Tasting Australia Masterclass: House of Hemp

House of Hemp

This masterclass will explore the newest innovations for one of the world's oldest crops. Hemp has been used for thousands of years in many ways, including clothing, shoes, ropes, paper, and carpets. However, Vircura is the first company in South Australia to bring together local growers and hemp processing capability and use the product to develop new and innovative products for the construction and building industry as an alternative and sustainable building material. Industrial hemp is now being grown in Australia, and many small businesses are producing hemp seed and oil-based products for human consumption.

Karena Armstrong, Tasting Australia Festival Director and Co-Owner of the Salopian Inn loves to bake and experiment with hemp seed and oil. Rachel Burton is a Professor at the University of Adelaide School of Agriculture, Food and Wine and Vircura's Chief Scientific Officer, having studied hemp and its benefits for many years. Join Karena and Rachel for a delicious express lunch of hemp-based food with a homely vibe and learn more about this versatile plant.

Professor Rachel Burton is Head of the Food Science Department at Adelaide University. She is a plant scientist and molecular biologist, passionate about plant cell walls and developing novel crop options for modern agriculture including hemp, agave, sorghum, Plantago (psyllium) and chia. Rachel and her group, in collaboration with a range of industry partners, are developing innovative pathways to make these crops multifunctional, useful for food, fibre, building materials, replacement plastics and medicine, but also highly sustainable and carbon neutral. This embraces the concept of using the entire plant, with no waste, including employing insects to convert plant biomass into a source of valuable proteins and oils, with frass as an organic fertiliser, as part of the integrated circular ecosystem. Research into the performance of new products is used to inform selection of superior crop cultivars for the future, combined with the best approaches for their cultivation and post-harvest processing.

Menu and wines

MOCKTAIL ON ARRIVAL

Hemp Mocktail

ONE

Hemp Crumbed Choice Mushroom + Buffalo Curd [recipe]
 

TWO

Pickled Boston Bay Mussels + Hemp Oil + Miso & Hemp Seed Cream + Crackers [recipe]
Sherrah Fiano 2023
Vasse Felix Chardonnay 2022

THREE

Green Taco + Crispy Carp + Super Green Sauce + Fermented Green Chilli [recipe]
Pierro LTC Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Las Vino Dynamic CBDB Blend Chenin Blanc 2023

FOUR

Hemp Meringue + Burnt Fig Parfait + Salted Seeds [recipe]
Rockford White Frontegnanc
Rieslingfreak Fortified Riesling NV

Hemp products used provided by Good Country Hemp.