Each day this week in the lead-up to Australia Day on Friday, we discover native ingredients with a series of recipes to celebrate the Spirit of Australia.
Lemon myrtle is sometimes referred to as the ‘Queen of lemon herbs’. It boasts an intensely citrus fragrance and flavour and has long been used in indigenous cuisine and medicine.
In the wild, you’ll find it in the subtropical rainforests of Central and South-eastern Queensland. Undoubtedly the most popular of Australia’s native herbs, lemon myrtle’s tangy fresh leaves can be used in teas, syrups, glazes, cakes, biscuits, dressings, sauces, ice creams, dips, meat and seafood dishes.
Essential oil distilled from the leaves has a refreshing lemony scent and has been found to have antifungal and antibacterial properties.
Harvesting is simple…just pluck fresh leaves as needed, removing no more than one-third of the plant at a time. If you want to grow lemon myrtle, it prefers a warm, sunny or shaded spot that is sheltered from frost and cold winds.
Grow in well-drained soil and keep well-watered throughout the year – leaves are oval, glossy green and about 5-12 cm in length. Lemon myrtle can grow up to 3 metres tall and up to 8 metres in rainforest conditions, however, it can also be grown in pots.
With its elegant branches of foliage and fragrant, creamy Autumn flowers, it’s also perfect as an ornamental shade tree or large shrub for any roomy garden.
Try this recipe for pan-seared pancetta-wrapped barramundi and lemon myrtle citrus salsa for an ideal Summer dinner and taste the Spirit of Australia for yourself!
Check out the rest of this series here:
AGFG acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, to the Elders past, present and emerging.
