Quandong

Santalum acuminatum · Fruit

40 pairings

The quandong (Santalum acuminatum), also called the desert quandong or native peach, is a bright-red, shiny stone fruit from a small hemiparasitic tree of the arid and semi-arid Australian interior. A thin layer of tart, vitamin-C-rich flesh surrounds a large, deeply pitted woody stone; the fruit is eaten fresh but far more often dried, stewed, or cooked into pies, jams and sauces.

Picking a good onedrag

UnderripeOverripe

Coloured, firmThe one that travels, and the one to halve and dry. Bright and tart, firm enough to hold its shape through a pie, a sauce or the jam pan.Buy it

Skin colourColoured right around — scarlet, or pink-yellow on a pale variety

In the handFirm all round, dents only under a real squeeze

Stem endShort dry stalk, or a clean scar tight to the skin

ScentClean and tart, a faint apricot note through the resin

Reading a just ripe one. Move the slider and the rest of this page — nutrition, pairings — re-scores with it.

What one gives you

63%

Usable yield

3.7 g flesh · one large pitted stone, 37% of the fruit

6 g

Typical weight

one specimen

Preparing