Lemon Myrtle

I first discovered lemon myrtle while studying for my Diploma Project in Australian Gastronomy. Australian celebrity chef Vic Cherikoff sent me some of the dried herb and I used it to make a delicious Wattleseed and Lemon Myrtle Rolled Pavlova. Now this herb is an indispensable part of my spices collection and I'm sure I'll be using it when I run my own restaurant.

Lemon myrtle bush	Lemon myrtle leaves and flowers	Ground, dried lemon myrtle

Species:	Backhousia citriodora.
Origin:	Australia.
Source:	Backhousia citriodora is native to Australia where the plant is rare (restricted to Queensland) and considered an endangered species. Lemon myrtle (also known as "lemon-scented myrtle") has been cultivated only in recent years. Two close relatives of lemon myrtle are also cultivated for the production of essential oils, namely anise myrtle, b. anisata, and cinnamon myrtle, b. myrtifolia.
Used Part:	Leaves (fresh or dried).
Family:	Myrtaceae (myrtle family).
Effect:	Intensive, refreshing and very lemon-like. The odour has been described, without undue exaggeration, as "more lemon than lemon". The taste is similar, very intensive, pleasant and warm.
Etymology:	For most of the etymology, see lemon and myrtle. The genus backhousia is named after the British botanist, James Backhouse (1794-1869). The species name, citriodorus "lemon-scented", is a neo-Latin formation from citrus and odor.
Uses:	Lemon myrtle features the most refreshing, pure and intensive lemon odour of all spices known to man, including lemon itself. Not surprisingly, Australia sees it as an important crop for the future.
	Australian cuisine is young and evolving rapidly, with native Australian spices playing an important role in defining its "national character". Lemon myrtle leaves are often used to flavour poultry or sea food, with just one or two leaves giving a special touch to roasted chicken. Furthermore, lemon myrtle is popular for herbed vinegar, mayonnaise and vinaigrettes.
	Australian cooks tend to use lemon myrtle leaves instead of kaffir lime leaves in recipes of South-East Asian origin, but the very pure scent of lemon myrtle does not go so well with the pungent fish pastes and fish sauces of Thailand.
	Lemon-like odour is quite common in the plant kingdom and found in many unrelated taxa. Besides lemon and its immediate relatives, the plants lemon verbena, lemon balm, lemon grass and lemon myrtle have the purest scent. The essential oils of all these plants contain large fractions of terpenoid aldehydes.
	Other plants, although citrus-like, cannot be said to mimic lemon fragrance and their essential oils are often dominated by terpene hydrocarbons. Examples are ginger and sassafras. The strong-smelling Mexican herb epazote has an aroma sometimes thought to be similar, as does southernwood. Some chemotypes of the chameleon plant display a strong aroma reminiscent of both lemon and orange and the Vietnamese culinary herb rice paddy herb is characterised by a most unusual, tickling lemon flavour. Lemon-scented varieties, relatives and cultivars of many common herbs are known, including basil, thyme, savory, perilla and eucalyptus.
	The name "lemon myrtle" is also applied to the loosely related species leptospermum citratum "lemon tea tree" from Australia and New Zealand.