchestnut. Now some enterprising locals in the Kimberley town of Kununurra are developing boab products as a mainstream food. Boab fruit Melissa Boot has spent the last couple of years collecting boab fruit … visiting some of the most picturesque parts of the far north of Western Australia to harvest it. At first Melissa used the pod to make decorations. Then she decided to try and use the fruit commercially. To do this, though, she needed to get it formally accredited as a food, despite its traditional indigenous uses. It’s also incredibly healthy, as she explains. “Our Kimberley Indigenous people have been eating boab for centuries. They comment on how the fruit can help when you are feeling crook in the tummy. The Aboriginal people would grind the fruit into a flour like powder and make a pancake which they cooked on rocks, add water and bush honey to make a delicious dessert and even the seeds inside are said to make a coffee-like brew when boiled. Today the boab fruit has been used in many adventurous cooks’ kitchens. With the unique citrus flavour and the dry texture, boab fruit has been turned into an interesting array of culinary delights such as boab chocolate, boab bread, boab muffins and cakes and even as dry-roasted chunks sprinkled on a salad.” Principally, Melissa uses the fruit in chocolate and has built up a successful business. See contacts for product purchase information. Boab roots and seedlings On the outskirts of Kununurra, another boab food product is being cultivated from boab seedlings. The Western Australian Agriculture Department, in conjunction with two local growers, Peter Fox and Denise Hales, has been trialling young boab plants as a new vegetable. The Department’s researchers believe the boab root is very easy to grow and has great potential to be accepted as a conventional vegetable rather than branded as exotic “bush food”. So far they are selling about 30 bunches a week through local fruit shops and off the farm. The juicy roots taste a little like a radish or water chestnut, while the leaves have a pleasant peppery taste. The growing of a seedling Boab as a vegetable was taken from a Madagascan source and was trialled in the Kimberley by locals and now on a larger scale by local growers Denise Hales and Peter Fox. The trial has taken place with the assistance of funding by RIRDC and Department of Agriculture Western Australia who identified the potential of this crop. In undertaking the trialling of this vegetable it has been identified that the succulent young leaves of the plant are an additional find as they are edible and have a new and very distinct flavour that is great cooked up or in salads. The crop is grown from the Boab seed and depending on the time of year it is grown for six to ten weeks. The plant is then ready for consumption. The texture of the root is crisp and the young leaves are tender with a distinct flavour of their own. The root of the plant is very versatile in what it can be used for and can be served raw such as in salads or cooked up in any way you desire, as it does not have an overly strong or dominant flavour. Culinary uses Kununurra chef Richard Horan has been experimenting with the young boab plants – boiling, pureeing and roasting them. He says the root when roasted has a sweet parsnip-like flavour. He also uses sliced boab root in a paperbark parcel to top steamed fresh barramundi, and some fresh boab diced with mango and doused with Bacardi for an accompanying salsa. A list of boab recipes is below. More on the boab The Boab is an iconic tree to the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Related species of this tree are also found in Madagascar and Africa where the tree has been used for centuries a food source by the local people. Documented evidence suggests that native Australians also use parts of the tree for food and fibre. The boab tree flowers in the wet season. The flowers only open at night and look like a large tulip. This tree is also well known on other continents – Africa and India, for example. Its botanical name is Adansonia, while the Kimberley or Australian variety is Adansonia Gibbosa and Greggerii. Common names also include baobab, bottle tree, monkey fruit tree, cream of tartar tree, sour gourd tree and upside-down tree. The earliest recorded consumption of the fruit dates back to the ancient Egyptians. Although the tree is not native to Egypt, the fruit has been reported to have been found in Egyptian tombs. On Australian soil the boab has been used traditionally in many ways. The tree itself is remarked as a traditional sacred tree. It has brought its people not only shelter but also a main source of food. Along with its medicinal uses, the bark is used to make twine and the interior of the trunk holds moisture which can be cut out and sucked. The wooden exterior of the fruit is used for collecting water, berries, grubs and roots. BOAB FRUIT NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS Ascorbic Acid per100g 4.5 Sodium per 100g 10 Riboflavin per 100g 0.07 Potassium per 100g 2673 Thiamin per 100g 0.01 Magnesium per 100g 209 Protein 9.17 Calcium per 100g 250 Fat 4.96% Iron per 100g 6 Moisture 11.38% Boab researchers: Peter Johnson, Chris