Herbs at Australian Food from Vic Cherikoff

Vic Cherikoff
Alpine Pepper (sachet) Description: Alpine pepper is a carefully considered formulation of the peppery leaves and fruits of a high country wild pepper bush found in the mountains of Tasmania. The firey leaves get draped in snow in the winter and blasted by Antarctic winds kissing the icy valleys where this tough plant grows. COLOR - olive and pastel green herb pieces with dark purple flecks of fruits of the spices; sumac and pepperberries AROMA - woody peppery note with a hint of fruit PALATE - herbaceous short palate with conventional pepper zing then exhibiting an increasing burn with rich berry and a hint of green tea You may think that you have tried all the varieties of pepper already but here is a totally new one. Sure. There`s black, grey and white pepper as well as green, pink and red pepper which all come from the same plant (a climber, originally from India). You may have even tried betel pepper, Indian long or Javan long peppers or the rough-leaved pepper - all are different species of the same genus, Piper. However, here in Australia, we have a totally new type of pepper which is more closely related to the source of aspirin or oil of Wintergreen than to the tropical true pepper vine. We call it mountain pepper and it`s actually a herb although the berries we call pepperberries are also used - sparingly. I say this because chewing on a few pepperberries is like having a grenade go off in your mouth. I also include a specially prepared, encapsulated extract of the leaves which imparts that instant zing of bushy heat. There`s some forest anise, which not only ideally complements the taste but adds to some serious functionality in that the combination is super-strongly anti-microbial so that there is some preservative action when using Alpine pepper as a marinade. Finally, I have added some of the tangy, Turkish sumac for its fruitiness to enhance the pepperberries and some conventional Piper corns in their black and white forms are added for those familiar pepper notes. You`ll grab for the Alpine pepper as most cooks would for a peppermill. It can easily and deliciously substitute for ordinary pepper on meats, seafood, soups, vegetables, eggs and cheese dishes. Use it to taste and you`ll discover that Wow! factor you want in your food. Alpine pepper can also be used in far more ways than just as a seasoning over cooked dishes. Use it as a dry marinade on meats or add it to breads, batter and pastry as a herb mix. It makes the best salt and pepper squid you`ll ever try. Now here`s something I discovered by accident - Try sprinkling Alpine pepper over raw or cooked fruit or mix it into ice cream (particularly strawberry flavoured), yoghurt, cream cheese or custards. Alternatively, generously season peeled and sliced bananas with Alpine pepper and pan-fry them in butter and a dash of your favorite oil (olive, macadamia, avocado, walnut, pumpkin seed, whatever) until they just brown and soften. Serve with ice cream and a small cup of strong coffee. By the way, I store my Alpine pepper on the door of my freezer. It keeps the aromatics fresh and is always at hand so it won`t go the way of less valued spices which get buried and lost or just forgotten in the pantry.... Read More about the "Alpine Pepper (sachet)" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

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Australian Herbs, Spices Seasonings - 6 Canisters Description: Six Australian herb and spice seasonings. Pack includes one each of; Alpine Pepper - 30g Oz Lemon - 30g Fruit Spice - 30g Wildfire Spice - 40g Red Desert Dust - 40g Rainforest Rub - 40g All seasonings are packed for long life and peak freshness in our attractive, reusable, refillable stainless steel canisters. Note the trick in opening and closing the canister lids. Use your thumb to pop the lid up and off and then to re-seat the o-ring in the lid, twist it back into place to close the canister after use. We recommend storing the opened canisters in your refrigerator or freezer where the contents can remain fresh for up to 3 years - but you`ll use them long before that.... Read More about the "Australian Herbs, Spices Seasonings - 6 Canisters" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

