Dorrigo Pepper

Botanical name: Tasmania stipitata

Dorrigo Pepper, also called green leaf pepper or Northern Pepperbush is a native rainforest shrub found in the temperate forests of the Northern Tablelands of NSW.

Dorrigo Pepper shares many similarities with its southern neighbour, the Mountain Pepperberry, including similar flavour characteristics - close enough that you can use either of these native pepper berries interchangeably.

The Dorrigo Pepper, however, is considerably hotter than the mountain variety, so you’ll need to adjust the amount in your recipe - unless of course - you like it extra spicy!

While our native Dorrigo pepper berries look somewhat similar to conventional peppercorns and can be ground and used as a seasoning in much the same way, they are more complex in flavour and add a spiky burst of warmth to both sweet and savoury recipes.

Apart from its punchy pepperiness, Dorrigo Pepper possesses a pleasant woody fragrance and dry cinnamon notes. These subtle, warming flavours work well for spicing up sauces, chutneys, meats, cheeses, pates, breads, damper and pasta. Try setting it in pate or terrine or for seasoning quiches, omelettes, salad dressings and soups.

Dorrigo Pepper is mainly harvested from the wild in small batches and can be difficult to find, relative to Mountain Pepperberry, which is better known in culinary circles.

Australian Ingredient: Dorrigo Pepper.