Herbie’s Spices

Spices are important ingredients in making the diverse tastes of Middle Eastern cuisine available to us all. Over the past few years there has been a resurgence in our love for Middle Eastern food. More than ever before, Turkish food is booming in Australia. The fresh and lively flavours delight our taste buds, and nourish without being heavy. Authors such as Yotam Ottolenghi with

Our Guarantee of Quality Explained At Herbie’s Spices we are obsessive about quality. It is a subjective topic, and many spice sellers are guilty of hyperbole when it comes to describing their produce. Therefore we have attempted to explain our Guarantee of Quality, and then when you use our products, you can be the judge. Herbie’s products contain No Added artificial ingredients or fillers of any

Beetroot Powder is surprisingly versatile Over the years many customers have asked us if there is an alternative to artificial red colour. Although strictly speaking not a spice, we decided to add this to our range for those cooks who like to have their Butter Chicken, Tandoori or Sweet and Sour Pork nice and red, but naturally. Beetroot powder does not have a strong flavour, and if anything

Herbie explains interesting facts about Bay Trees and the leaves that are used in so many recipes. Bay Leaves Turkish Powdered Bay Leaves

Herbie visited South India in 1997 and took this video of a traditional cardamom auction. The open outcry method you see here no longer exists, however the traditional farming methods remain.

Some of the coldest July days in years, so we’ve come up with these quick and easy soup ideas Harissa Red Lentil Soup Serves 2 1 onion, finely sliced 1 cup red lentils 3 cups chicken stock 1 potato, peeled and chopped 2 tsp Harissa spice mix 1 Tbs coriander leaves, picked Saute onion and potato in a little oil in a medium-sized saucepan. When

Saffron is the stigma (the female organ) of an autumn flowering crocus (Crocus sativus). The stamen is the male organ that holds pollen, and it has no use in cooking. Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice, with a street value in excess of around A$20,000 per kilo. A double handful of saffron weighing about 1 kilo, will have been hand picked from 200,000 flowers

Whole books have been written about chillies, however we wanted to share some basic chilli essentials, as these tasty and potentially fiery little critters are becoming more and more popular. So much so that chilli now outsells peppercorns, which 10 years ago were the no 1 spice traded in the world. How Do You Spell Chilli? It depends on where you are. In the

Much Ado About Curries Curries are one of my favourite ways to enjoy spices, and here’s why; Ever since my first visit to India in 1986 I have been addicted to curries. Contrary to popular opinion, my love for curries is based on their wonderful complexity of flavours, and the spicy heat hit takes a backseat on this taste adventure. Besides dining or getting

Ian “Herbie” Hemphill’s knowledge of herbs and spices is second-to-none. Consequently, with his wife and business partner Liz, they’ve created a fantastic range of spice kits, ideal for creating festive parties with a difference and also as gifts! “Each Christmas we find people visiting or contacting the store, saying they’d like something “different” to give a friend, colleague or loved one and we often

We’ve been on the road travelling promoting the new Spice and Herb Bible and visiting the winners of our Social Media competition on Maleny, QLD and Rosebud, VIC. We also had a fantastic evening at 3 Weeds Rozelle which highlighted our new book and our product range. Head to our Facebook page to view images from these events and find out details about our final events for

From our newest kit, released for Christmas 2014 comes this delicious and very morish crisp recipe. Enjoy! Za’atar Crisps 2 large flatbreads olive oil spray 1-2 Tbs za’atar – Herbie’s Spices Plenty of Flavour Kit Preheat oven to 200 C. Using scissors or a pizza cutter, cut each flatbread into wedges, and place them on an oven tray. Spray each piece of flatbread with olive