Food manufacturers and brands can spice up summer foods with five new African-inspired spice blends from Lähde by EHL Ingredients

Food manufacturers and brands can spice up summer foods with five new African-inspired spice blends from Lähde by EHL Ingredients.  

The Stockport-based herb and spice supplier has added two seasonings from Ethiopia – Mimita and Mekelesha – Moroccan La Kama, Tabil from Tunisia and Algeria, and a Nigerian jollof rice seasoning.

The blends are all dry mixes, making them highly versatile for use on meat, fish, vegetable and plant-based foods, and they are available in vegan, non-allergen, and organic formats.

Lähde’s Ethiopian Mimita is a bright orange blend of fiery dried bird’s eye chilli peppers, cloves, korerima (Ethiopian cloves), ajwain (Ethiopian caraway) and salt – it can be used as a rubbing spice to add to meat, fish or vegetables, or used as a condiment to spice up dishes. Melekesha, a toasted blend, is known as a finishing spice, used at the end of the cooking process to round out the flavours of the dish.

La Kama is a sweet, peppery blend used in the Tangier region of Morocco, featuring a simple blend of ginger, nutmeg, turmeric, black pepper and cinnamon. It’s commonly used in the Maghrebian harira soup but also works well in tagines, soups and pulse-based dishes.

Aromatic and scented, Tabil is an all-purpose Arabic spice blend used in North African cooking. Again, it works well in tagines, but can also be used as a sprinkle over soups, dips and flatbreads for an earthy warm finish, and for grilled foods such as prawn skewers, beef patties or vegetables.

While there are many variations of West African jollof seasonings, Lähde’s represents a classic Nigerian blend for a convenient way to prepare a punchy jollof rice. It’s fragrant, smoky and spicy and jollof is a real celebration of west African culture of sharing and enjoying food together. Of course, jollof rice makes a great accompaniment to BBQ foods, but it can be eaten on its own too.

All the new Lähde seasonings can be mixed with oil for a marinade, used as a rub for meat, fish and vegetables, added to sauces and dips, and sprinkled on chips, pizzas, vegetables, rice and flatbreads. They are perfect for plant-based dishes and can add international flavours to contemporary meat alternative patties and skewers, as well as jackfruit, seitan, and grain and pulse-based dishes.

Tasneem Alonzo, joint MD at Lähde says, “Summer gatherings and events are back on in a big way and we know informal dining, sharing foods and exotic cuisines are going to be a hit over the summer months.

African food is a bit of a breakout star, as illustrated by the number of African-themed restaurants and operators opening up on high streets across the UK, and YouTubers and bloggers sharing recipes online. It’s a really lucrative market right now and one that we expect to grow as consumers are seeking out foods they perhaps haven’t tried before, for cooking in the home, dining out and for takeaways. Brits are recognising the region’s vibrant, wholesome, healthy dishes and we predict African food to be the next big gastronomic trend in British dining – and it’s a cuisine that offers plenty of plant-based, meat-free and gluten-free dishes.

We also predict that fusions of African foods with other cuisines will be a big trend, for example, Afro-tacos, jollof rice with burritos, Tabil sprinkled on pizzas, and Melekesha on flatbreads. There’s real potential here and clear opportunity for development chefs and food manufacturers to really get creative.

Our versatile Lähde range has multiple uses, reliable deliveries and full traceability. We pride ourselves on our experience in sourcing high quality, authentic ingredients from around the world, our fully traceable sourcing and supply channels, our technical support, fast response times, and our team’s knowledge. We are a one-stop-shop service for food manufacturers and brands and we can be flexible to suit changing needs during these fast-moving times.

We can collaborate with development chefs and foodie start ups to develop new and unique herb and spice blends, adapt existing offerings and come up with new ideas – and at the same time we can cater for vegan, vegetarian, organic and non-allergen requirements.”

EHL Ingredients offers a range of spice blends from around the world under its Lähde brand – all are suitable for meat, fish, vegetables as well as seitan, tempeh, jackfruit and contemporary meat-free alternatives.

The five new African blends are available under the Lähde brand to the food industry now.

To find out more about the full Lähde range from EHL Ingredients click here.

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