Newsletters

Cook's Vacation Summer is traditionally holiday time, although of course the business of feeding ourselves continues regardless of school holidays and days off from work.  The question is: how can the cook of the family get a break?  We’ve given it some thought, and the trusty barbecue seems the way to spread the load and minimize the effort. So, to make it as easy

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

So, the store in Rozelle has closed its doors and the sky hasn’t fallen in.  In the last few weeks of trading, we had many of our dear, long-standing and familiar customers popping in for a chat and to wish us well … all quite emotional!  However, everything went to plan and we know local customers are already very happy with the complete 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

Low Calorie Spice Kit As we head towards yet another Olympic year, it might be a good time to think about fitness.  Not elite fitness in our case, we hasten to add, but a level of well-being that makes life enjoyable.  Christmas is notoriously the weight-gain season, with those Christmas party nibbles, irresistible cheese platters and calorie-rich sparkling wine, along with our feeling that

In our last newsletter, we mentioned the phenomenon of pulled meat, and the usual association with sliders. We have a new favourite that we’d love to share with you, using a tortilla instead of a little bun, and we know you’re going to love it. It’s great for a crowd, and ever-so-easy, as each diner assembles his or her own meal. Slow Cooked Mexican

Certifiably Safe! Certifiably safe! If we chose to, we could carry enough certification to cover the front label of your Herbie’s Spices product in special-interest logos. There are organic, rain forest alliance, Halal, Kosher, gluten-free, heart tick, and so very many more certifications available. On top of that, there are more bodies offering their chosen certification than there are categories of certification. Here at

Spice Appreciation Classes Demand for our Spice Appreciation Classes and Spice Blending Workshops continues even after all these years, and all the 2015 dates for these are now available on the website or at the Rozelle store. All-day Saturday sessions, which comprise the Spice Appreciation Class followed by lunch and the Workshop, run from 10.30 until 3.30, and are scheduled only three times during the year,

The Spice and Herb Bible – 3rd Edition Ta Daaah! The latest edition of Ian’s hugely successful book has arrived on our shores! Here’s the story in case you find the name change confusing:Spice Notes (Australia) was published in Canada as The Spice and Herb Bible. Spice Notes and Recipes (Australia) was The Spice and Herb Bible – 2nd Edition. As Spice Notes and

Huacatay or Stinking Roger When Liz was a child in Queensland, she played in an area where the weed, Stinking Roger, grew in wild proliferation. Perhaps some of you know it … a tall, single-stemmed, shallow-rooted, lanky plant with soft frondy leaves that smell strongly of marigold? We have noticed the spread of these plants southwards, and they now grow happily on the roadsides

Spice Tonic Gets Larger! Goodie goodie! We have been surprised by the immediate acceptance of our Spice Tonic, a combination of all the “good guys” of the spice world. Whilst we are firmly in the culinary world, and definitely NOT medicinal, we can’t help but notice that medical researchers are singing the praises of turmeric for its anti-inflammatory properties, cinnamon as an aid for

As the summer season draws to a close, we find ourselves contemplating seasonal menus. Naturally, seasons dictate the fruits and vegetables that appear on our tables, although worldwide trade of fresh produce ensures that we no longer have to wait for spring to find asparagus, or for summer to get our stone fruits. Looking beyond seasonal produce, we are in the habit of eating

Visit to the Greek Island of Chios Our visit to the mastic producers on the Greek island of Chios was a great learning experience. Although, naturally, our interest is in mastic’s use as a food, it is also valued for its use in varnish for musical instruments, as a paint stabilizer, and an ingredient in cosmetics, soaps and insecticides, amongst other things. Also hailed