Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice!

   

This month we are spotlighting our friends from Down Under, Henry Langdon. Henry Langdon is an Australian based specialist food company with customers in Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Asia.....and now the United States! The Henry Langdon products that we import into the U.S. include a range of salt rubs, aromatic spices, chai tea, and blended flavored sugars. 

Did you know that we're doing a Monthly Special on all Henry Langdon products for May? Well now you do! You can find all these by heading over to our online retail store The Gourmet Import Shop. Each photo that has a product in it will be a clickable link to go straight to its page on the retail website for ease of access. 

Henry Langdon, Founder

Who is Henry Langdon?     

Henry Langdon (pictured to the left) was a United Kingdom native and came over to Australia in 1852 with his wife and infant son. A year before they arrived, gold was discovered in the city of Melbourne and demand for a variety of wares were high.  Langdon was ready to sell household items which included champagne, chocolate, and brandy.

Their line of imported goods had increased in diversity such as matches, honey soap, castor oil, cocoa, china, and crystal by the late 1800s. Then in the 1900s, H J Langdon & Co (officially called at this time) dipped into specializing in teas, herbs, spices, pickles, olive oil, essences and preserved ginger. 

In 2007, the gourmet food and beverage brand was launched leading to what the company is now like in this era. With over 5 generations of family members, the company has an operating history of over 155 years. 

Henry Langdon is built on a few philosophies that it stands by even to this day. Following the merchant tradition that it established back in 1852, they source the world for the finest ingredients to be used in their products to leave a timeless, authentic food experience for the consumer.

 

In seeking this pure appreciation of imported foods, Henry Langdon makes sure all the products are natural as well as additive & preservative-free. They guarantee their products are of utmost quality through strong Quality Assurance & HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points) programs. Combine all of this with their vast knowledge of ingredients for the past 155 years, they are proud to say they can provide the finest quality from the best suppliers around the world.

It's amazing to find out that there are companies like Henry Langdon that have a long and profound history in their respective industry, isn't it? With a robust heritage, Henry Langdon is a major player in the world of imported foods.

Next up, we discuss in detail all the products that we currently carry from Henry Langdon. As mentioned earlier, the product pictures will be clickable links that heads directly to the product page on our retail web store.

Sea Salt Rubs

Australian Sea Salt Flakes Overview

Let's first take a look at the Australian sea salt flakes in general. The location of where Henry Langdon get their sea salts are around the southern coast of Australia. Take a look at this handy map for a visual reference:

Locations of sea salt harvest areas

The locations of Lake MacDonnel, Whyalla, Lochiel (Lake Bumbunga), Price, Dry Creek, and Lake Alexandria are all areas in which the sea salts are harvested. And if you see the purple star more towards the east, that is where the headquarters of Henry Langdon is stationed. In the 1960s, the southern part of Australia was the leading producers of all of Australia, generating 80% of the country's total salt production. This began to change as production started to expand towards the western Australia.

Sea Salt vs Table Salt

Sooooo.....what makes these special compared to regular salts you can find at a local market place? Sea salt is actually known for its high mineral content and are also known to be moist. Its popularity is booming and being used in various products such as chocolate and even in coffee. Gourmet chefs love it because of its rough & crunchy characteristics as well as providing a strong flavor. By using sea salt, producers of chips can label their products with "all natural" (unlike table salt which is processed) which is a plus for them since customers are getting more aware of what they're eating. Well-informed customers look for sea salt since they contain other minerals such as magnesium.

"This sounds great! I'll just put sea salt on everything then!".....is something you shouldn't be thinking of doing. As fantastic as sea salt is, it is a fact that it contains the same amount of sodium that table salt has.

Production of Sea Salt

Solar evaporation of sea salt in Australia

How the sea salts come from Australia is pretty interesting as it isn't done the normal way like how table salt is. Table salt is mined from salt deposits and processed so that it is in a refined form for ease of use in mixing for recipes and such. However, processing salt makes it lose the minerals that would have come with it. Additives are put in as well to keep the refined texture of table salt.

With sea salt, however, there is no processing which means traces of various minerals are kept intact. The process in which these sea salts from Australia are obtained is through the use of solar evaporation of sea water. As the name implies, this process is done through the evaporation of seawater with the help of the sun and winds to which the sea salt is then harvested.

Coriander, Chilli and Kaffir Lime Sea Salt Rub

Here we have this intriguing product that is commonly used in Thai cooking. First of all.....what is coriander? The more common and well known name is cilantro. Coriander is the French word while cilantro is the Spanish derivative. There's also that "Kaffir Lime" in the title. Most likely you know what a lime is, but what is this kaffir word attached to it?  Kaffir lime is native to the Southeast Asian region and looks something like this:

Cilant-.......*ahem*......Coriander and limes are popular ingredients in Southeast Asian food cuisines, so this will go great with dishes in that category. It is ideal to be used with fish and as a stir-fry seasoning.

Feast your eyes on this delicious dish using the Coriander, Chilli & Kaffir Lime sea salt rub:

Coriander, Chilli, & Kaffir Lime Fish Cakes

Mmmmm, my tumbly is rumbly just looking at it. Don't worry! There's more dishes we'll show with the other Henry Langdon products down below. Just make sure to click on the image to take you straight to our webstore to get the full recipe. Once you get to the product page, just click on the Recipe tab to see the ingredients & directions.

Roasted Spice Sea Salt Rub

This particular salt rub is a fragrant blend of earthy Middle Eastern spices with cumin, coriander, fennel, chili, ginger, paprika, combined with Australian sea salt flakes. Cumin is spice that can be used in its seed form or grounded and is commonly used in Brazilian dishes. It is also sometimes found as an ingredient in chili powder. Fennel is a common herb found around the world and is very aromatic and full of flavor. It's delicious on BBQ lamb meat or roasted vegetable dishes.

Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb

Rosemary Sea Salt Rub

Rosemary is probably one of the most venerable cooking ingredients in the gourmet world. Blend this classic element with the touch of Australia's salt flakes, and a contemporary rosemary seasoning is born! This also has garlic in its ingredients, making this a very practical and essential item in your cooking repertoire. With recipes that call for rosemary, substituting it with this product can bump it up to gourmet food level. Goes great with Greek lamb, potato dishes, oven roasted chicken, home baked breads.

Grilled Fish with Lemon Risotto 

Chilli and Garlic Sea Salt Rub

Similar to the above Rosemary Sea Salt Rub, the Chilli & Garlic Sea Salt Rub is a combination of venerable ingredients given the Australian twist. They've taken the work out of having to crush garlic and peppers, all in this one handy dandy jar of goodness. The versatility of using these classic ingredients makes it very effective in adding that zing to something as simple as butter when used in making garlic bread.

Chilli and Garlic Pangratatto Pasta

Smoked Paprika and Basil Sea Salt Rub

Paprika, believe it or not, is not an English word. It originally stems from the Hungarian word....paprika. It gets even further up the historical languages up to Latin, which is piper. They are all pretty much interpreted as pepper in some way or form. There are many types of paprika depending in the region it's being used in. Hungary for example classifies them in 8 different grade levels. There are recipes that even have it specifically say Hungarian Paprika because of its uniqueness. In America, paprika is usually sprinkled and used as a garnish. Some Spanish variety of paprika has a smoky flavor and aroma which is commonly achieved by using oakwood.

Basil is derived from the Greek word βασιλεύς which can romanized as basileus and is turned translated as "king". This is associated with the Christian calendar of the Feast of the Cross in which St. Helena, the mother of the emperor St. Constantine, found the cross that Jesus Christ was crucified on. Another version has English botanist/herbalist/physician/astrologer Nicholas Culpeper state that it is "an herb of Mars and under the Scorpion, and therefore called Basilicon" which is in reference to the legendary European beast, the basilisk (translated as "little king") . Additionally, the English herbalist & botanist John Gerard stated that those who were stung by scorpions would feel no pain if they ate basil.

Basil is still considered to be the "king of herbs" by many chefs and cook authors.

Marinated Kingfish Skewers w/ Herbed Couscous 

Aromatic Spice Blends

This line of spices are noteworthy as their origins come from areas where spices are abundant and full of flavor. From the Egypt, to the Middle East, and even Europe, this range has a wide variety of spices mixed in to help create that unforgettable dish.

Ras el Hanout Spice Blend

Just from reading the name itself, you already know this product is exotic. Ras el Hanout is a spice mix that originates from North Africa. The name is derived from Arabic and is translated as "head of the shop". A shop having this name signifies that this is the best mixture of spices that it offers. What's most interesting about Ras el Hanout is that it in fact does not need to have an exact standardized list of spices for it to be called this. A shop can have a different set of spices for their Ras el Hanout that a neighboring store has for their own version. 2 persons in the same company can have their own version of the spice and still call it the same name. Essentially, a Ras el Hanout comprises of a dozen or so of the best spices the person puts into it. Another way of looking at it is that if there is a single spice or herb that doesn't seem like it can work on its own, combining it with other spices to create a Ras el Hanout can bring out its full potential. This endless combination creates a great potential for exquisite dishes.

For comparative purposes, the Ras el Hanout is similar to curry with its powerful flavor and spice-full taste. When used, a golden color emerges concurrently with a captivating aroma of spices. Henry Langdon's Ras el Hanout is a complex and fragrant blend of 16 spices, made in the spice merchant traditions of Morocco and Tunisia.

     

Marinated Pork Tenderloins 

Dukkah Spice Blend

Dukkah stems from Arabic and translates as "to pound", referencing the pounding of nuts and mix of spices. As you can see, the product is neither a paste nor a powdered substance. The actual spice composition can vary from different areas, but the more common ingredients found are pepper, coriander, cumin, salt, and sesame. Some other ingredients used back in the past included mint, marjoram, chickpeas, and zataar. For those who don't know, marjoram is similar to oregano and is used in sauces or dips as well as soups. Zataar is a popular ingredient used in the Middle East that is made up of dried herbs, dried sumac, sesame seeds, and various other spices.

The origin of Dukkah came from Egypt and eventual made its way to the Middle East. It's became a rising popular snack in the past years thanks to the immigration of the Arabic and Lebanese populations as well as getting screen time in T.V. cooking shows. In Australia and New Zealand, it is common to have it paired with local wines. Having one dish of dukkah next to another dish of extra virgin olive oil (like our unfiltered Fiore d'Autunno for example) as dipping sauces for sliced bread while sipping on wine is popular practice.

Cauliflower Soup

Chermoula

Chermoula is a type of marinade that's origin traces back to North Africa and is used in many Moroccan, Tunisian, and Algerian dishes. It is a very balanced spice mix that can be modified by adding in other ingredients such as ground chili peppers, saffron, and many other spices. For the majority of most recipes, garlic and coriander are the first two ingredients used. Since Henry Langdon's Chermoula is a Moroccan based type, it contains roasted cumin and has its own twist with lemon peel and sea salt.

Pumpkin Scone

Chai Latte

The etymology of chai comes from the Persian word چای , romanized as chay, which is actually derived from chá, the Cantonese word for tea. So when you add in latte after chai, you know you will be getting steamed milk with spiced tea infused instead of espresso. The country of origin for chai stemmed from South Asia and has risen to world wide popularity. The South Asian population viewed tea as a more herbal medicinal purpose rather than for leisure drinking.

     

Back in the 1830s, China was dominant in the world of tea which concerned the British East India Company. Tea was the majority of their trade with them since the rate of consumption in its motherland was high (1 lb per person per year). During this era, the British had colonies in India and they found out that there were tea plants in the Assam region of India. With this discovery, they began to harvest tea plants "locally" in order to not solely rely on China for their tea needs. Slowly but surely, the tea consumed from Chinese trade in Great Britain began to fall while the tea harvested from the British colonies in India began to rise.

The Henry Langdon Chai Latte was developed with the authentic India flavor in mind by using fresh spices which include cinnamon, anise seed, ginger, cloves, cardamom and fennel along with black tea and honey (extra honey for the Honey Chai Latte). Cardamom is a relative to ginger and is native to India, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Nepal. It also ranks as the 3rd most expensive spice (by weight) in the world falling behind vanilla and saffron (we've got some right here!). Cardamom has a strong flavor with a very aromatic smell to it. It is commonly used in Indian cooking and even used for baking in Nordic countries.

Dirty Chai Latte

Phew, just by looking at all those dishes can get one's stomach to set off all sorts of alarms. However......the lack of deserts doesn't make it complete, does it? No worries, we've got it covered right below! 

Blended Flavored Sugar

(Update: Henry Langdon has discontinued this sugar line)

Lemon Flavored Sugar

This specialty sugar is blended with lemon rind to give that lemon zest in conjunction with the superfine sugar. Use of organic lemon rind in dishes is actually quite common, and it even comes with additional benefits. Lemon rinds contain more vitamins and nutrients than the lemon juice itself. Many other perks include helping blood pressure regulation (in particular high blood pressure), has a strong anti-depressive effect, fights against cancer, provides hygiene and health of oral cavity, and many others. 

Lemon Sugar Crepes

Vanilla Flavored Sugar

Yes, there is even an etymology to vanilla as well! In the early 16th century when vanilla was not widely known, Spanish explorers that arrived on the Gulf of Mexico called it vainilla (translated "little pod"). As briefly mentioned earlier in the Chai Tea section, vanilla is the 2nd most expensive spice due to the labor needed to put into growing the vanilla seed pods.  The popular uses for vanilla range from commercial & home baking, to aromatherapy, and even in the manufacturing of perfume.

Henry Langdon's Vanilla Sugar fine white sugar in combination with whole vanilla bean pods that have been dried and grounded into a fine powder.

Chocolate and Vanilla Crepes

Burnt Orange & Cinnamon Flavored Sugar

Here we've got a nice little package of burnt orange, cinnamon, and sugar all rolled into one tasty mix of sweetness. Adding this onto a plain pastry type can bring the flavor of it to the level of a pâtissier's creation. This item's combination can modify and upgrade a variety of pastries by putting in that twist of tartness. Simply adding it into lattes can give it that touch of sweetness without being too overpowering.

Baked Applies w/ Burnt Orange & Cinnamon Sugar

     

How was that to set off your sweet tooth?

     

And we've reached the conclusion of the post! I hope this post was helpful in one way or another whether it was igniting that chef in you to start dishing out recipes that we share through our online webstore or if it was something as simple as knowing what coriander is.......you still remember what it is, right? Again, our goal with The Gourmet Gab is to give useful or helpful information in regards to the gourmet food world. If this is the first post you're reading from our blog, we have 2 more previous entries that are just as much chock filled with info. Access them quickly by scrolling back up, look at the right hand panel, and locate a section labeled "Blog Archive" which lists all our posts that we've done. Or you can go to the front page by clicking on the Gourmet Import Shop logo at the very top of this post.

Thank you for reading this post and please look forward to our next one!