Penicillin. Chocolate chip cookies. Your little brother.
So many of life's treasures are the result of mistakes.
Take wattleseed. In 1984, Australian Vic Cherikoff was roasting wattleseeds (they come from the yellow-blossomed Acacia tree and were eaten by Aborigines for generations) on his kitchen stove. Just as the seeds began to pop, the phone rang. Vic set the pan aside and, when he returned, found a bunch of over-roasted seeds.
Criminy.
Except he figured he'd throw them in the coffee grinder and—Ace!—was rewarded with a toasty aroma rich with the scents of coffee, chocolate, and hazelnut. Ever the improviser, Vic poured the grounds into his coffee maker, steamed some milk, and made the world's first Wattlecino.
These days, wattleseed roasting has been refined, and both the grounds and the extract are bottled for your culinary ease. However you prefer them, you'll find an initial flavor of dark chocolate, chased by a hint of coffee and a nutty-sweet finish.
Vic recommends using the extract in whipped cream, lending it a soft brown color, and topping off your coffee or hot cocoa with its delicate earthy sweetness. Or stir it into vanilla ice cream or chocolate mousse for a nutty twist. Other beneficiaries of wattleseed's toasty flavor: pancake batter, muffins, cream or red wine sauces and, of course, you.
Get wattlemania at
www.dining-downunder.com