All About Riberries
Riberries are the attractive pink/purple berries from the quaintly named Australian native Lilly Pilly tree (Syzgium family.) The tree has a wide growing range and is commonly seen along the eastern seaboard.
Many Australians are familiar with the attractive tree with its glossy green leaves and abundant clusters of purple jewel like berries. The species is often used as a street tree and is a favourite with gardeners because it is easy to grow, pest resistant and a non invasive species which provides food and shelter for many species of native birds and animals.
There are many varieties of the Lilly Pilly ranging from large trees, smaller trees, shrubs, weeping and hedging forms so no matter what size your garden there is a Lilly Pilly to suit. They are a relative of the rose apple and vary in size and flavour according to the variety.
The Australian Aboriginals have used the strongly aromatic fruit as a valuable and delicious food source for thousands of years. Joseph banks recorded that Captain Cook tried them himself whilst surveying the Eastern Coastline in 1770.
In pioneering times, some popular uses of Lilly Pilly were to make it into delicious jams, jellies, cordials and with apples or other fruit in pies. It was also enjoyed raw straight off the tree.
The quandong was another popular fruit amongst the pioneers and was used in similar ways. More about the quandong in another article.
As the fledgling Australian nation developed its food resources mainly importing livestock and very familiar seeds and plant stock from England some of these native fruits were forgotten about.
Recently we have rediscovered these native fruits and through modern technology and food sciences have realised that they are indeed a highly nutritious food as well as being a sustainable crop being pest resistant and evolved to suit the harsh Australian climate.
We use the riberry variety (Syzgium leuhmannii) which has a small pear shaped fruit and a stunning fragrant clove/cinnamon flavour.
The nutrient values of the riberry even though well known by the Aboriginal people are only now being discovered by food scientists.
A very informative report entitled “The Health Benefits of Australian Native Foods” was published by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra in 2009.
The report details the nutrient values of many Australian Native Foods and the following information has been gleaned from its pages.
A commonly used measure of anti oxidant levels in foods is the ORAC Score which Rates the Blueberry as the commonly used standard against which to measure other fruits.
Riberries are found to have a higher ORAC score and contain higher levels of Iron, Magnesium, Zinc and Calcium than Blueberries.
Nutrient values compared to Blueberries
Orac Value Iron(fe) Magnesium Zinc Calcium (mg/100gDW)
Riberry 817.2 5 247 1.4 310
Blueberry 436.8 2.5 40 1.1 50
It is obvious that the riberry deserves a place in our diet and being a versatile fruit it has many uses both sweet and savoury.
Instead of making a cranberry or other fruit based sauce to serve with the Christmas ham or turkey make a sauce of riberries for a delicious sauce with a difference. They can also be added to your favourite chutney recipe.
A favourite at our Christmas table is the ever popular pavlova loaded up with cream and and an assortment of fresh seasonal berries. I always add a scattering of riberries to the fruit on top. It adds a colour impact as well as a flavour sensation which is a great contrast to the other berries.
Riberries are also useful wherever you would normally use other fruit, such as in muffins, mixed with apple for a great apple crumble.
There are also some great riberry jams and preserves available on internet sites.
Try Indigiscapes Botanic Gardens and Teahouse at Runnymede Road Capalaba. The teahouse serves beautiful Australian native themed morning and afternoon teas and is well worth a visit. You can then take a stroll through the tranquil native gardens and the gardeners amongst us might like to purchase some of the fabulous native plants they sometimes have on sale at extremely reasonable prices. Bookings are advisable.
