How to Use Strawberry Gum?
Use Strawberry Gum anywhere you would use Vanilla
Despite only recently coming into the mainstream, we believe Strawberry Gum is up there with the world’s timeless classics: Vanilla, Rosewater, Orange Blossom, and Pandan/Kewra. Its aroma is delicate yet so distinct at the same time. (In Australia, it’s much more sustainable to cultivate than Vanilla too!)
Desserts
The obvious place to use Strawberry Gum is desserts. Ground (dried) Strawberry gum can be mixed in with any cream, meringue, frosting, or ganache base. So for macarons, 1 to 2 tablespoons go into both meringue and cream filling for maximum flavour! It is best to give ground Strawberry Gum some time to infuse overnight to impart the flavour. Ground or extracts can also be added to dough for baking e.g. muffins, pancakes (we have tried Chiffon Cake and Sourdough and would do Tsoureki/Challa but, ah, lack the culinary skills) but I feel the flavour carries better in the non-cooked and moister part of the dish i.e. syrup or cream.
Ground Strawberry Gum powder can also be mixed into smoothies or sprinkled on top of muesli. Less commonly seen, Strawberry Gum can be paired well with chocolate giving its Vanilla-esque sophistication with a subtle fresh and cheeky choc-mint twist from its Eucalyptus end-note.
There are a few exceptions to the ‘Use as You Would Vanilla’ rule; ground Strawberry Gum can also be added to enhance savory marinades or lift the ‘berry’ flavour of jams. This also means it’s great in any fruit/jam dessert like fruit crumbles, strudels, or tarts.
Afternoon Tea
Chopped Strawberry Gum can be brewed as tea on its own or - our preference - mixed with green or black tea.
We have been experimenting with using Strawberry Gum to flavour bitter medical native teas such as sleepy Dwarf Scullcap tea (Scutellaria humilis), Old Man Weed tonic (Centipeda cunninghamii, and neutral tasting dreaming tea Jilungin (Terminalia canescens). But I digress…
Our tip is to brew 1 heaped teaspoon (~2g) for 2-4 minutes and not more than 5 minutes to avoid bitterness from the tannins. Complete your afternoon tea with scones and cream spiced up with a couple of tablespoons of ground Strawberry Gum.
Beverages
We enjoy the aromatic Strawberry Gum syrup simply as a cordial diluted with 4 to 5 parts soda water or tonic.
As Summer approaches, it is handy to have the syrup to mix with Prosecco in a spritzer. We are really looking forward to the cocktails our customers are in the process of designing!