Solanum centrale
J. Black
Desert raisin, Bush tomato
(c) Tony Bean, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tony Bean
(c) Dr Manfred Jusaitis, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Dr Manfred Jusaitis, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Spice
The ripe fruit can be eaten dried or ground into a powder and used as a spice in sauces, chutneys, relishes, jams, and as a topping for focaccia. The fruit can also be preserved in oil. The plant is high in Vitamin C.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. They thrive after bush fires. It can grow in arid places.
Australia*,
How to Identify
A plant which keeps growing from year to year. It has woody stems. There are long sharp thorns at intervals of 5-8 cm. The leaves are soft and greyish-green and covered with down. The young leaves are rust coloured. The flowers are violet and the shape of a five pointed star. The fruit are 2 cm across. They are purplish-green when young and pale yellow when ripe. The fruit are sticky.
Nutrition Score: 63/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit dried | 12.5 | 1174 | 281 | 8.5 | — | 17 | 11 | 1.4 |
| Fruit | 61.9 | 570 | 136 | 3.8 | — | 19 | 2.9 | 0.1 |
How to Grow
Plants are grown from seed.
Propagation: Seed - sow in trays in a nursery. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on fast. Plant them out when 10cm or more tall. Division of the stems..
Other Uses
An extract of the fruit is used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as a skin conditioner.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Solanum centrale, the kutjera, or Australian desert raisin, is a plant native to the more arid parts of Australia. Like other "bush tomatoes", it has been used as a food source by Central Australia and Aboriginal groups for millennia. Solanum centrale was first described by J.M. Black in 1934. Like many plants of the genus Solanum, desert raisin is a small bush and has a thorny aspect. It is a fast-growing shrub that fruits prolifically the year after fire or good rains. It can also grow back after being dormant as root stock for years after drought years. The fruit are 1–3 cm in diameter, yellow in color when fully ripe, vitamin C-rich and possibly a source of vitamin D. These fruits dry on the bush, look like raisins and have a strong, pungent taste of tamarillo and caramel that makes them popular for use in sauces and condiments. They can be obtained either whole or ground, with the ground product (sold as "kutjera powder") easily added to bread mixes, salads, sauces, cheese dishes, chutneys, stews or mixed into butter. Martu people would skewer bush tomatoes and dry them so the food was readily transportable.
Production
The ripe fruit are dried and darken to chocolate brown. They can be powdered. The dried, powdered fruit can be stored for long periods. The drying is important to reduce the levels of alkaloids.
Notes
There are about 1400 Solanum species. It is high in Vitamin C.
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