Kakadu Kitchen partners with ALTD Spirits to produce non-alcoholic native peach bellini

Emma Ruben
Emma Ruben Published December 25, 2022 at 10.55am (AWST)

Known for being fresh, fruity and refreshing, the soft flavouring of a peach bellini makes it a classic, staple summer drink.

The Italian classic is a popular drink option for many Aussies as summer reigns on for another year.

This summer however, pioneering Indigenous bush foods specialist Kakadu Kitchen and alcohol-free specialists ALDT Spirits have partnered up to produce a new non-alcoholic, native peach bellini.

Using an-marabula, native peaches, the collaboration is the first ever beverage to use the fruit.

An-marabula is a very rare superfood of the Kakadu plum. The an-marabula were harvested by Kakadu Kitchen owner Bininj man Ben Tyler and his family on Murumburr Country (Northern Territory) at the heart of Kakadu National Park.

The an-marabula is fuzzy similar to a peach but is the size of a grape. Its taste is also less fruitier than a regular peach but instead quite earthy with very distinct, botanical tones.

Tyler said this is the first time the fruit has been harvested for use in commercial products.

"Fortunately the bush around our remote family community at Murdudjurl produces large quantities of an-marabula," he said.

"So my mum and respected senior Murumburr Elder, Jessie Alderson, her great-grandson Ngarridj and I were able to harvest a considerable quantity which I brought to Sydney for the production.

"Tim Triggs from ALTD and I experimented with a range of recipes before coming up with the final version, and I really think it makes the most of the native ingredient.

"This was the first commercial production of Kakadu native peaches so we had to work out the best way of using such an exotic bush food while creating a Bellini-style drink."

The an-marabula native peach bellini. Photo supplied.

The finished product is an ideal summer drink, with all natural ingredients, and a gluten-free, vegan alternative.

Tyler said their new non-alcoholic drink is the perfect taste of Kakadu.

"We created an extract from the Kakadu native peaches to capture the unique flavour and then combined it with peach and vanilla flavours to create a really distinctive, native and refreshing Bellini," he said.

"It really is a 'taste of Kakadu' - wild, aromatic and a beautiful mouth feel.

"Importantly the production and ingredients are totally in line with our sustainable principles. That's how my family have lived in Kakadu for generations and I wanted to bring that heritage to this product."

The tantalizing native bellini won't be the last from Kakadu Kitchen and ALTD Spirits as the pair are already working on their next collaboration, a smoked bush white apple with native spices.

The an-marabula bellini is available for a limited time only through ALTD Spirits.

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National Indigenous Times

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