Spices & More in South India Jan-Feb 2020

September 10, 2019 posted in General

We invite you to join us, Herbie and Liz, as we return to our beloved India to take you to some places where many tourists don’t go! And some amazing places that you just can’t miss. This is designed as a holiday, not an endurance test, and we have made the itinerary a little more leisurely than some earlier tours, so that you arrive home refreshed and well. Be a part of our small group and join the fun!

Continue reading

Herbie’s Newsletter Spring 2019

August 27, 2019 posted in General

What kind of meal do you think of when you hear the word “curry”?  The origin of our English word is Kari, meaning a spiced sauce.  The English took the idea back home from the colonies, and the classic Madras curry – well-balanced and flavoursome - became a staple in the English household.  The French, meanwhile, had colonized the Pondicherry area on the south-eastern

Continue reading

Treat Your Dad This Father’s Day

August 09, 2019 posted in General

Gentlemen, start your spices!  Father’s Day gift ideas from Herbie’s Spices Dads are often hard to buy for, so at Herbie’s Spices we have put together three spice kits that will have Dad inspired this Father’s Day. Barbecue Kit Barbecue Kit: A kit of 7 Herbie's spices (Sydney Spice, Chermoula, Smokey BBQ, American Spicy BBQ Rub, Bill's Steak Spice, Aussie BBQ Spice, Creole Spice

Continue reading

Newsletter Winter 2019

June 03, 2019 posted in Behind the Scenes

What is Single Origin? We see it emblazoned on tea, coffee, spices and other foodstuffs.  It’s pretty simple really.  If all your potatoes have been grown in the Hunter Valley, they are single origin from that region – they don’t all have to come from the same farm. If, say, a coffee blender buys beans from Africa and South America, and mixes them all

Continue reading

We Need to Talk About Ras el Hanout and………

April 23, 2019 posted in General

The way popularity can start a race to the bottom! Let me begin by sharing my thoughts on Pot-Pourri, a now devalued and bastardised item. Some history: When I was growing up in my parent’s herb & spice business in the 1960’s, I would earn pocket money helping my father harvest scented plants to make his classic Pot-Pourri. Pot-Pourri was a traditional blend of

Continue reading

Easter Spice Essentials

April 11, 2019 posted in Cooking

With Easter just around the corner, it’s time to think about the spices you’ll need for your Easter recipes. For all those sweet recipes such as cakes, biscuits and hot cross buns, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and cardamom are traditional, along with Mixed Spice. For extra fragrance and flavour, try using our Fragrant Sweet Spice Blend as an aromatic substitute. Easter is a great time

Continue reading

NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2019

March 20, 2019 posted in General

Thank You As we wish you all the best for 2019, we want to thank you all most sincerely for giving us our busiest December in years.  It’s great to know that the spice kits are still working well as gifts for your family and friends, and that your kitchens are well stocked with the best spices you can find. Sydney Spice It’s many

Continue reading

Spice Essentials for Middle Eastern Cuisine

January 09, 2019 posted in Cooking

Thanks to Yotam Ottolenghi and his creative, tasty and easy to prepare recipes in his latest book SIMPLE, cooks are appreciating Middle Eastern Cuisine more than ever. And it is the spices that make these recipes so tantalising. Ottolenghi's Spice pantry essentials are: Barberies Cardamom Seed Ground Harissa Rose Harissa Nigella Seeds Pomegranate Molasses Sumac Urfa Chilli Flakes Za'atar Plus all the usual suspects

Continue reading

Juniper, Gin and Ginspiration!

December 03, 2018 posted in Behind the Scenes

Making your own bespoke gin can be fun and satisfying if you have the right botanicals. Herbie’s Spices Ginspiration Spice Kit, combined with a vodka of your choosing, is a great way to commence your gin journey. Juniper Berries are the main ingredient that must be used to call a product Gin. However there are a number of other botanicals, which when used in

Continue reading

Newsletter Summer 2018 – 2019

November 16, 2018 posted in General

NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2018-19 Food safety … food security … everyone hears the term, but unless you’re in the industry, you don’t quite know what it means.  So let us fill you in on just what is involved in keeping your herbs and spices the way you want them to be.  Certification by HACCP is the first step.  The letters stand for Hazard Analysis Critical

Continue reading

Newsletter Spring 2018

August 30, 2018 posted in Behind the Scenes

Curry What do you think of when you hear the word Curry?  Does the image of a big pot of a protein swimming in lots of delicious rich gravy, served with rice and pappadams, come to your mind?  When a curry powder is made, it is basically a spice mix, just as Baharat, Chermoula and barbecue blends are spice mixes.  Don’t let yourself be

Continue reading

Have You Started Planning Your Personal & Corporate Gifts?

July 18, 2018 posted in Cooking

Have You Started Planning Your Personal & Corporate Gifts for this Christmas? Christmas in July started us thinking about the real Christmas that's coming up in just 5 months Herbie's Spices spice kits make the ideal corporate gift, and now is the time to start planning what to give to friends, clients and customers. Each kit contains a selection of herbs and spices and

Continue reading

Mastic Update

June 02, 2018 posted in Behind the Scenes

We have recently noticed an increase in awareness of mastic as an ingredient, so have decided to share some previous information to help demystify this fascinating and useful spice. Mastic is the name given to the resinous gum that exudes from the scored bark of the Gum Mastic Tree. There are many varieties of mastic trees (Pistacia lentiscus) in the Mediterranean and Middle East, yet most

Continue reading

Join the inner circle

Herbie’s Spices Inner Circle fills a need in the community of cooks and food lovers for early-access & upcoming events to all those hard-to-find herbs and spices.

Please enter valid email.
Subscribe