General

With Bush Tomato, Native Pepperberry and Wattleseed in short supply due to climatic conditions, here are some ideas that could be used as a *substitute for these unique flavours. Bush Tomato (Akudjura): This spice has a caramel-like aroma and flavour with slightly bitter background notes reminiscent of baked Anzac biscuits. Mix these quantities of ground spices together, then use at about half the quantity you would

Have you all enjoyed the Olympic experience this year?  Although not great sport addicts, we took the opportunity to celebrate South America in our own way, calling upon our Tempero Baino and Chimichurri spice mixes to take us, in an armchair kind of way, to all the excitement.  We’re quite addicted to the seafood stew on the back of the Tempero Baiano pack, ringing our own changes with

Want to learn more about spices, their history and how to use them? View Upcoming Events on our website to see where Ian ‘Herbie’ Hemphill is giving a Spice Appreciation Class or engaging audiences in Spice Conversations. If you are looking for a hands-on experience, this special Spice Essentials with Ian and Kate at The Essential Ingredient should not be missed. Some of the aspects Ian will cover in

Herbie visited Pampore near Srinagar in Kashmir to see the first saffron flowers bloom in 2015 The famous Kashmiri Saffron is grown over many hectares in Pampore, not far from Srinagar in Kashmir. Click here to watch a video of Herbie's Experience Learn more about saffron and how to distinguish the real from the fake here.

You may wonder why various spices, especially the Australian natives, are often in short supply or simply unavailable. The answer is simply climate change. Spices are agricultural commodities, and as such are affected by a number of factors. These include: The soil and climatic conditions where they are grown The expertise and experience of the growers The harvesting, post-harvest handling, cleaning and grading The

We have created a special tangy spice mix to be used as a tasty low sodium option In response to customers telling us that many so-called herb and vegetable salts still contained added salt, and were not suitable for anyone on a salt-free diet, we got to work making a spice blend that would have no added salt, yet be tangy and satisfying. As

For the savvy cook and top flight chef – there has been one only place in Australia to source the best, freshest – and even the most unusual herbs and spices.  And that is Herbie’s Spices run by global herb and spice guru Ian “Herbie” Hemphill and his wife Liz. For the past 18.5 years this iconic red two story terrace on Sydney’s Darling Street Rozelle that

You have visited our website because you are either an existing customer, or you are looking for a particular spice of exceptional quality. At Herbie’s Spices we have always taken pride in consistently keeping to our core strategic values that we inculcated when we opened our retail store in Rozelle on the 7th of July 1997. Those values are: To have the largest range

You know that our mission is always to bring you the very best that we can.  To this end, as you know, we mix our own blends, including za’atar.  As we now offer our customers a choice of imported or top-quality Australian-grown thyme and oregano, we think it’s only right that our za’atar contains the more premium versions of these herbs.  You’ll see at a

Although exotically named, this wild harvested member of the cardamom family has enjoyed renewed awareness as followers of West African cuisine, and boutique gin producers, discover its true potential.   The economy of Sierra Leone, a major exporter of Grains of Paradise, was devastated during the last ebola epidemic. Therefore we were pleased to hear from our supplier who advised us: "We also out here are

There are two spices commonly referred to as cinnamon. As many spice companies prefer not to name them correctly, confusion continues to prevail about what type of cinnamon consumers are actually purchasing. In this blog post we demystify the facts on cinnamon, so you can readily identify which one you have. May we start by saying these are both excellent spices when used appropriately,

At the beginning of 2015 we discussed shelf life and storage of spices. Our resealable zip-seal pouches are high barrier, and with the air squeezed out and resealed your spices will keep their flavour right up to the best before date on the label. Therefore, what is the best way to keep your Herbie’s Spices on the kitchen bench or in the pantry? Spice Storage

ALSO KNOWN AS DAGARFUL, IT IS THE MOST UNUSUAL FLAVOUR CONTRIBUTOR WE’VE SEEN IN YEARS! What would you think if we told you we’d come across a lichen traditionally used in the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu in South India, and that we simply love it? What we are referring to is the lichen known as Dagar Phool, or Dagarful (Parmotrema perlatum) which has an