THE ability of tropical fruit species to adapt for survival in a tough native rainforest environment has long fascinated Geraldine McGuire.
The extremely sour fruit is a defensive mechanism against being eaten - the opposite attribute of palate-pleasing sugar content needed for mainstream production.
While you might not have much pleasure biting into a Davidson's plum, Dr McGuire says a range of native species have enormous untapped commercial potential. The agricultural and environmental scientist with a PhD in plant genetics also has finely honed taste buds.
She puts all her skills to good use in developing a range of value-added condiments from rainforest fruits in far north Queensland.
Gourmet pickles, chutneys, sauces and pastes sold under the Rainforest Bounty label are gaining a loyal following with discerning Australian consumers and Dr McGuire believes that success can be replicated in export markets.
Lemon and lime pickles, tamarind and green mango chutney and plum and berry jeow bong are part of an expanding product range sold around the region and through a Sydney-based distributor.
"I incorporate the native species with other ingredients to enhance the flavours and develop a really unique taste experience," Dr McGuire said.
She believes her years of ground-breaking work selecting, breeding and propagating promising species and experimental taste testing are about to pay off.
"The potential is enormous. I think we have a very exciting future for our products in markets such as Asia and Europe."
For the past 15 years she and husband Athy Nye have been developing their native orchard on their small 23-hectare property Oak Grove on the edge of the Atherton Tableland at Topaz, Queensland.
They have also encouraged natural rainforest regrowth on the block adjacent to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, which was cleared for dairying in the 1950s.
"I've been selecting seeds from promising native specimens, breeding them in our nursery and progressively planting them out," Dr McGuire said.
The work has been slow and painstaking, with trees commonly taking six or seven years to start bearing enough fruit to begin experimenting with.
Rainforest Bounty was originally a partnership with nearby growers, but the business has now been wholly acquired with ambitious plans to build a modern manufacturing facility on farm.
"As the volume of fruit production increases, we are looking at taking our production capacity to a new level."
The business links with consumers are enhanced by cooking schools which are hosted on farm.
FOCUS A RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISE
GERALDINE McGuire said her focus was on building a resilient and sustainable enterprise with planting of mixed species in a natural rainforest environment.
The native fruit trees were naturally resilient. With three category-five cyclones in the past 10 years, losses were only about 10 per cent.
Early plantings concentrated on Davidson's plums, which produce fruit with a delicious tangy flesh with an intense colour and flavour that lends itself well to making a range of condiments.
Research has shown the plums contain high levels of anthocyanins, a natural food colourant and potent antioxidant.
They are also harvesting rainforest berries from plantings of Syzgium aqueum, a species of lilly-pilly that grows naturally in the north.
The berries are used to create unique savoy sauces and chutneys and are also bottled in syrup.
Another plant showing a lot of promise is a species of lemon aspen, a small to medium-height tree which occurs naturally on the margins of rainforests. Lemon aspen is an early ancestor of the citrus family which produces small, intensively flavoured berries which are a rich source of essential minerals including zinc, iron, calcium and magnesium.
Condiments made with this fruit compliment a wide range of foods.
Dr McGuire said fruit from a rainforest tamarind was an exciting new addition to the Rainforest Bounty product range.
The Diploglottis species was related to the Asian lychee and commonly occurred naturally in mature wet tropical rainforest.
The tangy flesh combined well with ingredients such as green mango to make a classic chutney.
Dr McGuire said the Rainforest Bounty product range would continue to expand as promising new fruit species came into production.
"While we have devoted many years to this project, we are really only at the beginning of realising the commercial potential many of these species can offer," she said.