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Australian Herbs, Spices Seasonings - 6 Sachet Refills Description: Six Australian herb and spice seasonings to refill your Australian Herbs, Spices and Seasonings Canisters . Each pack includes one each of Alpine Pepper - 30g Oz Lemon - 30g Fruit Spice - 30g Wildfire Spice - 40g Red Desert Dust - 40g Rainforest Rub - 40g All packed in stand up, resealable pouches. Please note that the individual packs are available at US6.20 or A8.20 each. We recommend storing the sachets in your refrigerator or freezer or transfer the contents to your canister set and that will protect the herbs from spoilage by light.... Read More about the "Australian Herbs, Spices Seasonings - 6 Sachet Refills" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

Vic Cherikoff
Forest Anise Description: Flavour Subtle Pernod-like aniseed flavour with a sweet aftertaste. Colour and Appearance A fine light green powder which can still provide texture in biscuits and cakes. Typical uses Use with white meats as a sprinkle, mixed in stuffing or part of a stock seasoning. Add to desserts (eg. ice cream), cream cheese or bread. Helpful hints Extremely versatile flavouring. Oils are volatile and can dissipate with heat so best added as a post-preparation seasoning or cold-formulated. Use at around 0.5 (5g - kg) addition. Storage Cool and dark Packaging 100g PET jars, 1kg bags Many chefs find this a difficult herb to use and as there are many people who just dont like aniseed as a flavour (often from abusing Ouzo, Pernod or Arrak in their younger days) it can be a highly polarising ingredient. Its best use is probably in ice cream and then as a backnote flavour in seasonings and sauces. Forest anise is a natural flavour enhancer for tomatoes and other solanaceous vegetables and it has some interesting bioactive effects which make it a valuable food.... Read More about the "Forest Anise" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

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Fruit Spice (sachet) Description: Fruit Spice is a really unique seasoning for enhancing fruit flavors of soft or stone fruits such as berries, apricots, peaches or tropical fruits like mango. You can also use it to make ordinary fruit jams and jellies more fruity. COLOR - visually mixed green herb fines and pieces including micro-crystals of natural flavor and with flecks of dark purple fruity spices AROMA - passionfruit and berry front notes with a hint of cumin and the tiniest suggestion of caroway PALATE - full-on fruit to match the aroma and with a subtle pepper and anise long palate It only takes a light sprinkle, stir it in and wait for a few minutes for the flavor to infuse. It takes less time if the product is warm to hot. If you pure fruit for dessert sauces or make syrups from cooked fruit and sugar, Fruit Spice will add a delicious strawberry-passionfruit character with a subtle lemony hint. And here`s a really good recipe for a salad dressing - one which I still use often. Blend some strawberries and add Fruit Spice by the pinch, to taste. If I don`t have fresh strawberries on hand, try apple and strawberry juice. You might even add a bit of cracked black pepper. Now, if you are serving a salad of interesting green leaves such as radicchio, cos, rocket, coral, baby beetroot leaves, cresses and more, you can dress it well ahead of time with this Fruit Spice and juice mix. You see, if you use an oil based dressing, the oil wilts the leaves quickly unlike juices which actually make the leaves more turgid or pumped up. I once cooked a lunch for 60 chefs as a demonstration meal and made this dressing so that I could prepare the salad hours beforehand and just chill the salad covered in plastic wrap. It looked better than when I made it and tasted so good I had nearly all 60 chefs ask what I used to flavor the leaves. What better recommendation? I love using this mix in yoghurt, custards and whipped cream and think that it makes one of the best ice creams you will ever try. If melons eg honey dew melons, are in season, give them a sprinkle of Fruit Spice and see the difference. Give it a go and let me know what you think. Fruit spice by the generous pinch also turns up the gain on vegetable casseroles and other wet dishes with pumpkin, sweet potato or kumara. And it makes a fruity Asian or Indian curry come to life! Store your Cherikoff Fruit Spice in a cool place or conveniently on the door trays in your refrigerator.... Read More about the "Fruit Spice (sachet)" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

