Monday, March 18, 2013

Lilly Pilly or Lilli Pilli?



Well, there were no suggestions out there on a Twitter plea for what to do with these gorgeously coloured lilly pilly berries !

The delicate creamy, puffy blossoms are followed by this mouthwatering fruit tasting of a cross between a Jamaican otaheiti apple and a crunchy pear with cinnamon and allspice overtones.

Oh but wait, that is why Ms Tagalong is reminded of otaheite apples; they are from the same family. When in doubt look up those botanical names! 

Lilly pilly - Syzygium oleosum
Otaheite apples - Syzygium samarangense. Well I never. 

Both have their origins in the South Pacific and are delicious stewed or crushed with ginger.

So what did Ms Tagalong do with hers?

She boiled and simmered them in water for about 10 minutes just covering the fruit in the pan.

She drained them.

She made a syrup of brown sugar, mixed peppercorns, bayleaf and some grated ginger and boiled until thickened.

She de-stoned the fruit, once cooled, easy as they were now very soft.

Finally the berries were placed back in the syrup and blended to form a sort of thick sauce. (Bay leaf extracted of course!)

Finished product, a jar of piquant sauce to be enjoyed hot or cold with lamb chops, vegetable kebabs or anything you like really!

Any other ideas for this wonderful abundant fruit gratefully received!




It's great to have some feedback, so please leave me some comments.

2 comments:

  1. Received this comment from Lizardland in Bellingen about improving the colour! Thanks for that, will do so next time.

    if you remove brush cherry seeds before cooking you get a really clear
    pink result and
    - good in salads, colour and flavourwise

    ReplyDelete
  2. They also make marvelous wine! Soak, cook, crush, and strain the liquid. Add sugar and ferment. YUM!

    ReplyDelete

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