Pandan the new, trendy ingredient for desserts in 2018

WHILE Australian native foods such as finger limes were the hot ingredient of last year, star celeb chef Nigella Lawson has dubbed pandan — a leaf native to South­east Asia that is used in gelatinous desserts — as the ingredient for 2018.

IT’S the Lawson-endorsed ingredient destined to disrupt increasingly intricate Aussie grocery lists in 2018.

While Australian native foods such as finger limes were the hot ingredient of last year, star celeb chef Nigella Lawson has dubbed pandan — a leaf native to South­east Asia that is used in gelatinous desserts — as the ingredient for 2018.

“I notice more and more people in America baking with pandan essence,” said Lawson, who admitted she was still at a loss on where to find the ingredient in UK supermarkets.

While Australia’s multicultural mix gives us a small edge in pandan-picking through our well-stocked Asian grocery stores, it still has a way to go before hitting our shelves at Coles or Woolies.

Palisa Anderson, co owner of Boon Cafe in Haymarket, with pandan desserts. Picture: Richard Dobson

Palisa Anderson, co-owner of Haymarket’s Boon Cafe, which has been serving up pandan croissants and tarts, says the ingredient is often likened to vanilla because diners can’t classify it.

A selection of desserts using pandan as an ingredient at Haymarket’s Boon Cafe. Picture: Richard Dobson

“As it mellows out a bit, it just gives a sweet, vegetal grass smell. It’s not like a freshly mown lawn ... it’s in a complete class of its own,” she said.

It is used in sweet and savoury dishes, but western palates tend to associate it with desserts.

“It’s aromatic, but because it also comes in an artificial pack, that’s where maybe Nigella thinks it’s flavouring whereas we just use it as a colouring,” Ms Anderson said.

She said she is pleased to see more chefs using pandan in creative ways.

“Our pastry chef is French trained but has an Asian sensibility and dabbling with flavours like that is a wonderful thing,” she said.

“You can cross pollinate two very distinct things and have them come together in a complimentary way.”

Thai/Lao restaurant Green Peppercorn in Fairfield serves a pandan creme brulee as well as a traditional pandan sticky rice with coconut and pandan sauces.

In the CBD, Indonesian-inspired cafe Blaq Pig is serving up pandan pancakes and Thai restaurant Do Dee Paidang in Haymarket has deep fried banana fritters with doughnuts and warm pandan custard.