Discoveries at Fine Food Australia Exhibition 2017 – Darling Harbour ICC

 Pumpkin Seeds and Oil – The Pumpkin House

The Pumpkin House in Queensland creates products and oils that celebrate the nutrition and qualities of the humble Styrian pumpkin seed (pepitas). Slovenian pumpkin seed oil has an intense nutty taste, intense deep green colour and an extra-ordinary silky mouth-feel. It can be used in savoury and sweet dishes for flavour, colour and finishing purposes. Styrian pumpkin seed oil has been around for 200 years. If you love to use walnut oil, hazelnut oil or seasame oil in your cooking then pumpkin seed oil might just be your new favourite. Check out Pumpkin Seed Oil and Ice cream here and Pumpkin Seed Oil spread recipe here. Wholesale enquiries here. Find out more at The Pumpkin House. Veronika and Aleksander tell me the chocolate covered pumpkins seeds will be available soon – a marriage made in heaven.

Charcoal Crispbread, Grissini and Ice Cream

I know charcoal flavoured products have been around for a while, but I still love the wow factor and contrast they provide. The Byron Bay Cookie Company is producing Falwasser Activated Charcoal Wafer Crispbread and as you can imagine they provide a stunning contrast on any cheese board.

Valbuzzi are making a great variety of grissini and mini grissini including a Rye and Charcoal version. The taste is unique and the colours are a joy to work with on cheese, antipasto and charcuterie platters.

Black Hawaii Carbon Black Ice Cream owes its heavenly taste and texture to vegetable carbon, coconut water and raw cocoa beans. It is gluten and lactose free a creamy texture and quite a showstopper. Formulation suitable for gelato and soft serve. I’m struggling to describe the flavour – ‘just heaven’ will do.

Maple Pearls

Canadian Liquid Gold Maple Pearls. These pearls are sweet little spheres of pure Maple Sugar. They provide new texture. as a maple “crumble” to top muffins or breads, sprinkle over icing on cookies. You can mix them into a batter for bursts of maple in baked goods or add to your morning coffee for a maple flavour. An elegant jar makes them a great gift too.

Sugar Cane Fibre Designer Ecoware

Epicure Trading are speclialists in designer eco-friendly single-use disposable tableware. The stylish Wasara eco-range caught my eye with their fabulous organic shapes and clever bamboo cutlery that conveniently slides onto the edges of plates or bowls.

Japanese designed, these are water and oil resistant, sturdy and durable, do not sweat when hot liquids are added, made from sugar cane waste, bamboo and reeds, biodegradable and compostable.

Viktoria Darabi is a Food Culture Tourism Whisperer, Food & Beverage Trendspotter & Futurist, championing the power of food culture activities to celebrate multi-culturalism, promote social cohesion, engender a sense of community pride and to transform or construct ‘place’ to define a destination’s identity and distinctiveness.