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Lemon Myrtle Sprinkle Description: Lemon myrtle sprinkle is deliciously aromatic and an extremely versatile, all native ingredient, herbal and fruit mix which can be used in an extremely wide range of dishes, including an exceptional herbal tea. COLOR - bright green herb with pale yellow flecks of citrus AROMA - early sweet lemon, lime and lemongrass oil bouquet with a citrus middle nose PALATE - robust lemon flavour-scent complemented with a mild acid citrus back palate and faint anise and green tea late notes Lemon myrtle sprinkle could be considered even more lemony than lemon myrtle because of its unique formulation. It is a blend of the best quality lemon myrtle leaf; wild, rainforest lime pulp and lemon aspen pulp (specially dried in the dark and milled at sub-zero temperatures) which provide a hint of acid; and I have worked in more lemon myrtle using encapsulated, lemon myrtle essential oil. Finally, there`s some aniseed myrtle which is a good source of trans-anethole. Trans-anethole is a phyto-estrogen and immune system stimulant. This results in a mix which is probably closer to 125 as lemony as lemon myrtle leaf alone and with a more rounded flavour as well. But back to the lemon myrtle in Lemon myrtle sprinkle. This `herb` comes from a tall rainforest tree (up to 30m) and once was only found in SE Queensland, from Brisbane to Cairns but is now widely planted in coastal New South Wales and some even in South Australia, Victoria as well as our coldest State, Tasmania. The growth rate is highest in warmer climates but leaf quality can vary with plant nutrition, watering regimes, the weather, time of day and harvest cycles. The Lemon myrtle leaves are now more-often machine harvested for the food, cosmetic, fragrance and cut flower industries. Some growers still pick by hand, particularly for cottage industry products such as oils and vinegars where a whole leaf may be added as a garnish. Generally, though, larger scale manufacturers look to our distilled essential oil which we provide solubilised or encapsulated for functionality and ease of use. Lemon myrtle sprinkle can be used in an unlimited number of ways: As a herb tea, just infuse to your own taste in boiling water or tea. I love a tiny amount added to my freshly brewed coffee as it brings out the flavor of the coffee itself and adds those heady aromatics of citral to complement the coffee roasted notes. It`s also good in hot chocolate. Try Lemon Myrtle tea with ginger juice, black or green tea, rooibos or other herbals and even chill and gas it with a soda stream to make your own soft drinks. (Add sugar or fruit juice and sweeten it to taste). I tend to make a strong infusion to use as a health-giving tea and a weaker one as a soft drink which I drink a lot, ice cold and bubbly. As a lemon seasoning, Lemon myrtle sprinkle is best used as a finishing flavouring. By this I mean add it to hot or just-cooked food before serving and the essential oils are driven out by the warmth to reach your tastebuds. So if you bake chicken or fish, add a sprinkle of Lemon myrtle sprinkle as it comes out of the oven and it`ll be full-flavored by the time it gets to the table. Added to a buttery fish sauce or chicken stock and there`s nothing better. As a flavouring, say, in custards or any soft cheeses, clotted cream, yoghurt or other dairy product you can just add it to taste or infuse the flavor out by infusing some Lemon myrtle sprinkle in warmed milk and add this as a concentrate. You can obviously make this as strong as you like and by leaving it stand for up to 10 minutes, out comes the essential oils and up goes the flavor. You can replace the milk with sugar syrup (say, 500ml water and 500g sugar dissolved by heating the stirred mixture slowly) and use this over stewed fruits, ice cream (or to make your own ice cream), thicken it with agar agar or gelatine to make a soft jelly or add lemon juice and turn it into a lemon spread with the pectin.... Read More about the "Lemon Myrtle Sprinkle" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

