Vanilla Products
As winter fades into memory, we are reminded that life is sweet. Now sweet things, like salty things, are both good guys and bad guys in the dietary world, so the line we’re walking on this is moderation. As our grandparents would have said, a bit of what you fancy does you good.
We have three new products for when you are in the mood for a sweet treat – Vanilla Bean Powder and two luscious new blends: Vanilla Bean Sugar and Sugar ‘n’ Spice.
You have been asking for a powdered vanilla for many years, and we have resisted due to the fact that often vanilla bean powder is made from grinding old beans that don’t have much flavour. As you can imagine, it’s a lot easier to grind something that is dry and crisp, rather than something soft, moist and pliable. We have never seen a powdered vanilla bean that we would be prepared to put the Herbie’s label on … until now. We have found a producer on the Pacific island of Vanuatu whose ground vanilla beans are full of natural flavour, and we are happy to use this great product to make such blends as Spice Dust and our two new babies listed above, and to offer it to you as Vanilla Bean Powder in a small 20g pouch for $9.80.
Whilst Vanilla Bean Sugar is pretty well self-explanatory, Sugar ‘n’ Spice needs a little introduction. Imagine caster sugar infused with cassia, cinnamon, ground rose petals, vanilla, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and a tiny touch of Pasilla chilli … aroma and flavour to die for! Imagine fresh, fluffy banana and pecan muffins, topped with a crunchy mixture of finely chopped pecans and Sugar ‘n’ Spice. Imagine smooth, creamy porridge enhanced with Sugar ‘n’ Spice, or melting moments sprinkled with Sugar ‘n’ Spice before baking. Let your imagination run riot with this delicious blend.
To keep an even hand in the salt/sugar arena, we are proud to introduce Saltbush, the salty Australian native leaf, ground to a powder. Known commonly as Old Man Saltbush, this tough plant is at home in the dry inland areas of Australia, and is a sprawling grey-blue shrub with edible leaves. Whilst it is distinctly salty in flavour, it has less than 20% of the sodium content of salt, so it’s lovely to use in a reduced-salt diet. We’ve had fun playing with it, and you’ll love the recipe for Aussie-spiced macadamias that we’ve put on the back of the pack. It’s in a 20g pack, at a cost of $6.80. If you can’t get hold of saltbush lamb (lamb grazed on saltbush pasture), the next-best thing is to get yourself a leg a beautiful seasonal spring lamb, rub it generously with saltbush and freshly-ground black pepper, and roast it!