The traditional Aboriginal method of cooking foods wrapped in paperbark imparts a delicate smokey flavour and works best with white meats and starchy vegetables. As the foods are slowly cooked in the paperbark the smoke created when the natural oils in the bark are combusted is absorbed into the food; see Paperbark smoked barramundi.

The higher the fat concentration in the food, the stronger the flavour and Vic tells me he has Paperbark smoked cheese, boiled eggs and even water (as well as stingray, snake, goanna and a bunch of other delectables from what he calls the long supermarket – road-kill for the rest of us).

But back to the commercial kitchen: For some time Vic Cherikoff and I have been experimenting with paperbark smoking large volumes (20kg plus) of vegetables such as kumara, beetroot (beets) and regular Idaho potatoes with mixed success. These were for menu items such as Paperbark smoked beetroot salad or borsch, Paperbark smoked kumara purée or Paperbark smoked mash.

We developed a range of different methods such as lining a large wok with paperbark, then placing a cake rack in the bottom, then all the vegetables and finally a lid firmly on top. This method worked, although the vegetables close to the heat often burned and it could literally take 4 to 5 hours to cook.

Another method we tried was steaming the potatoes to 90% doneness in a combi oven, then finishing them off in our makeshift smokers for 45 minutes to impart the smokey flavour. But this too was rather cumbersome and for larger catering volumes (100kg plus) was really impractical.

Another problem existed. It has proved impossible for us to ship paperbark into the USA due to the USDA regarding it as a prohibited plant because of its relationship to the tea trees which now choke the swamps of Florida and other southern States. They insisted that we render non-viable any seeds which might be in the sheets of bark. This we effectively did by gamma-irradiating (as is done for many herbal medicines and surgical hardware) the paperbark at radiation levels commonly used for de-vitalising wheat (this is done to stop the grains sprouting if they accidentally get wet in transit or storage). However, our scientific evidence was not accepted after months of trials and reports and we still couldn’t get a single roll of paperbark across mainland US borders.

So, in an effort to address both challenges of environmental restrictions and imparting flavour with ease, Vic developed Paperbark Smoke Oil which is a vegetable oil in which the natural smoke flavour of paperbark is infused.

Paperbark Smoke Oil is ideal for any meat, fish, shellfish, vegetable (try it over roasted sweet corn on the cob), in condiments and dressings in fact, any dish that a subtle hint of smoke can enhance. Try seeded mustard made interestingly smoked with just a dash of paperbark smoke oil. Whisk some in to your favourite sauce or soup. It even makes fantastic smoked chocolate ice cream and smoked crème anglais.

The smoke is infused into a canola oil (GMO free) which makes it cholesterol free too and as the Paperbark smoke oil is used sparingly, the little amounts of oil hardly matter nutritionally.

Paperbark Smoke Oil is available online from the Dining Downunder™ Online store and unlike the paperbark itself, is easily shipped globally.