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Lemon Myrtle Sprinkle Sachet Description: Lemon myrtle sprinkle is deliciously aromatic and an extremely versatile, all native ingredient, herbal and fruit mix which can be used in an extremely wide range of dishes, including an exceptional herbal tea. COLOR - bright green herb with pale yellow flecks of citrus AROMA - early sweet lemon, lime and lemongrass oil bouquet with a citrus middle nose PALATE - robust lemon flavour-scent complemented with a mild acid citrus back palate and faint anise and green tea late notes Lemon myrtle sprinkle could be considered even more lemony than lemon myrtle because of its unique formulation. It is a blend of the best quality lemon myrtle leaf; wild, rainforest lime pulp and lemon aspen pulp (specially dried in the dark and milled at sub-zero temperatures) which provide a hint of acid; and I have worked in more lemon myrtle using encapsulated, lemon myrtle essential oil. Finally, there`s some aniseed myrtle which is a good source of trans-anethole. Trans-anethole is a phyto-estrogen and immune system stimulant. This results in a mix which is probably closer to 125 as lemony as lemon myrtle leaf alone and a more rounded flavour as well. But back to the lemon myrtle in Lemon myrtle sprinkle. This `herb` comes from a tall rainforest tree (up to 30m) and once was only found in SE Queensland, from Brisbane to Cairns but is now widely planted in coastal New South Wales and some even in South Australia, Victoria as well as our coldest State, Tasmania. The growth rate is highest in warmer climates but leaf quality can vary with plant nutrition, watering regimes, the weather, time of day and harvest cycles. The Lemon myrtle leaves are now more-often machine harvested for the food, cosmetic, fragrance and cut flower industries. Some growers still pick by hand, particularly for cottage industry products such as oils and vinegars where a whole leaf may be added as a garnish. Generally, though, larger scale manufacturers look to the distilled essential oil which might be solubilised or encapsulated for functionality and ease of use. So for culinary uses as an all-purpose, sweet or savoury lemon seasoning. Lemon myrtle sprinkle can be used in an unlimited number of ways: As a herb tea, just infuse to your own taste in boiling water or tea. I love a tiny amount added to my freshly brewed, super-strong coffee as it brings out the flavor of the coffee itself and adds those heady aromatics of citral to complement the coffee. It`s also good in hot chocolate. Try Lemon Myrtle tea with ginger juice, black or green tea, rooibos or other herbals and even chill and gas it with a soda stream to make your own soft drinks. (Add sugar or fruit juice and sweeten it to taste). I tend to make a strong infusion to use as a health-giving tea and a weaker one as a soft drink which I drink a lot, ice cold and bubbly. As a lemon spice, Lemon myrtle sprinkle is best used as a finishing seasoning. By this I mean add it to hot or just-cooked food before serving and the essential oils are driven out by the warmth to reach your tastebuds. So if you bake chicken or fish, add a sprinkle of Lemon myrtle sprinkle as it comes out of the oven and it`ll be full-flavored by the time it gets to the table. As a flavouring, say, in custards or any soft cheeses, clotted cream, yoghurt or other dairy product you can just add it to taste or infuse the flavor out by infusing some Lemon myrtle sprinkle in warmed milk and add this as a concentrate. You can obviously make this as strong as you like and by leaving it stand for up to 10 minutes, out comes the essential oils and up goes the flavor. You can replace the milk with sugar syrup (say, 500ml water and 500g sugar dissolved by heating the stirred mixture slowly) and use this over stewed fruits, ice cream (or to make your own ice cream), thicken it with agar agar or gelatine to make a soft jelly or add lemon juice and turn it into a lemon spread with the pectin.... Read More about the "Lemon Myrtle Sprinkle Sachet" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

Vic Cherikoff
Mintbush Marinade Description: Flavour strong savoury taste that is closer to peppermint than garden mint in flavour and with a lemony long palate from the lemon myrtle we add Colour and Appearance a fine, free-flowing, dark green herb mix Typical uses sauces, pesto, butter, bread, vinegars. Helpful hints suggested use rate is around 0.1-0.2 (1-2g - 1kg). Storage and Packaging Size store cool and dark (preferably chilled), 30g sachets, 100g PET jar, 160g shaker jar for food service This is the ultimate marinating mix to transform fetta, boconccini, labni and other cheeses which improve in oil from pedestrian to sensational. It can be used over any soft ripened cheese too and Charles Sturt University uses our mix in their excellent cheeses (available through Australian supermarkets). Another Australian herb mix which enhances tomatoes and is really good with Mediterranean inspired dishes. Try segments of bell peppers (capsicums) with chunky slices of tomato, crushed garlic pieces and macadamia, cottonseed or olive oil drizzled over. Roast until the tomatoes are soft and the peppers are just charred, remove from the oven and sprinkle generously with Mintbush Marinade. Serve with some Alpine pepper bread and your favourite chilled white wine.... Read More about the "Mintbush Marinade" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

