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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
This time last year, we were considering another visit to India, after several years’ break from taking groups to that wonderful, ever-stimulating continent. Well, it happened, it was great fun, and we’re back. Highlights must include the hair-raising cycle-rickshaw ride through the old town of Varanasi; the vibrant, thrilling Holi day of colours; a visit to a small government school outside Deogarh, where one teacher
During Herbie & Liz’s recent visit to India, they were delighted to see many of the restaurants including a dish of Gunpowder Spice along with the chutneys and other condiments. Herbie wasted no time in talking to the chefs about this blend that seemed to be all the rage. Although most were a little cagey about revealing all the ingredients and their proportions, Herbie was obsessed
A modern trend in agriculture is to focus on broad-acre cropping to achieve greater efficiencies. One may be surprised to learn that many spices are still grown on small family-owned holdings, where more than one crop is cultivated. There is a simple logic to this method, one that has served Indian spice farmers for centuries, and has a few key reasons for being sustained.
What was your stand-out food experience over the Christmas season? We had an American-themed Christmas lunch for our staff at our place, and everyone was blown away by the pork ribs. (And speaking of our wonderful staff, were you all happy with our service in the run-up to Christmas? The girls were super-busy and worked very long days to make sure everything went out on time.)
We receive many questions about the world of spices, and in particular what makes a truly wonderful spice blend. The following article answers those questions, and we hope provides much more useful information. Spice Essentials In spices, we are fortunate enough to have a hobby that is also our passion, our business, and our livelihood … and it’s something that other people also find
