Wattleseed Scones: An Old Favourite with a Unique Australian Flavour

Posted on by Ann Rowe

Roasted ground Wattleseed…would you every have thought of eating the seeds from our Acacia trees?

Well, these little beauties have a nutty, mild coffee flavor with a touch of sweet spice, raisins and chocolate.  They can be used in baking, savory dishes, desserts and, for those who like a tipple, has been used in craft beers and in a very nice spiced rum.

A mainstay of the diet of our First Nations people for over 40,000 years, these little dynamites are packed full of potassium, calcium, iron and zinc.  They are a very rich source of protein. Most of the vitamins are found in the seed, with the exception on C, B12 and riboflavin but are high in fibre. As Wattleseed has a low glycemic index it is food for those with diabetes.

In order to use the Wattleseeds, the pods are harvested from the trees (generally between January to March), the seeds are removed from the pods, dried and roasted, similar to coffee.  It is then ground and crushed to create a powder.  It can be made into a flour, which the Aboriginal people used to make bread.

Again, the use of Wattleseed comes with a warning if you are foraging in the wild for it.  Australia has over 1000 species of Acacia and the seeds are edible from only about 120 of these species.  If you are foraging for seed, make sure you know what seed is edible. Acacia victoriae (Prickly), Acacia sophorae (Coastal), Acacia aneura (Mulga) and Acacia retinodes (Wirilda) are some of the more common species used and in their natural habitats are plentiful.

Some uses of Wattleseed are in many baked deserts (cakes, muffins, cheese cakes, biscuits), ice cream, bread (including damper and scones), used to thicken sauces and casseroles.  Don’t forget it’s use in beer and spiced rum also.

WATTLESEED SCONES

Ingredients:

Wattleseed Scones

Method

  1. Sift flour and salt into a bowl.  Rub in butter.  Add nearly all the liquid and mix to a soft dough.  Add remaining liquid if the dough is not soft enough.
  2. Place on a floured surface and knead lightly.  Pat dough out to approx. 2cm thickness.
  3. Cut into about 5cm rounds and glaze with a little milk.
  4. Bake in your camp oven for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown (this will depend on how hot your coals are.

Makes approx. 12

Ann Rowe

After purchasing Rippanleigh Farm near Swan Hill with limited water, I started to research what could be grown on the land with minimal water required. This was also aimed to try to minimise the Mallee scrub and weeds taking over. Maybe my Great Grandmother was trying to influence me, being one of our First Nations people, but this research led to my interest in the natives, but not just any natives, I wanted whatever we grew to also be edible as I wanted our farm to be productive. My research also led me to a Masterclass with Australia’s only hatted indigenous chef, Clayton Donovan of Jaaning Tree Restaurant. The passion for native foods only grew after this. I have spent many, many hours searching and reading about our wonderful native foods, looking for resources to assist, and even dragged my husband along to a course on Native Plant Identification at the local Seedbank and run by our Sustainable Living Group. Currently the business plan is taking shape for our farm and my domestic collection of wonderful edible natives is growing. I am a member of Australian Native Foods and Botanicals, the peak national body which represents the Australian native food and botanical sector, and the Victorian Farmers Federation. Leigh and I are both involved with the Friends of Tyntyndyer Homestead. This is a historic homestead in the area which has been handed back to the tradition owners, the Watti Watti people. It has been given historical recognition and they are in the process of renovating it, after quite a lengthy review and report prepared, to open it up to the public again. Leigh and I have approached the Board of the homestead to get approval to use a Watti Watti symbol for our Farm Business logo and also a traditional name, which we may look in the future to trade under. The Board are keen and we will be speaking to them later this month to go through this and reach an agreement, so this is something exciting which will add to the credibility of our blog. I’ll also briefly mention that Leigh and I, once we have the farm established and can pay wages are keen to involve some of the local youth (Clontarf Academy boys and the local girls) to learn about their native foods and farming. Ann Rowe on LinkedIn