The spice before Christmas
With Christmas just around the corner, food manufacturers and bakers looking to create quality dishes and desserts should start stocking up on seasonal spices, dried fruits and nuts from EHL Ingredients, a leading importer, blender and packer of natural food ingredients.
EHL has already observed an increase in sales of festive ingredients compared to the same period last year. Vanilla pods, ground mixed spice, dried cranberries, ground cloves and cinnamon in stick, powder and quill formats are all selling well with Cinnamon powder experiencing a particular boost in sales, up 20% compared to this time in 2011. On the organic side, EHL’s most popular product is apricot, in whole and chopped format – perfect for adding to apricot and brandy Christmas cakes.
Mixed spices are always a winter winner as they have such a wide variety of applications. EHL’s premium ground mixed spice blend, available in 25kg bags, is perfect for industrial bakers and desserts manufacturers to add to recipes for Christmas-themed baked goods. The blend is allergen-free, as it does not contain mustard flour so is perfect for adding to free-from foods too.
EHL’s dried fruits and mixed peel are also key ingredients for Christmas puddings, stollen and fruit loaves, as well as innovative Christmas cupcakes and more modern recipes, such as spiced orange and cranberry cake. Ingredients such as dried fruit, which are naturally high in sugar, are experiencing a surge of popularity, especially as a replacement for other sugars and syrups.
The ingredient supplier offers cinnamon in various formats, from whole quills for mulled wine mixes, to ground cinnamon for festive mince pies, cookies and muffins. EHL’s cloves are the perfect addition to traditional Christmas hams and gammons and immediately evoke a yuletide scent.
All ingredients are available in conventional and organic format.
Tasneem Backhouse, sales director at EHL Ingredients says: “Christmas is always a key period for us and our quality spices are perfect for many types of bakery items, ready meals and Christmas-themed dishes and desserts. This year in particular, we have noted a surge in demand for our organic ingredients, as manufacturers are increasingly looking to develop organic festive foods in addition to conventional products, as well as an increase in demand from new, smaller organic-only food manufacturers.”
“Our ingredients are available to all areas of the food industry, from small craft bakers through to large-scale food manufacturers. Using our international sourcing capabilities and distribution network, we are delighted to supply the industry with the finest, quality spices in time for the Christmas period. Creating tasty and authentic foods is important to meet consumer demand and with our seasonal spices and blends, food manufacturers can rest assured they are using only the highest quality ingredients in their end products.
EHL Ingredients has been sourcing the finest natural and organic ingredients from around the world for over 16 years in order to produce quality blends for the food manufacturing industry. The company has also achieved a grade a certification in its BRC accreditation following a rigorous audit process. Customers can rest assured that EHL Ingredients adheres to the most stringent quality and safety management processes.
EHL Ingredients seasonal spices are is available in quantities from 1 to 25 kgs and are available direct from head office or at wholesalers, distributors and cash and carries across the UK. Contact EHL Ingredients for details of your nearest supplier.
To find out more about EHL Ingredients, visit ehl-ingredients.co.uk.