Guide to saltbush in Aboriginal cultures
Rich in antioxidants and long valued by Indigenous communities, saltbush is Australia’s natural flavour enhancer, now embraced on modern menus.
Hikers on wukalina Walk, Bay of Fires / larapuna, Tasmania © Tourism Australia
High in antioxidants and widely grown around Australia, saltbush is like nature’s flavour enhancer, prized by Indigenous communities for millennia and now on modern menus.
What is saltbush?
“Why buy salt when you can just pick saltbush,” says Carleeta Thomas, a guide on the four-day wukalina Walk in Tasmania / lutruwita. Adapted to arid and saline soils and resistant to drought, the edible shrub grows wild and in abundance along the northeast coast of the island, and also across much of Australia. Guests on the hike can pluck the silvery leaves and have guides fry them into crispy chips. Or just enjoy them fresh – they contain 20 per cent less sodium than table salt, and certain species (there are more than 60) are a source of important dietary minerals. In restaurants today, saltbush is added to everything from roasts to stir-fries.
Why is saltbush significant to Aboriginal cultures?
“Oldman saltbush is probably the most common form of the plant and has long been a crucial part of Aboriginal food and agriculture,” says Mark Saddler, owner of Bundyi Cultural Tours around the Wagga Wagga region of southern New South Wales. “The leaves and seeds are eaten (the seeds taste like salty popcorn kernels), while the roots are ground with leaves and water to form a curative balm for skin abrasions and wounds.”
Dale Tilbrook Experiences, Swan Valley, Western Australia © Tourism Australia
“We Aboriginal people would harvest saltbush, grind it down and use it to make little bread cakes, or mandjaly,” says Dale Tilbrook, a wealth of knowledge when it comes to native foods and the host of bush tucker tours in the Swan Valley region north of Perth / Boorloo. “Saltbush goes well with lamb and mutton. It’s full of protein in the leaves and the seeds.”
Royal Botanic Garden Melbourne, Victoria © Tourism Australia
Where else can I taste saltbush?
If you want to try saltbush plucked fresh from the plant, head to green spaces that feature native edible gardens, like the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria – both offer Aboriginal-guided tours where you can learn about the traditional dietary and medicinal properties of native plants, and also get to sample them. Saltbush also flourishes in Perth’s Kings Park – the largest inner-city park in the world, and a site with a poignant Aboriginal history. Join a wander here with In Culture Tours, and have your guide Steven Jacobs point out the plant while you stroll.
Rock oysters, Bush Tucker Cruise, Saltwater Eco Tours, Mooloolaba, Queensland
The only thing better than cruising along Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in a heritage-listed ketch is being fed canapes infused with native ingredients while you glide. Saltwater Eco Tours’ Bushtucker Cruise navigates Mooloolaba’s canals, your Indigenous guides regaling you with stories of Sea Country while you’re served a feast that might include rock oysters with finger lime, or king prawns with a bush tomato sauce and oldman saltbush seasoning.
