Have you been finding pantry moths a pest at your house? These pesky little creatures seem to appear like magic: what is perfectly silky-smooth flour one day transforms into a webby moth habitat in the blink of an eye, even when totally airtight! We all ask ourselves how this can happen, and as it turns out, we have only ourselves to blame. Don’t we all want our foods clean and green? Food in Australia is so stringently tested to be free of pesticide residues, that those little mothy pests have a clean and green environment in which to breed. So change your attitude and love your moths … they are telling you good news about your food. (If you can’t bring yourself to love them, open the hunting season armed with one of those battery-operated, tennis racquet shaped, zappers!)
We’re just bursting with new products and ideas this season, so read on to see all our exciting additions!
We have finally sourced Piment d’Espelette, that finely-flaked chilli from the Basque region of France. Produced in only ten small villages with a total growing area of 3,000 acres, it bears the coveted Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) designation. With its delicious sweet and fruity aroma and mild chilli heat, it is beloved of recipe-writers the world over. It has a gorgeous rosy colour and we’re loving it in our Sunday night scrambled eggs. It makes a dazzling appearance at breakfast or brunch too… heat olive oil in a pan, and cook slowly: sliced onion, garlic, chopped tomatoes and plenty of green and red capsicums, seasoned generously with Piment d’Espelette and salt and pepper (chop a chorizo into small dice and put that in too, if you like). Serve over toasted sourdough slices… yum!
It’s also great in Chatchouka (or Shashouka) which is currently finding its way onto the blackboard breakfast menus of many a trendy restaurant. Sadly, the quality and exclusivity of this product is reflected in the price we have to pay. In a 15 gram pack, it sells for $12.90. That’s the same outlay as for an average bottle of wine, and your Piment d’Espelette will last much longer than that!
We are proud to introduce some excellent dried herbs into our range, Australian grown and the very best we’ve ever seen. Thank God for artisan producers who put quality ahead of quantity! Premium grade whole thyme and oregano leaves, and simply beautiful small whole sage leaves, will join our premium bay leaves, available only from our shop and the website (and will run in conjunction with our existing range) until we know the supply is consistent enough for us to provide them to all our stockists. All three herbs are packed in 10 gram packs and retail for $3.80 each. (Although 10 grams sounds small, the herb leaves are bulky and the pack is quite full.) As the Herbie’s Spices mission is to bring you the very best that we can find, we are delighted to have found these superb products and know that you will love them as much as we do.
Sometimes it’s just hard to get motivated to expand the dining repertoire and make food interesting again. So we’ve decided to lend a helping hand to those of you needing inspiration, with a seasonal Box of Ideas for you. The box of goodies will be available during the current season, after which we’ll roll out a new one to help you into the next part of the year. Priced at $25.00 plus postage, you can order on-line or directly through the shop. Our toe-in-the-water first Box of Ideas Winter contains thyme leaves, Mulling Spices, Baharat, Creole Spice Mix and Gumbo File Powder with recipes and ideas, of course.
When holidays come around, we are a people on the move. We find ourselves on yachts, in tents, towing caravans, or staying in self-catered units somewhere other than home. So what do we need? A sturdy, bright kit box full of useful herbs, spices and blends along with easy and quick recipes and ideas. Voila! Enter our brand new Happy Campers Spice Kit, joining the kit stable in colourful, throw-around-sturdy boxes, tough enough to stand up to rough seas and bumpy off-road situations. It’s priced at $37.50, and is available now, in time for your next holiday.
Taking a step sideways from our well-loved cardboard gift boxes, we have sourced a sleek creamy-coloured metal box, filled with twelve little lidded pots for your spices. Knowing that some people (Herbie included) are obsessed with pepper, we have filled one box with 12 different peppercorns and called it Pepperer’s Guild ($55.00). Did you know that in 1180, during the reign of Henry II, a pepperer’s guild of wholesale merchants was established in London? It was granted a charter by Henry VI in 1429 to sell goods wholesale, or ‘vendre en gros’, and subsequently became the Grocer’s Company.
We also packed a box with whole spices that we’ve called Curry Essentials ($45.00), as we know what fun it is to combine, roast and grind your own spices when making a curry. We’ve included recipes for curry blends so that you have a starting point on the way to creating your own blend. Only recently introduced to our website, these lovely boxes have taken off as a popular gift idea.
We’re out and about in country NSW soon, and will be doing a spice class at Pepper Tree Kitchen in Lismore on Monday 24th June. Phone 6622 0180 or email [email protected] for more information.
Stay warm and eat well this winter season, and wish us a happy Sweet Sixteenth birthday in July.
Happy spicing!
Herbie and Liz
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Baharat, also known as Lebanese Seven Spice or Advieh, has become one of the many ‘go-to’ spice blends along with Ras el Hanout and Chermoula. Herbie, always up to date or ahead with spice trends, was asked to contribute this article to Australian Gourmet Traveller in 1999. Yes, 24 years ago! This is the article: Legendary spice merchant and blender, Ian (Herbie) Hemphill, has
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We’re all in accord about single-use plastics. Having seen huge drifts of plastic in the pristine seas off the Indonesian islands, we know just how important it is to get rid of those shopping bags, plastic wraps and sandwich bags. When one gets emotional about bad plastics, it’s easy to begin to demonize all plastics, and perhaps it’s timely to repeat this message from our Newsletter of some years ago.
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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!
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Besides being a popular spice for Yotam Otolenghi, Aleppo Pepper is becoming the go-to chilli for many cooks and food lovers. Why would a style of chilli be called a pepper? After all it is not a peppercorn! Let’s start with a bit of background. You may recall that Christopher Columbus was sailing west to get to the Indonesian spice islands, because he guessed
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LATEST RECIPES FROM KATE AT HERBIE’S KITCHEN For people with intolerances or special diets, spices are an excellent way of adding flavour when avoiding a variety of other ingredients Our Recipe Page has a handy check box for vegetarian, vegan, nut free, dairy free, gluten free, keto, paleo, low-fodmap and healthy eating categories (please bear in mind we are not trained in nutrition, and
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LATEST RECIPES FROM KATE HEMPHILL AT HERBIE’S KITCHEN Longer evenings are just beginning, and depending on where you are, perhaps you’re eating dinner outside already. It’s also a time that we look to lighter fare (although to us curry is definitely a year-round meal); with crunchy salads, fresh seasonal veg, and grills on the menu. Check out our Al Fresco Dining Spice Kit, which
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