Robinson, Elizabeth Green Dept of Agriculture PO Box 19 Kununurra WA 6743 Email:[email protected] Email:[email protected] Email:[email protected] tel: 08 9166 4000 fax: 08 9166 4066 Boab growers: Peter Fox and Denise Hales PO Box 1285 Kununurra WA 6743 tel: 0417 184 563 Email:[email protected] In Perth, you can buy boab roots and leaves at: Boatshed Fresh Markets 40 Jarrad Street, Cottesloe. Boab fruit and chocolate: Melissa Boot Kimberley Boab Kreations PO Box 1379 ( 1528 Poincettia Way) Kununurra WA 6743 tel: 08 91681816 email [email protected] To purchase Melissa's boab chocolate, click here www.elquestro.com.au Chef: Richard Horan The Mercure Inn, Cnr Messmate and Duncan Highways Kununurra WA 6743 tel: 08 9168 1455 Related Recipes: Sauteed boab with barramundi and crayfish Boab and spiced chickpea salad Laksa with boab root Recipe: Laksa with boab root Boabs Ingredients: serves 4 1tbsp olive oil 2-3 tbsp laksa paste 400ml coconut milk 400ml fish/chicken/vegetable stock 1 cup rice noodles 500g white fish pieces (not cooked) or shredded cooked chicken 1 cup asian vegies (bok choy or pak choy) - shredded 3 boab roots (peeled and finely sliced/julienned) 1 red chilli - finely sliced 1/2 cup fresh coriander 1 tbsp fresh mint squeeze of lime Method: Heat a little oil in a pot and fry off laksa paste. Add the coconut milk and stock once the spices are fragrant and separate from the oil. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile soak the rice noodles separately and drain. Heap the noodles into individual bowls and pile the fresh greens, boab roots, cooked chicken and chilli on top. Pour over the hot soup to cover the noodles and vegies (which will steam in the hot soup). Garnish with lots of fresh mint/coriander and a big squeeze of lime. If you are using fish, add the fish pieces to the broth while simmering (for about 5mins) to steam the fish, then pour over noodles and vegies. Recipe from the Frangipani Kitchen. WA Recipe: Boab and spiced chickpea salad Boabs Ingredients: 1 tsp coriander seeds (ground) 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (ground) 1 small dried chilli (crushed/ground) pinch of salt ground pepper 400 g chickpeas, washed and well drained (until dry) 5 boab roots peeled and sliced fine lengthways (julienned) -cut just prior to use a handful boab leaves finely chopped 1 tbsp olive oil a squeeze of lemon juice Method: Grind all the dry spice ingredients together. Heat a wok or small fry pan with some olive oil then add the spice mixture. Fry briefly taking care not to burn the spices. Add the chickpeas and stir to heat and coat with the spice mixture. Add the julienned boab root and leaves and warm through for just a minute or so. Prior to serving, squeeze over lemon or lime. This can be served as a side dish with steak or kangaroo fillet and couscous. From the Frangipani Kitchen, WA Recipe: Sauteed boab with barramundi and crayfish Boabs Ingredients: Grilled Barramundi & Crayfish with sauteed Boab Serves 4 260 g fresh young boab tubers, peeled 80 g fresh young boab leaves 8 yellow squash 12 stalks green asparagus 2 tspn macadamia nut oil salt & pepper to taste 1 lemon dash white wine 400 grams baby barramundi fillets 4 red claw or other crayfish Coriander and macadamia pesto 80 ml macadamia nut oil quarter bunch coriander 6-8 mint leaves quarter preserved lemon half garlic clove 20 g macadamia nuts lightly roasted salt & pepper to taste Method: Wash and peel boab tubers and cut into quarters lengthways. Wash boab leaves and remove stalks. Cut squash into quarters. Heat frying pan with macadamia oil and sautee (for a minute or so) the boab tubers with squash and asparagus. Add a dash of white wine and season with salt and pepper. Add boab leaves just prior to serving Meanwhile, blanch the red claw in boiling water for 1 minute, cut in half then grill or panfry. Cut the barramundi into 8 equal pieces. Season with salt, pepper and fresh lemon then grill or panfry Place all ingredients for the pesto into a blender and mix until it becomes a smooth paste. To serve: place vegetables in the centre of a plate, arrange crayfish and barramundi on the vegetables and drizzle pesto over the top. Recipe created by: Marcus Mathyssek, Executive sous chef, Hyatt Regency, Perth tel: (08) 9225-1234 more info http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/NPP/02-020.pdf [ 20. February 2005, 23:55: Message edited by: Rev ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2b Posted February 21, 2005 Saw a peice on 'Landline' on the ABC about this place , great idea .The sprout of the seed grows a sort of tap root that tastes like radish (not sure if the world needs another raddish though ! )but none the less a great use of an Australian native plant that should have no trouble finding it's way onto plates in expensive restaurants. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr b.caapi Posted February 22, 2005 yeh, they dont tast too bad actually. i was given about 4 fruits and while i was digging the seed out sampled a bit of the flesh..which is like described above a lot like dried apple. my young bloke also sampled some and kept coming back for more. beats lollies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
