Herbs & Spices

The signature spice of the famous chai tea, cardamom is sweet and aromatic with camphoric tones. This bright, complex flavour brings sophistication to cakes, biscuits, puddings, scrolls and French toast; curries and stews; rice dishes; stewed and preserved fruits; red meats; and drinks. This ground cardamom is milled from mature pods into a fine powder, offering a more concentrated flavour than the whole pod and ready to use straight from the jar.

Cassia - also known as Dutch cinnamon or baker's cinnamon - is bolder than true cinnamon. Cassia's sweet and spicy fragrance and flavour is more intense than that of cinnamon. Its slight bitterness makes it distinctly different from cinnamon and gives its sweetness depth. Cassia is delicious in more robust sweet dishes such as fruit cakes, strudels, compotes and crumbles. It is often used in curries and stews for a balancing sweetness.

Black Lava Sea Salt gives a briny textural crunch and dramatic visual contrast to white, green and red coloured foods, such as fish, pasta, puréed leeks, tomatoes, turnips and potatoes. Large white crystals of sea salt are enriched with activated charcoal from volcanic areas in Cyprus, which turns it sensationally black.

Wattleseed is a star in the native Australian spice world; its earthy aromas of chocolate, coffee and hazelnut inspire creativity in the kitchen. Hand beaten from the pods of acacias by Indigenous Australians, wattleseed can be added to pancake batter, desserts, baked goods and sauces.

Kosher Salt gets its name from its integral role in making meat kosher. Jewish law dictates that blood must be extracted from meat with salt prior to consumption. Although harvested like table salt, Kosher Salt is raked during evaporation, giving the grains a block-like structure allowing the crystals to better absorb blood from animal carcasses. It is excellent in pasta sauces, where it yields a rich, complex and delicious flavour.

Used across the world for its fresh anise flavour, fennel seed has found a place in many cultures and cuisines. It can be found in charcuterie, curries and on Indian dining tables, where the raw seeds are chewed after meals as a natural digestif and breath freshener. Great in vegetable and seafood dishes, pork sausages, meatballs, soup stocks, stews and curries. Also known as: Florence fennel, finnochio, lucky fennel seed

Made from ground and whole celery seeds blended with flake salt, Old Fashioned Celery Salt has been used for generations. Celery seed greatly enhances the briny crunch of salt with a sharp, warm aroma, and slightly bitter taste. Celery Salt is a vital ingredient of the Bloody Mary cocktail and the famous Chicago-style hot dog.

Used for its vibrant red colour and full-bodied flavour, paprika is slightly pungent, yet sweet with only faint bitter undertones.

With a more rounded flavour than its zesty, fresh sibling, dried orange peel has a beautiful, bitter sweetness that gives depth and fragrance without overpowering. Dried orange peel matches well with duck and game meats, and any dish complemented by stewed fruit. It is also used in the Japanese sprinkle, Shichimi Togarashi.

With a plethora of imaginative names in different languages, the Italian - and most common - name, 'porcini' means 'piglets' in English. When dried, the flavour of these much relished mushrooms intensifies to a meaty, creamy and nutty palate, with an aroma reminiscent of sourdough.

Sichuan pepper, also known as Szechuan pepper or Chinese pepper, is commonly used in Chinese, Nepali and Tibetan cuisine. Native to Southwest China, the dried, burst seeds of the prickly ash tree have a peppery yet bright aroma, leaving a tingling and numbing sensation on the tongue.

Asafoetida has a pungent, unpleasant smell when raw, but when cooked it delivers a smooth flavour similar to leek or sautéed onion. It is made from the dried white resinous sap extracted from a variety of giant fennel which is difficult to handle, so starch is added to make it more manageable. Yellow Asafoetida is blended with turmeric and is used in Indian vegetarian cooking and low FODMAP diets.

Not to be confused with mixed spice, allspice is so named for its exquisitely combinative tones of clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. Allspice is an ingredient in mixed spice as well as sweet baked goods; pickles, relishes and preserves; gravies and marinades; and winter drinks. The deep, fruity warmth of these earth-coloured berries complements red meats, seafood and root vegetables. Native to the West Indies and Central America, allspice, also known as pimento, is a key ingredient in Caribbean recipes such as Jamaican jerk seasoning. Also known as: Pimento, Jamaica pepper, Myrtle pepper

Widely used in Indian cooking, fenugreek leaf has a strong savoury aroma and subtle bitterness comparable to celery seed, which greatly enhance other flavours. Used in vegetable and fish curries as well as potato and spinach dishes, fenugreek leaf is strong and should be used sparingly towards the end of cooking.

Himalayan Pink Salt is prized for its distinctive mineral-rich flavour. Born of the Jurassic era, this 250-million-year-old, hand-mined salt has been shielded from pollution for centuries. The delightful grains of pink, red and white are ideal for grilling or roasting meat, fish or chicken. Himalayan Pink Salt is ideal in a salt grinder for use as table salt.

Also known as 'old man saltbush', Saltbush is native to mainland Australia and is widely used to aid in the reclamation of saline soils.