The new year is the perfect time to try new things, especially in the kitchen! Consumers are eager to experiment with bold flavours and adventurous ingredients while exploring higher levels of heat and spiciness. Enhancing tried and true recipes can be as simple as cooking with extra heat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Additionally, adding dynamic spice<\/a> blends to your kitchen shelf opens the door to new international dishes. Heat is a component of many global cuisines (such as African and Mexican).\u00a0<\/p>\n These spice blends combine fiery ingredients, like chilli peppers and paprika, with various other elements. The result is a spice blend that is just as complex and enjoyable as spicy.<\/p>\n We explore ten essential spice blends from around the world. Not only do they bring on the heat, but they also add a depth of flavour to dishes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Origin: <\/b>North America<\/p>\n Heat Level: <\/b>Medium to High<\/p>\n Ingredients: <\/b>Paprika, cumin, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt<\/p>\n Cajun spice blend originated in the southern USA, particularly in Louisiana. This versatile blend combines Native American, Spanish, and French flavour profiles to create a delectably spicy experience. It gets a smoky heat from the cayenne pepper, paprika, and black pepper.\u00a0<\/p>\n A little Cajun pepper is a great way to add heat to meat<\/a>, poultry<\/a>, and fish marinades. You can sprinkle it over roasted, grilled, or stir-fried vegetables.<\/p>\n Origin: <\/b>Ethiopia<\/p>\n Heat Level: <\/b>Medium to High<\/p>\n Ingredients: <\/b>Red chilli peppers, fenugreek, allspice, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ajwain, ginger, garlic<\/p>\n Berb\u00e9r\u00e9 is an African cuisine delicacy that is iconic in Ethiopian cooking. Although the ingredients and heat level vary from place to place, berb\u00e9r\u00e9 is known for its smoky and spicy flavour.\u00a0<\/p>\n When added to meat dishes or stews, it brings an astounding complexity and heat. You can also turn berb\u00e9r\u00e9 into a marinade or paste. This seasoning blend does pack some heat, so use it mindfully.<\/p>\n Origin: <\/b>North Africa<\/p>\n Heat Level: <\/b>Mild to High<\/p>\n Ingredients: <\/b>Red chilli peppers, garlic, coriander, caraway seeds, cumin, oregano, salt<\/p>\n Like berb\u00e9r\u00e9, people use harissa as a paste. In powdered form, it contains hot chilli peppers, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, caraway seeds, peppercorns, garlic, and herbs. Sometimes, you can use smoked salt. The result is a spicy, earthy combination that adds a fiery kick and smokiness to dishes.\u00a0<\/p>\n It makes the perfect dry rub for meats, sprinkled over couscous, or added to vegetable stews.<\/p>\n Origin: <\/b>North Africa<\/p>\n Heat Level: <\/b>Low to Medium<\/p>\n Ingredients: <\/b>Black pepper, white pepper, cinnamon, allspice, anise cloves, ginger, cumin, coriander, cayenne, turmeric, mace<\/p>\n Ras el Hanout translates to \u201ctop of the shop.\u201d Traditionally, it was assembled from the best spices that a merchant had to offer. There are no set spices in this fragrant Moroccan blend. It can contain anywhere from 8 to 100 spices (although 40 is very common). Consequently, its heat level varies significantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ras el Hanout is not primarily known for its heat. However, including black pepper or chilli peppers results in a spicy experience.<\/p>\n Origin: <\/b>Portugal and Africa<\/p>\n Heat Level: <\/b>Medium to High<\/p>\n Ingredients: <\/b>Bird\u2019s eye chilli peppers, garlic, paprika, oregano, lemon zest<\/p>\n Peri-peri spice blend possesses the vibrant flavours of Portuguese and African cuisines (particularly Mozambique and South Africa). The African bird\u2019s eye chilli is the key ingredient.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s also where the blend gets its name since the bird\u2019s eye chilli is known as peri-peri. The spice blend delivers a bold and spicy profile with citrus undertones, making it the perfect choice to add a fiery and flavourful kick to dishes.<\/p>\n Origin: <\/b>North America<\/p>\n Heat Level: <\/b>Low to High<\/p>\n Ingredients: <\/b>Chili peppers, cumin, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder<\/p>\n Chilli powder varies in its composition, making it easy to customize for different heat levels and flavour profiles. Generally, it contains ground chilli peppers and other complementary spices.\u00a0<\/p>\n It adds heat and flavour to several dishes like Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. Notably, chilli powder is a spice blend consisting of multiple ingredients, not chile powder, which is a singular spice.<\/p>\n Origin: <\/b>Middle East<\/p>\n Heat Level: <\/b>Low to Medium<\/p>\n Ingredients: <\/b>Dried chilli flakes, paprika, black pepper, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom<\/p>\n Baharat means \u201cspice\u201d in Arabic. It\u2019s a popular Middle Eastern spice blend commonly found in Greek cuisine. This combination of warm and powerful spices like chilli flakes, paprika, and black pepper imparts moderate heat to dishes.\u00a0<\/p>\n This pairs with the sweetness of the cinnamon and nutmeg, resulting in a well-rounded and satisfying spice profile.<\/p>\n Origin: <\/b>Jamaica<\/p>\n Heat Level: <\/b>Medium<\/p>\n Ingredients: <\/b>Scotch bonnet peppers, allspice, thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic, ginger<\/p>\n Jamaican jerk seasoning is a bold and spicy blend foundational to Jamaican jerk cooking. It has a distinctive flavour profile with a harmonious blend of heat, sweetness, and aromatic spices.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although commonly used as a dry rub or wet marinade for meats, you can experiment with this mix by adding it to veggies. It brings a Caribbean flair that is savoury, fiery, and sweet to any dish.<\/p>\n Origin: <\/b>Japan<\/p>\n Heat Level: <\/b>Medium\u00a0<\/p>\n Ingredients: <\/b>Red chilli pepper, Sichuan peppercorns, citrus powder, black sesame seeds, nori, ginger, garlic<\/p>\n Shichimi Togarashi is also known as the Japanese Seven Spice Blend. As you may have guessed, it consists of seven essential spices. These create a complex and well-balanced flavour profile popular in Japanese cuisine.\u00a0<\/p>\n It offers heat and aromatic depth, so a little often goes a long way. You can sprinkle it over noodle dishes, rice bowls, soups, and grilled meats.<\/p>\n Origin: <\/b>China<\/p>\n Heat Level: <\/b>High<\/p>\n Ingredients: <\/b>Sichuan peppers, red chilli flakes, garlic powder, ginger powder, salt<\/p>\n Szechuan Seasoning is a unique pepper spice blend from the Sichuan province in China. It\u2019s known for its bold flavours and heat, attributed to the Sichuan peppers and chilli flakes (and often chilli powder).\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to bringing spiciness to noodle and meat dishes, Szechuan Seasoning adds a distinctive tingling feeling. It\u2019s a unique and exciting sensory experience.<\/p>\n Hela Spice can help you introduce more heat into your 2024 product line. Whether you need a fiery custom spice blend to capture the taste buds of consumers or want to add some heat to your best-selling food product<\/a>, contact the food experts at Hela Spice.\u00a0<\/p>\n We use consumer data to craft irresistible flavour profiles packed with heat and big on taste.<\/p>\n To discover our custom spice blends<\/a> at Hela Spice, visit us at www.helaspice.ca<\/a> or contact us here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1. Cajun Blend<\/h2>\n
2. Berb\u00e9r\u00e9<\/h2>\n
3. Harissa<\/h2>\n
4. Ras el Hanout<\/h2>\n
5. Peri-Peri<\/h2>\n
6. Chilli Powder<\/h2>\n
7. Baharat<\/h2>\n
8. Jamaican Jerk Seasoning<\/h2>\n
9. Shichimi Togarashi<\/h2>\n
10. Szechuan Seasoning<\/h2>\n
Hela Spice: Custom Spice Blends and Food Manufacturing in Canada<\/h2>\n