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Rainforest Rub (sachet) Description: We Aussies love chilli so this herb and spice mix has a bit to add those special tingles for your tongue. It`s not too hot but formulated to give that Wow! factor and the flavor blends well with the lemon myrtle, lemon aspen and pepperberry as the native Australian mix. COLOR - pale yellow mix with bright red chilli fines, sesame seeds and green herb flecks AROMA - spicy, roasted chicken nose with a sweet lemon, lime and lemongrass oil bouquet PALATE - full chicken and spice mid-palate with pepper and chilli heat followed by complex herbaceous citrus aromatics and toasted seed I have used a chicken flavored, vegetarian base for this rub since it is a flavor which goes with a wide range of other foods. However, if you are at all concerned, please note that this is a fully vegetarian seasoning and a great example of the molecular basis of taste where the similarity of the plant protein extract to chicken protein results in the same taste to our brains. One of my favorite uses for Rainforest Rub is on potato chips. I mean the thin slivers of the humble potato, deep fried and unhealthy. You might call them crisps. I dust them with Rainforest Rub and the lemony chicken and chilli makes one of the most morish snacks I know. You might want to try it on the thicker, softer wedges and fries (they apparently can`t be called French anymore since S11 made this not politically correct), on corn, sweet potato or taro chips or pop corn as well. Not surprisingly, Rainforest Rub is great over chicken to intensify the flavor of what must be the world`s most popular bird. Use it as a general seasoning in and over practically any dish, including roasted, grilled, broiled, barbecued, stir-fried or braised poultry, pork or seafood, vegetables, veal or game. Season stews, stocks, soups and sauces and like all of my mixes, you can add it to breads and batters for a savoury twist to these. As a way to carry the seasoning on foods such as yabbies, crays, lobster, octopus, calamari, prawns or shrimp, mix it with breadcrumbs or a fine polenta. You can even add some grated cheese such as a cheddar or parmesan. I have also found a site with a whole bunch of chicken recipes. You could easily put an Australian twist to the easy, delicious ideas you`ll find there.... Read More about the "Rainforest Rub (sachet)" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

Vic Cherikoff
Red Desert Dust (sachet) Description: OK. So it`s not really dust but our Red Desert Dust is a seasoning with a gutsy, aromatic mix of conventional and native Australian ingredients and ideal as a finishing flavor over meats, potatoes, eggs or cheeses such as baked ricotta. Try a simple grilled cheese on toast sprinkled with Red Desert Dust and taste the added dimensions of flavors from the native Australian ingredients. COLOR - Central Australian red sand colour with green, purple-black and bright red flecks and pale tan sesame seeds AROMA - spicy, peppery primaries with roasted chicken notes and a herb finish PALATE - initial sweet and salt, followed by a full chicken and pepper mid-palate with complex spice and toasted seed Put it on salmon, white or red meats and bake to doneness then blacken the spice mix under the grill or broiler. This lessens the herb notes but brings out the peppery zing and smokey spice flavors. There are a few herb inclusions in Red Desert Dust which work as flavor enhancers for tomato dishes such as gumbo, stews or your favorite pasta sauce so add some early in the cooking and let the ingredients combine and meld to a richness you won`t forget. Red Desert Dust can also be used as a dry rub or marinade, adding complexity to meats. Alternatively, mix some into butter or your favorite substitute and melt over cooked meats allowing the warmth to heighten the impact of the ingredients. Another use is as a general flavoring in dressings, mayonnaise or oil and whisking will help infuse the flavors or warming works, either way, as appropriate. Try adding Red Desert Dust to pancake batter for an interesting savoury crepe which can be filled with tinned tuna, salmon, roast chicken strips etc and moisten with snow pea sprouts or some enoki mushrooms for a simple snack or entree. One easy nibbly I often make is to slice Lebanese flat bread into segments, drizzle them generously with olive oil (Australian, of course) and sprinkle on the Red Desert Dust (or try my other seasoning mixes for variety). I might add a little extra salt to some. Lay the segments out on a baking tray and place into an oven at 100C (212F) to dry to crispness. It only takes about 5 minutes. Serve with an Australian riesling or unwooded chardonnay or an ice cold beer.... Read More about the "Red Desert Dust (sachet)" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

