Can you eat blue Quandong?

Asked by: Harsha Crowley

Blue Quandong (also called Blue Marble Tree or Blue Fig, though it is not a type of fig) is more commonly grown as an ornamental, prized for its beautiful wood, attractive flowers and bright blue fruit. In Aboriginal cooking, the fresh fruit was mixed with water to make an edible paste.

Can you eat blue marble fruit?

However, it does offer glossy 5 to 7-inch leaves and pink and white, licorice-scented flowers followed by 1-inch, olive-shaped fruits of a startlingly intense cobalt blue. Those fruits are edible, though what little greenish-yellow pulp they contain has a sour-ish taste.

What part of the Quandong do you eat?

The ripe, sweet, beautifully textured flesh of the Quandong is eaten fresh, although it can also be dried and stored for future use.

What is a Blue Fig?

blue fig – Australian tree having hard white timber and glossy green leaves with white flowers followed by one-seeded glossy blue fruit.

Can dogs eat Quandongs?

No, desert quandong is dangerous to dogs. The desert quandong tree mostly acquires its nutrients from nearby plants. This also means toxic qualities from certain vegetations can be passed on to the desert quandong. Thus, it is potentially poisonous to dogs.

What does Blue Quandong taste like?

Uses for Quandong
Quandong is said to smell like dry lentils or beans if slightly fermented. The fruit tastes both mildly sour and salty with varying degrees of sweetness. Fruit is picked and then dried (for up to 8 years!) or peeled and used to make delicacies such as jams, chutneys, and pies.

Are Quandong fruit edible?

The nutritious red pulpy flesh of the fruit has a distinctive flavour and is used in jams, pies, and chutneys. The hard-shelled edible seeds, known as quandong nuts, are customarily roasted but also can be eaten raw.

How do you eat a quandong?

The ripe, sweet, textured flesh of the Quandong can be eaten fresh, and is often dried and later reconstituted. It has twice the Vitamin C of an orange and the tart, salty taste lends itself to be used in a range of sweet and savoury dishes. Try it in jams, preserves, sauces, chutneys and relish.

What did Aboriginal people use quandong for?

Traditionally the Quandong was an important food source for Australian Aborigines. Amongst male members of central Australia’s Pitjantjara people, Quandongs were considered a suitable substitute for meat – especially when hunting game was in short supply.

What Colour is a quandong?

Quandongs flower from later summer into early autumn. The fruit changes colour from green to red in late winter and harvest usually occurs during spring.

What animals eat quandong?

Without any teeth, emus eat by “gulping and digesting” and have an appetite for tasty native foods like quandongs, emu plum, native cranberries, geebungs, sandalwood kernels, kangaroo apples and the tiny lemony-tasting fruits of the coast beard-heath.

Are quandong trees protected?

Conservation Status
Hairy Quandong is listed as endangered.

How long does it take for quandong to fruit?

Theoretically, this means all plants within at least 10 metres of the Quandong because its roots can reach that far. If all goes to plan, your climate is not too cold and you have used one of the two available cultivars, you should have spectacularly red ornamental fruits within 4 years.

How do you propagate blue Quandong seeds?

The Blue Quandong has really hard seed-coat, and the simplest way to break their dormancy is to put them in a tray of potting mix and keep them moist. If they are planted without breaking the seed-coat, they can take up to two years to germinate.

What is quandong used for?

Quandong is used in products such as jams, preserves, sauces, relishes, juices, deserts and ice cream. Contemporary uses and consumption is noted by Clarke, 2007; Jamerson, et al.