I mentioned in a previous post that the quandong trees were laden and I was busy collecting these spring-time Australian native fruits.
You know how it is, when a fruit has such a short season, the sense of urgency, the need to not miss out just won’t go away.
I redoubled my efforts this week, braved the great outdoors and went quandong gathering again.
It is illegal to collect wild quandongs so I consider myself very fortunate to have these in the college grounds – a short trek across the oval and I was there. The trees are in a little grove and it was so peaceful, just the birds and the trees. like being far away from the city, gathering one of Australia’s most beautiful native fruits. Quandongs are so special and rare, I hope you get a chance to try them one day.
The quandong tree thrives in semi-arid conditions. The ripe fruit comes away easily for picking.
This photo gives you an idea of how these little jewels look. The colour is beautiful and they kind-of look and feel like a crabapple – they are picked hard and used hard, not a problem as these fruits are generally cooked for use in jams, compotes, pie fillings and sauces.
I know they’re small and you’ll see in a later post that the pip/stone is quite large for the size of the fruit, but, it really didn’t take all that long to fill my basket. I was told by someone last week that quandongs, when available, go for about AU$100/kg.
I think I walked back to the kitchen with around $200 worth and all from a very pleasant 1/2 hour’s work.
sweetrosie 