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Wildfire Spice (sachet) Description: This is our all-purpose spice mix which includes a bit of zing from mountain pepper combined with a herb finish from the blend of lemon aspen, lemon myrtle and aniseed myrtle. It also includes a few conventional herbs and spices to round out the flavour and make it a highly versatile seasoning. For a few ideas of use and more information on the mix visit our page on Wildfire spice. Wildfire Spice is gently spicy but is a complex flavoring and ideal for barbequing, grilling and baking. COLOUR - coarse, multi-ingredient, multi-coloured herb, spice and salt flecks AROMA - complex, mixed spice nose tending to Mediterranean but with a wild woody Australian character and suggestion of pizza PALATE - full chicken and spice mid-palate with pepper and mild chilli heat followed by complex herbaceous citrus aromatics and toasted seeds Use it as a dry marinade or rub over seafood, meats, eggs or vegetables. Try a heaped teaspoonful per 500g (about a pound) of dough or batter when baking bread or for pizza bases, crepes or savoury pancakes. Use Wildfire Spice in burgers, meatloaf or other savoury mince meat or sprinkle some liberally over your next stir-fry, salad, pasta or pizza. You can also add a sprinkle and infuse the flavour into red wine or mushroom sauces for steaks and chops; add some to warmed olive oil for that tasty dipping oil with some fresh bread or make salad dressings with oil and vinegar and Wildfire Spice to taste. See what I mean about all-purpose? I also like mixing some into sour cream and topping baked potatoes or seasoning kumara chips or slices baked in the oven. It turns boring vegetables like cauliflower and kale into gourmet treats (OK, so you still need a nob of butter as well). Get some seed mix such as linseeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and maybe some finely chopped almonds and add a generous amount of Wildfire Spice to make a delicious dukkah or spiced seed mix. As an alternative, dry roast the seeds and while they are still hot, add a splash of soy sauce and then mix this into some Wildfire spice. These mixtures can be used as a sprinkle for olive oil soaked bread or as a crusting over meats and seafood for frying, broiling or grilling. The more you use my Wildfire Spice mix the more favorite applications you`ll find. I can promise you that!... Read More about the "Wildfire Spice (sachet)" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

Vic Cherikoff
Wylde Thyme Mix Description: Flavour similar to a combination of tarragon, thyme and rosemary Colour and Appearance a fine, free-flowing, light green powder Typical uses soups, stuffings, herb bread, quiches, omelettes and vegetable seasonings Helpful hints Suggested use rate is around 0.5 (5g - 1kg) as for traditional thyme. Storage and Packaging store cool and dark or refrigerate, 100g PET jar and 160g Food Service shaker jar Wylde thyme is a seasoning blend of herbs and spices which enhance the thyme characteristics of the mix. This is the all-purpose pizza sprinkle but can be used in as wide a number of applications as ordinary thyme or tarragon. Use as a rub on lamb or veal, chicken or turkey. Great with game meats too. Try it over baked potatoes or other vegetables. Good on eggs or into pasta sauces.... Read More about the "Wylde Thyme Mix" on the Vic Cherikoff Website

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