A Taste of Tasmania: Five of the Best + One

On a recent trip to Hobart I was amazed at the extent and quality of locally grown and made produce available in Tasmania. To be honest I'm a little ashamed of my lacking knowledge in this respect. I live in Melbourne, Victoria, the closest neighbouring state to Tassie, and yet I had no idea (note, this is not to say there isn’t amazing produce right here in Victoria, it’s just that I’m yet to get to that)!

I felt fortunate to be in amongst the growers and producers as I wandered the tents at the Salamanca Markets, and was impressed by the availability of these wonderful treats in and around Salamanca. When I go back, I will be sure to take an extra case just for filling with Tassie owned and grown goods, but for now, here are five of the best that I experienced (note: I did not attend the addresses listed with the exception of Jackman & Ross - I bought these products from the Salamanca Markets and various other stockists in Hobart).

Bruny Island Cheese Co

1807 Main Road, Great Bay, Bruny Island

It’s going to sound corny, but when you pick up a Bruny Island cheese you know it has been made with love, passion and care. After a tasting at their market stand I was hard pressed to choose just one cheese to take away with me. I did eventually settle on the 1792, which proceeded to completely stink up our little apartment bar fridge! This soft washed rind cheese is quite pungent, but comparatively mild to taste.

Bruny Island Cheese Co began life in 2003 and is the baby of premiere cheese maker Nick Haddow. They use milk sourced from ethically kept cows and goats, and are the only legally recognised raw milk cheese producers in Australia. Incidentally, for me, the raw milk cheese very narrowly lost the coin toss with the washed rind that I ended up buying.

Jackman & McRoss

57-59 Hampden Road, Battery Point

At the Salamanca Market I bought a loaf of sourdough, which, unbeknownst to me at the time, turned out to be from Jackman & McRoss. Shortly thereafter my husband received a message from a friend telling us that we could not leave Hobart without paying at least a fleeting visit to that very bakery at Battery Point! Serendipitous, much?

I described Jackman & McRoss in my earlier post on Hobart, as it is definitely somewhere I would recommend for breakfast, lunch or even just for coffee and a treat. I went to Tasmania to slow down, and Jackman & McRoss helped me to do this. The atmosphere is calm, the eating areas are mostly bright and airy, and the food will satisfy the eye, the taste buds and the tummy.

If you want to take away, and you will, they have a vast array of fresh breads, pastries sweet and sour, biscuits, desserts, savoury tarts and more.

Wellington Apiary

112 King Street, Sandy Bay

There’s certainly something special about Tasmanian honey, particularly the raw honey. It’s raw because it has literally been removed from the hives and put in a jar. Well, almost. It means it hasn’t been heated to assist the straining process, which is when any excess wax or other impurities are removed. 

I took home Wellington Apiary’s Leatherwood honey, which I have no idea how to describe. It’s a thick cloudy honey with a spicy tone to it, and a taste like home, whatever that means to you. Apparently Leatherwood honey is the taste of Tasmania as that’s where the tree is native. Leatherwood honey is also part of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity’s Arc of Taste, which aims to draw attention to significant produce and their potential extinction. In that case, maybe I should keep my jar sealed and to myself, for now.

Wellington Apiary has been around since 2009, and is a business built around a passion for sustainability, the products of nature, and raw honey.

The Franklin Cider Company

3118 Huon Highway, Franklin

Tasmania is traditionally known as the Apple Isle, and what better to do with apples than make cider! Thankfully there are plenty of choices when it comes to Tassie grown and made apple cider, with a few producers likely to be well known to you. I chose a smaller producer during an evening in the pub. Frank’s.

I can be picky about my cider, however I was pleasantly surprised by the taste of Frank’s Summer Apple, which is neither too sweet nor too dry, it’s just right. Yes, that does make sound like the Goldilocks of cider, but that’s the most apt description I can give. Made from tree-ripened apples (and pears, they also do a pear cider) and based around the credo of ‘don’t muck around’ the produce coming out of Franklin Cider Company is clearly reflective of the natural ingredients and philosophy that goes into it.

https://www.facebook.com/FranksCider/photos_stream

William McHenry & Sons Distillery

229 Radnor Road, Port Arthur

Who knew Tasmania made whisky? Not me, apparently. However, the discovery that indeed they do came as a pleasant surprise for my whisky snob, *cough* connoisseur, husband. And not only whisky, but single malt whisky. Even better.

While I don’t drink whisky myself I could appreciate the quality of the Three Capes Single Malt through the pleasantly warm fudge-y caramel scent it gave off. That is a scent of comfort.

William McHenry & Sons Distillery is apparently the southern-most family run distillery in the world, and being in Tasmania it's about as far away from those traditional whisky makers in Scotland as you can get! But with a similar climate, it’s more alike than you’d think. The distillery uses pure spring water direct from the cold Tassie ground, and currently also produces a vodka and a gin.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/William-McHenry-Sons-Distillery/120956014719430

And one for the road…

I have to admit, Country Women’s Association ladies tend to scare the bajesus out of me. I love to cook and bake, but I’m messy in the kitchen and so sometimes things work out, other times not, but never would they be to the super high standards of these ladies. While they frighten me I am equally in their awe. This is something that was confirmed when I popped into the Common Ground shop at the Salamanca Arts Centre and as a last minute decision threw two chunks of caramel fudge into my bag. 

Best. Decision. Ever.

Mrs 64 of the CWA, I solute you. This lady’s fudge is absolutely to die for. Solid on the outside it is soft and luxurious in the middle. The flavour is just sweet enough, and there is absolutely no grain in it at all. It is smoooooth. I won’t lie, I bought two and ate them both myself. No sharing this one!

-Stevie O'C