AROMATICS AND FLAVOURINGS
Our tongues can only detect four flavours, sweet, sour, salt and bitter. It is our noses that detect the subtleties of flavour and enhance our love of eating, so it is little wonder that aromatics are so important to great Levantine cuisine.
Every different region scents its dishes in a different way and our range of aromatics and flavourings will lead you on a perfumed adventure into a whole new realm of cooking.
A few of our favourites:
Il Shaytan Chilli Sauce (100g)
Arabica's secret weapon! This is the same tongue-tingling chilli sauce that helps make our Borough Market falafel wraps so famous.
Culinary uses: Perfect for burgers, kebabs and for adding fire to your chilli con carne
Joze Helu - Date and Walnut Marinade (300G Jar)
A luxuriously rich blend of sun-dried Tunisian dates, Iranian walnuts and spices inspired by the nomadic traders of the Middle East.
Culinary uses: Perfect for Tagine-style slow cooking. Amazing with lamb!
Loomi – Black Lemons (75g)
Contrary to popular belief, black lemons are not lemons at all - they are actually Iraqi limes which been picked when ripe, boiled in salt water and left to sun dry.
Culinary uses: They impart a distinct citrus flavour and a sour tang to vegetable, meat, fish and rice based dishes
Loomi - Shade-Dried Limes (75g)
These shade-dried Iraqi limes really pack a punch! They are similar to fresh limes except there is no juice at all but all the sharpness and fragrance remain.
Culinary uses: They impart a distinct citrus flavour and a sour tang to soups, stocks, stews and marinades
Click here for a recipe with LoomiOrange Blossom Water (240ml bottles)
Our orange blossom water is produced by a co-operative of families who live in the villages surrounding the Sidon region in the south of Lebanon. They pick the orange blossom from a specific species of bitter-orange tree in late autumn and extract the perfume by means of steam distillation.
Culinary Uses: This traditional aromatic lends a delicate fragrance to drinks, deserts, pastries and sweetmeats
Click here for a recipe with Orange Blossom waterPomegranate Mollases (240ml bottles)
Our molasses is produced in the fertile valleys of Ajloun in Jordan. It's a thick, fragrant and gloriously tangy reduction of pomegranate juice, which has been a key ingredient in Middle Eastern cookery for centuries.
Culinary uses: A mouth-watering addition to drinks, marinades, salad dressings, soups, stews and rice-based dishes
Click here for a recipe with Pomegranate molassesRosewater (240ml)
Our rosewater is produced by a co-operative of families who live in the villages surrounding the western Lebanese mountain range, where they have been harvesting wild rose flowers for centuries.
Culinary uses: This traditional aromatic lends a delicate perfume to drinks, deserts, pastries and sweetmeats
Click here for a recipe with RosewaterWild Mint (15g)
Our mint is hand picked by a co-operative of women who live in the fertile valleys of Ajloun in Jordan. It has a distinctively strong flavour and is much more effective than European mint.
Culinary uses: Great for marinades and stuffings and also makes a delicious hot drink
Click here for a recipe with Wild mintWild Sage (15g)
Our sage is hand-picked by a co-operative of women living in the fertile valleys of Ajloun in Jordan. It has a pungent astringency and is much more effective than European sage.
Culinary uses: Great for marinades, stuffings and tisanes
Click here for a recipe with Wild sageWild Sumac (60g)
Our sumac is harvested from trees growing wild among the fertile valleys of Ajloun in Jordan. The bright red berries are picked and crushed by hand, resulting in an earthy spice with a distinctive citrus flavour. The local ladies who produce this call it "The Lemons from God".
Culinary uses: It makes a perfect compliment to fish, seafood, poultry, pulses, vegetables and rice
Click here for a recipe with Wild Sumac