Lilly Pilly Berries

Seasons/Availability

Lilly Pilly berries fruit in the summer months in the Western Hemisphere and during the winter months in the Southern Hemisphere.

Current Facts

The Lilly Pilly berry, is also known as the Riberry and is botanically classified within the Syzygium genus and the Myrtaceae family. There are over 60 different Lilly Pilly species, each tree bearing fruits that vary in color, size and flavor. The most edible species of Lilly Pilly berries, Syzygium luehmannii, also happens to be the sweetest.

Description/Taste

Lilly Pilly berries are independently unique to all other berries in taste, texture and composition. The fruits are roughly globular, about a half inch in diameter, with a soft violet pink kissed skin. The flesh bears a pea-sized hard seed, leaving very little yield in fruit. Its texture is cottony firm, similar more to a pear than a berry. The flavor has the essence of apples and pears with a starch-like slight tart and metallic finish.

Applications

The Lilly Pilly berry is most commonly used to make a distinctively flavoured jam. It is also commonly used in sauces, syrups and confectionery. Lilly Pilly berries have high levels of essential oil components, which is why it is recommended to not eat Lilly Pilly berries alone; they require other ingredients to bring out their best culinary attributes. Lilly Pilly berries can be added to fruit salads and savory salads, ice creams, salsas, pureed and used as a marinade for meats and seafood and served alongside hard cheeses, such as cheddar, manchego and aged gouda. Lilly Pilly berries are also best highlighted by fragrant floral like herbs such as cilantro and lemon verbena.

Geography/History

Lilly Pilly trees are native to southern Asia and Madagascar. The highest level of diversity in Lilly Pilly varieties occur in Malaysia and Australia. The trees thrive on volcanic soil and deep sandy soils throughout tropical and subtropical coastal rain forest regions. The berries are a standard bush food staple and are considered a valuable famine food when other food sources are scarce. Though there are over 60 species of Lilly Pilly berries, they are commercially cultivated only on a small-scale basis.

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