Onion and Herb Spice Blend

Recipe Notes:

Choose Organic If You’re Looking for Health Benefits:

Herbs and spices play an important role in enhancing the taste of food. But it goes deeper than this, they also have amazing medicinal properties.

Whenever I can, I aim for organic herbs and spices, and here’s why.

It’s not a stretch to assume that if a food is not labelled as organic or chemical-free, then it would have been exposed to chemicals at some stage during the growing season. Afterall, herbs and spices are plants and face many of the same hardships that fruits and vegies do, including insect attacks and fungi overgrowth.

But, perhaps of even more concern, is that non-organic herbs and spices are sterilised (mostly through irradiation, and less often through steaming), for the purposes of controlling sprouting and pest disinfestation, and to control weeds. This means that the flavour and nutrients are reduced.  There is also no regulation that herbs and spices must be 100% ingredient. Essentially, this means they can be mixed with other ingredients (like flour, sugar, salt, artificial colours, flavours or preservatives), without having to declare it on the label.

Conversely, organic herbs and spices are grown without the use of synthetic chemicals and fertilisers, and are required to be sustainably farmed. In terms of treatment prior to packaging and sale, any bacteria are destroyed through sterilisation (dry steaming) which doesn’t affect the flavour and is a chemical-free process.

If possible, make the choice to use organic herbs and spices. Yes, they are more expensive. But you don’t have to completely replace your entire spice rack in one fell swoop. Instead, start with your most frequently used herb or spice, and gradually you can add to this. Another way to make the switch is once you’ve run out of one variety, try replacing it with an organic version.