Dorrigo Pepper

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Dorrigo Pepper
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Canellales
Family: Winteraceae
Genus: Tasmannia
Species: T. stipitata

Binomial name
Tasmannia stipitata
(Vick.) A.C. Smith

Tasmannia stipitata, Dorrigo Pepper or Northern Pepperbush is a rainforest shrub of temperate forests of the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Leaves are fragrant, narrow-lanceolate to narrow-elliptic, 8-13 cm long. Dark bluish to mauve berries follow the flowers on female shrubs. The species is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.

Culinary Use

The culinary qualities of T. stipitata were discovered by Aboriginal Australians.Template:Fact It gained wider recognition in the mid-1980s thanks to horticulturist, Peter Hardwick, who gave it the name 'Dorrigo pepper', and Jean-Paul Bruneteau, then chef at Rowntress Restaurant, Sydney.

Dorrigo pepper has a woody peppery note in the leaves and fruit/seed. The hot peppery flavor is derived from polygodial, an essential oil component.

References

  • Bruneteau, Jean-Paul, Tukka - Real Australian Food, ISBN 0-207-18966-8
  • Harden, G.J., Flora of New South Wales, Volume 1, ISBN 0-86840-164-1