Saltbush: Australia’s Flavoursome Plant Protein for the future
Many Australians will have heard of or eaten saltbush lamb, where the animals have fed on saltbush plants resulting in a naturally salty flavoured meat. This speciality meat is sometimes described as being “seasoned on the hoof” for its uniquely palatable flavour.
Although it’s still considered a delicacy, saltbush lamb or other saltbush-fed meat could become the meat of the future, not just because of its sought after flavour but also to help support the fight against climate change.
The hidden power of native plants
There’s been a slow but steady growth in the number of recognised edible native plants in Australia. Taste is always an overriding priority for food, so it’s no surprise that the better known ingredients have recognisable flavours from lemon-tasting Lemon Myrtle leaves and peppery Pepperberries to tangy Finger Limes and salty Saltbush. More recently, newer “discoveries” have uncovered the nutritional superpowers of ingredients such as Kakadu and Davidson plums.
Australia’s Indigenous people have been using these plants for food and medicine for millennia and in light of the harmonious ways in which they lived on the land the other hidden power of these native plants is the balance they bring to Australia’s ecosystem.
Saltbush — a problem solver plant
For many decades now, farmers have recognised and seen the benefits of growing saltbush for a number or purposes. This hardy, fast growing and drought tolerant plant is both a source of animal feed during drought conditions, as well as provides a natural shelter for ewes and their lambs. Saltbush plants are often planted close together to form natural windbreaks or fencing. It also has an important use in helping to regenerate degraded saline land that has resulted from European farming practices.
Desalinating Australia’s farmland with saltbush
The often shallow-rooted crops grown from European farming practices and the cultivation of monoculture crops has resulted in rising water tables across large areas of Australia’s agricultural regions. This has led to increased soil salinity which reduces the productivity of crops or renders land completely unproductive in many cases.
Saltbush plants are classified as halophytes which are a unique group of plants that can thrive in very salty soil where other plants can’t grow. Many farmers have successfully grown saltbush on saline land to help reduce the salinity of the soil.
However on-going conventional farming practices have continued the spread of soil salinity issues. The Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has reported the scale and cost of this salinity problem to have affected more than 1 million hectares of land costing at least $519 million a year in lost agricultural productivity.
A new source of plant protein
Mounting consumer pressure for more ecologically sustainable food sources means there is increasing interest in exploring alternative perennial plants and crops i.e. plants whose roots systems don’t die out and can remain in the ground for much longer periods to maintain soil fertility and sequester carbon.
Saltbush as a perennial plant is one such alternative, and like other native plants also offers promising nutritional benefits. Research by the University of Queensland on edible halophytes such as saltbush has shown it to be naturally rich in protein as well as minerals such as Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and antioxidants.
Not just another plant protein
There’s still much to learn about the hidden benefits of saltbush and other halophytes as a functional food ingredient, not only for its protein content but also other properties.
Food companies and manufacturers are increasingly aiming to create “clean label” foods, removing E-numbers and unrecognisable ingredients that a growing number of consumers are wary of. This is particularly the case for certain ingredients that offer important properties such as gelation and emulsification in food manufacturing. Often, these ingredients are highly processed and the same functional properties can be difficult to achieve using natural ingredients alone.
Research has shown that leaf protein has promising “binding” properties in the form of gelation and emulsification, and could potentially be a natural ingredient replacement that consumers are more likely to accept.
Through our research and development of leaf protein ingredients we will be uncovering the additional functional properties that food companies and manufacturers seek, using sustainable green leaf plants that are also the world’s most abundant source of protein.
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