Under the giant monkey puzzles

New Zealand/Aotearoa in early Autumn is a fruit-lovers paradise – there’s a plethora of apples, pears, passionfruits, black & blueberries, kiwis and tamarillos, but there is one fruit that unites the nation like no other – the feijoa.

If the default tree for Mediterranean gardeners is the olive, then for New Zealanders it’s the feijoa – it’s a sort 0f egalitarian tree of the people..

Similar to New Zealanders themselves feijoa trees are generally not showy or demanding – you can pretty much stick one in the ground and know it’ll be okay.

Feijoas originally grew under giant monkey puzzle trees in the highlands of Southern Brazil. A relative of the guava, they’re hardy, highly productive and in a fortunate turn their prolific egg-shaped fruits don’t seem to be of interest to New Zealand birds.

Throughout April ripe feijoas carpet lawns around the country triggering widespread feijoa sharing, trading, over-fence harvesting, preserving and fermenting. For the unlucky who don’t have a tree or a connection to one feijoas are now found widely in supermarkets.

The feijoa’s particular perfumy aroma and slightly gritty texture can challenge people new to the fruit but it’s also quite common for a bowlful to disappear at a first sitting.

Kiwi’s love of this humble fruit has taken it from backyard treat to icon status and today it can be found in products such as jams, chutneys, beers, iced teas, kombuchas, wines (still and sparkling), ice cream, chocolate & sweets.

When we first introduced feijoas to Fair Food’s customers in 2010 a cult-like following emerged – on arrival a flurry of texts and Facebook postings would flash around the feijoa community and they’d be gone in a couple of days!

Luckily over the years farmer Paul Haar’s feijoa orchard in Archies Creek has matured and had new plantings added. These days the supply is generally pretty good although the season only lasts for about a month.

If you’re quick you can find Paul Haar’s feijoas here.

Baw Baw

The cost-of-living crisis has been particularly hard on local food enterprises and food hubs. The incredible Baw Baw Food Hub in Warragul has been no exception.

For a decade the Baw Baw Food Hub have been championing farmers, bakers, makers and fishers – selling local groceries out of their extraordinary shop in Queen St Warragul (it’s so worth a visit if you’re heading through the La Trobe Valley).

Never an organsiation to lie down without a fight the Hub is holding a fundraising galaat Hogget Kitchen, this coming Wednesday April 26th, from 6:30pm.

If you’re down that way or know anyone in Baw Baw Shire head down or spread the word.

The night and the food will be an absolute treat, but without doubt the people and the extraordinary Hub community are the real nourishment.

Here’s the invite…

We’re in a fight to keep the Hub’s doors open, so that we can continue to foster better, healthier, fairer food and farming in our region.

Trevor and the Hogget Kitchen team have created a gorgeous menu, featuring the best of Gippsland autumn produce. They are gathering supplies from our fabulous local and organic growers, prepping and planning for a very special evening.

This is a call-out to please get behind this initiative, which we hope will be a pivotal moment in the story of the Hub, one that we’d love you to be a part of.

It will be a great night and the atmosphere will be wonderful, with

music from DJ Nige and the McCaffery Family
an auction of fantastic prizes
wine tastings by William Downie Pinot Noir
exceptional food by the Hogget team

If we can bottle this love and generosity and ferment it like a big old kombucha, pickle or sourdough loaf, it will fuel the Hub forever, launching us into a new and thriving era.

Get on board folks, tickets available here

When: Wednesday 26th April, 6:30pm – 10pm AEST
Where: Hogget Kitchen, 6 Farrington Cl, Warragul
Ticket options:
$85 canapés
$115 canapés and wine tasting with local legend vintner Bill Downie

And just to whet your appetite, here’s a selection of just some of the contributing producers: