Lemon myrtle
Today’s herb is one I’ve mentioned elsewhere. It has a long prehistory - having been used well before Europeans discovered Australia - but a rather recent history. It’s one of my favoruite herbs of all time, and I suspect it will appear in other posts: you can never have too much lemon myrtle.
Lemon myrtle (backhousia citriodora) has nothing to do with lemon botanically. It’s an Australian evergreen tropical tree. Its leaves have one of the best lemon fragrances you can find, and makes a wonderful herbal tea (a couple of leaves in a cup with boiling water, and Bob’s your uncle, which is interesting, because I don’t have an Uncle Bob), it also adds a delightful scent to soups, stews and anything else where lemon is good. Its advantage over lemon grass is that the scent is closer to lemon, as is the taste, and its advantage over lemon is that it does not seem to be at all acidic.
food history, lemon myrtle, ingredients




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