It occurred to me that it might be helpful to other tropical home kitchen gardeners and cooks to share some of the great online resources that I tap into when researching ingredients, so here is a start to some of the sites I visit:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/
Home page for the Purdue University New Crop website which has an enormous amount of information and links, some of which are below.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/parmar/index.html
An online copy of the Indian book Wild Fruits
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/index.html
An online copy of Julia Morton’s classic reference for tropical and sub-tropical fruits, Fruits of Warm Climates
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/documents/Research/Qld-Tropical-Fruit.pdf
A downloadable PDF by the Queensland Government with a nutritional summary of a range of tropical fruit.
http://www.rirdc.gov.au/
If you have an interest in in-depth information on particular tropical food plants, both introduced and native to Australia, it is worth searching through the reports and publications produced by RIRDC.
I thought it might be of interest to some readers to see the main items that will be covered in the Produce Glossary of Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen. As you may already know this cookbook is the first of what will be several volumes, and in each one a new set of produce will be featured. You may also know that in the produce glossary I am focusing on featuring produce which is available in markets and quality retailers, and/or grows easily at home, but with which many people are not so familiar. One aim of Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen is to provide information that assists people to experiment or make greater use of the fantastic array of produce we have available in tropical Australia. Continue reading 'Produce glossary'»
Posts, Produce
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Abiu, Acacia spp., Aibika or New Guinea Spinach, Allspice, Alpinia galanga, Alternanthera sissoo, Amaranth, Amaranthus spp., Annatto, Annona atemoya, Annona muricata, Artocarpus altilis, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Averrhoa carambola, Backhousia citriodora, Bamboo shoots, Bambusa spp., Basella alba, Bitter melon, Bixa orellana, black sapote, Boesenbergia rotunda, Brazilian Spinach or Sambu Lettuce, breadfruit, C. terminalis, Canistel, Carambola, Cardamom, Carica papaya, Cassava, Ceylon spinach, Chinese Keys, Choko, Chrysophyllum caimito, Cinnamomum zeylandicum, Cinnamon, Citrus Aurantifolia, Citrus grandis, Citrus hystrix, Citrus Latifolia, Cocoa, Coconut, Cocos nucifera, Coffea Arabica, Coffee, Colocasia esculenta, Cordyline fruticosa, Cordyline or Ti leaves, Coriander, cuban, Curcuma longa, Curry leaf, Custard Apple, Daikon, Davidson plum, Davidsonia pruriens, Dendrocalamus spp., Dimocarpus longan, Diospyros digyna, Drumstick tree, durian, Durio zibethinus, Elettaria cardamomum, Eryngium foetidum, galangal, Garcinia mangostana, Ginger, Granadilla, Guanabana, Hibiscus manihot, Hylocereus spp., Illicium verum, Ipomoea aquatica, Ipomoea batatas, Jaboticaba, Jackfruit, Jicama, Kaffir, Kankong or Water Spinach, Lemon Myrtle, lime, Litchi chinensis, long leaf, Longan, lychee, Macadamia, Macadamia integrifolia, Mamey sapote, Mangifera indica, mango, Mangosteen, Manihot esculenta, Manilkara zapota, Mint, Momordica charantia, Moringa oleifera, Murraya koenigii, Musa spp., Mushroom plant, Myrciaria cauliflora, Myristica fragrans, Nephelium lappaceum, Nutmeg, Oregano, Pachyrhizus erosus, Pandan, Pandanus amaryllifolius, papaya, Passiflora quadrangularis, Pepper, Persicaria odorata, Pimenta dioica, Piper nigrum, Piper sarmentosum, Pitaya, Plantain, Plectranthus amboinicus, Pouteria caimito, Pouteria campechiana, Pouteria sapota, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, Pummelo, Radish, Rambutan, Raphanus sativus, Rollinia, Rollinia deliciosa, Rungia klossii, Sapodilla, Sauropus androgynus, Sechium edule, Snake Beans, Star Anise, Star Apple, Sweet leaf, Sweet potatoes, Tahitian, tamarind, Tamarindus indica, Taro root & leaves, Theobroma cacao, Turmeric, Vanilla, Vanilla planifolia, vietnamese, Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis, Wattle seed, West Indian, Wild Pepper leaves, Wing bean, Zingiber officinale, Zingiberaceae
I am loving the process of both writing and publishing Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen, but I have to say it keeps me extremely busy, hence the tardy rate of posts. I have been immersed in the process of setting up for international distribution. Online sales within Australia will be available via this website. For international customers, online sales will be available via Amazon, as that is the most cost effective avenue for customers due to the high international postage rates from Australia.
Being both author and publisher uses every diverse capacity of my brain: from the creative processes of recipe development, writing, book and web design; to the more exacting processes of recipe testing, editing, evaluating contracts, assessing supply chain and international freight options and costs, developing business structures, and doing the maths of all of these to work out the most effective options.
As well as the above mentioned business tasks I am in the process of sending recipes and text through to my editor, Ilsa Konrads. Fortunately I am still completing some recipe testing, which provides some creative respite from the desk work I’m mostly engaged with at this stage. When we have the final electronic copy of Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen ready to go to the printer, we will be loading some sample pages here on the website, including the index so that you can get a good sense of the scope of recipes and information included.
Pre-launch sales of Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen are now live on this website on the pre-release purchase page.
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