Australian herbs and spices were used byAboriginal peoples to flavour food in ground ovens.[1] The term "spice" is applied generally to the non-leafy range of strongly flavoured dried Australianbushfoods. They mainly consist ofaromaticfruits and seed products, although Australian wild peppers also have spicy leaves. There are also a few aromatic leaves but unlike culinary herbs from other cultures which often come from small soft-stemmedforbs, the Australian herb species are generally trees from rainforests, open forests and woodlands.
Australian herbs and spices are generally dried and ground to produce a powdered or flaked spice, either used as a single ingredient or in blends.
They were used to a limited extent by colonists in the 18th and 19th centuries. Some extracts were used asflavouring during the 20th century. Australian native spices have become more widely recognized and used by non-Indigenous people since the early 1980s as part of the bushfood industry, with increasinggourmet use and export.[2][3]
They can also be used as a fresh product. Leaves can be used whole, like a bay-leaf in cooking, or spicy fruits are added to various dishes for flavour.
Thedistilled essential oils from leaves and twigs are also used asflavouring products.
