$13.95
There is something quietly extraordinary about native Australian ingredients. They have been growing in this landscape for thousands of years, shaped by red earth and coastal wind and dry heat into flavours that exist nowhere else on the planet and that no imported herb or spice can replicate. Saltbush springs up tough and hardy in the scrubland between the ocean and the desert, carrying a clean, mineral, briny character that is part salt, part herb, and entirely Australian. Mountain Pepper Leaf is the bush’s own quietly spectacular secret, earthy and aromatic with complex floral elements and a lingering warmth that builds slowly rather than hitting all at once. Olsson’s, Australia’s oldest family owned salt maker, has brought these two together with their hand-harvested Eyre Peninsula sea salt flakes into a rub that tastes less like a seasoning blend and more like a landscape. Grandma’s Pantry carries it because some ingredients simply deserve to be on more tables than they currently are.
Clean and mineral from the sea salt base with the herbal, slightly savoury character of dried saltbush layered through, finishing with the earthy, warming complexity of mountain pepper leaf. The mountain pepper brings a spice that is entirely its own, not sharp or aggressive like black or white pepper, but slower, more floral, and more complex, with a mild heat that lingers pleasantly rather than overpowering. Together the three ingredients create a rub with an unmistakably Australian depth that works as beautifully on a Sunday roast lamb as it does on a weeknight steak or a tray of roasted vegetables.
As a dry rub, coat meat generously with a little olive oil first, then press the salt rub into the surface and allow to rest before cooking. It works on any cut but finds its best expression on lamb, kangaroo, beef, and whole roasted chicken where the native herbs have time to penetrate and the heat of the oven or grill draws out their full character. As a stuffing blend, mix two tablespoons through two cups of breadcrumbs with one or two eggs for a deeply flavoured native herb stuffing for lamb shoulder, chicken, or pork. Use it as a table seasoning in place of standard salt and pepper, sprinkle it over roasted vegetables before serving, or add a pinch to softened butter with a little lemon zest for a compound butter that belongs on every grilled steak.
A Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder rubbed generously with this blend, olive oil, and a little fresh rosemary is one of the most effortlessly spectacular uses of native Australian ingredients in home cooking, the kind of Sunday roast that people ask about for weeks afterward. A Kangaroo Fillet rested with this rub and seared quickly over high heat is lean, deeply flavoured, and genuinely impressive on any dinner table. Use it through a Native Herb Breadcrumb Stuffing for a roast chicken that carries the flavour of the bush in every mouthful. Tossed through roasted sweet potato, pumpkin, and red onion before going into the oven it becomes the seasoning that holds the whole tray together. Or simply sprinkle a pinch over a fried egg on sourdough with a drizzle of olive oil for a breakfast that is understated and unexpectedly memorable.
Made by Olsson’s, Australia’s oldest family owned and operated salt producer. Sea salt hand-harvested from the pristine waters of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. Packaged in an eco-friendly kraft canister. Please refer to product packaging for full allergen and dietary information.
Ingredients: Australian Sea Salt Flakes, Saltbush, Mountain Pepper Leaf.
Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight.
