This is the dried and either whole or ground fruit of one of Australia's native tomato plants, Solanum centrale. Also called bush tomato, desert raisin, and kutjera. Akadjura/kutjera are generally applied to the dried and ground spice, but we have cheated a little and applied the name to both the whole fruit and ground spice.

It is a very popular plant, mostly wild-harvested, and can be very difficult to source at times.

It has a rich, sun-dried tomato caramelly flavour with a bitter edge. Excellent for adding rich tomato, umami flavours to savoury cookings.

When it's available, it forms the ground flavour in our popular Native Peppersalt. (When it's not, we use wattleseed ... but kutjera is better!).

Use kutjera:

• As either ground or the whole berry, in sauces and flavourings for meat.
• Sprinkled over any savoury dish to finish it off.
• Mixed with salt and other herbs and used to enhance savoury dishes.
• Mixes well with flour to make breads, pasta, etc.
• Mixes surprisingly well with coffee to round out the coffee flavour.