NEWSLETTER: Summer 07/08

• Spice Kits Great Value
• Vine Ripened Peppercorns
• Rosemary Flower Buds
• Watermelon Curry
• Sticks, Seeds, Pods & Leaves

Here we go again – summer holidays, outdoor living, Christmas entertaining, the whole delightful summer experience.  For your own use, as well as for giving, there are lots of our gift kits that are full of wonderful outdoor and barbecue ideas – Barbecue, Al Fresco, Quick and Tasty and Entertainer come immediately to mind.  The kits are still great value at just $30.00 each for the majority of the range, with our hugely popular Compact Kits (Herbie’s Saturday Curry, Butter Chicken and Sweet and Scrumptious) still at $20.00 each. Contents and recipes may vary at times to maintain the price of the kit regardless of price fluctuations of some of the spices, however changes are updated on the website as soon as they are made.

If you like to be organized before the Christmas rush, and also like to spread your costs over more than one credit card bill, this year we’re offering you a pre-ordering service for spice kits and books.  This means that you can decide what you want in advance, pay 50% of the total cost, and either collect from the shop or have your order delivered to you in mid-December.  Because this is a very personal service, it can’t be done using our website – you’ll need to call into the shop in person, or pick up and phone and speak to us on (02) 9555 6035.  If your life gets manic in December, as ours does, you might appreciate having your requirements arrive on your doorstep without having to make a trip to Rozelle, just as our staff will appreciate having prior warning of your gift requirements!

What’s new at Herbie’s?  New vine-ripened peppercorns, that’s what!  Peppercorns grow on a catkin-like spike, green at first, then ripening through yellow to finally a reddish-pink when fully ripe.  Green peppercorns, once they are picked, turn black due to an enzyme reaction in the skin.  To keep them green, they are either freeze-dried or boiled to kill the enzyme before drying so that the colour doesn’t change.  For decades, people have been trying to dry the fully ripe pink peppercorns, but because they are riper and softer, they just fall apart if they are boiled, and if they are left to dry naturally, the old enzyme reaction turns them black.  So the only way to preserve true pink peppercorns has been to keep them in brine, and anyone who has used them will know that the briny flavour remains no matter how well they are rinsed before use.   Happily, a method of freeze-drying has been perfected that means we can have the whole ripe berry in a dried form.  The flavour of vine-ripened pepper is a fuller, more mellow and fruity profile than black or green, and they can be combined with black, white and green in a peppermill, or used alone for their distinctive flavour.

Also new are Rosemary Flower Buds, a product of our own Australian herb growing industry. We all love the flavour of rosemary, but sometimes we just wish it would soften in cooking!  The joy of these flower buds is that they can be chopped or crushed and added to food like other softer herb leaves such as oregano and parsley, for a full rosemary flavour.

People often ask us whether we’ve found any new herbs and spices.  Naturally, as they are some of the oldest foods in the world, the answer is generally no.  Although we can create new and original blends, or find new ways of processing (as in the case of vine-ripened peppercorns), the actual plants which produce the sticks, seeds, pods and leaves for us to use in cooking have been known for centuries. Our own Australian indigenous plants are probably the source of the newest herbs and spices in the world, and the newest of all is known as Forest Berry Herb, from Eucalyptus Olida.  The ground leaf is redolent with a lively passionfruit-and-cinnamon flavour which marries perfectly with sweet fruits, especially berries.  We love it in cheesecakes, pancakes, berry pies and sugar syrup for fruits of all kinds.

While we’re on the subject of Australian native flavours, we are suffering from an acute shortage of bush tomatoes, known as akudjura when ground.  The drought is the main factor in the shortage, and hopefully there will be more available next year.  In the meanwhile, our very popular Native Barbecue Spice, which contains akudjura, is on very short rations.  So if it’s one of your favourites, may we suggest Aussie Fish Seasoning as an alternative?  Even though we designed it with a slant towards lemon flavours, it’s still delicious on chicken and red meats.

Summer is a wonderful time for entertaining, with long evenings for outdoor dining.  We often cook Indian meals when we entertain, as many dishes can be prepared one or two days ahead, which suits our busy lifestyle.  Curries in the summer?? Yes, indeed!  Although in our climate we tend to appreciate curry when the weather is cold, we must remember that parts of India reach 50 Celsius in summer, and they eat Indian food all the time!  Not all Indian food needs to be blisteringly hot with chilli, nor do all dishes have to be curries.  (In fact, our toddler grandson loves a little Chaat Masala mixed with his vegetables!)  We really recommend that you invest in a couple of Indian cookbooks, if you don’t have some already.  You’ll enjoy discovering the subtle spice combinations, and your guests and family will love you for the wonderful food you serve them.  If you’ve loved discovering Moroccan flavours, but are beginning to feel the cumin-and-parsley combos are becoming predictable, then you’re ready to move on to the complex and exciting spice flirtations and marriages in Indian cookery. For something really different, try this watermelon curry – you will be surprised and delighted!

Watermelon Curry

From 50 Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi (Kyle Cathie Ltd)

            ¼ large watermelon

            1 ½ tsp mild chilli powder (more or less to taste)

            ¼ tsp turmeric ground

            ½ tsp coriander ground

            1 tsp garlic puree

            Salt to taste

            2 tbs oil

            ½ tsp cumin seeds

            2-3 tsp lime juice

Cut watermelon into 3 cm thick slices and remove seeds.  Peel, chop flesh into approx 3 cm cubes.  Use 1 cup of chopped melon and blend to make juice.  Add chilli, turmeric and coriander to the juice, along with garlic and salt.  Heat oil in a wok and add cumin seeds, roasting for 30 seconds.  Add melon juice mixture, lower heat and simmer 5 minutes so that spices cook and liquid reduces by one third.  Add a pinch of sugar and the lime juice, cook one minute. Add watermelon pieces and cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes, turning gently until all pieces are covered in the spice mixture.  Serves 4 as a side dish.

We have a gorgeous new book, Sticks, Seeds, Pods and Leaves, just out.  Hardie Grant has combined our two earlier books, Herbaceous and Spicery into this lovely new presentation.  With the addition of full-colour pictures of every herb and spice, and 150 recipes and blends, it’s the essential guide to growing, selecting, blending and cooking.  You’ll find that your mushrooms will never be the same again without ajowan seeds, that wattleseed is the perfect partner for all things chocolate, and lots more.  According to delicious. magazine, “This is a must-have … essential reading for novices and experts.”  You’ll find it on your mail order list, and in good bookstores all over the place.

Have a fantastic festive season.  Enjoy the food, the company, and the flavours!  Happy spicing,                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                    Herbie and Liz