Comprising more than 70 species and countless uses, the juniper berry is a true “power plant.”
Juniper is a strong aromatic herb from an evergreen plant or tree that grows in temperate regions of Northern Europe, Asia and North America. The cone of the juniper is referred to as the “berry” and grows in various colors, from green to blue to red to black, and has a small flower bloom.
Though it’s called a “berry,” juniper is not a fruit. Rather, it’s a type of spice with a bitter but citrusy taste. Essential oils made from crushed, dried or fermented juniper berries have a notable scent that combines fruitiness with woodiness.
Juniper berries are a common flavoring for drinks, in cooking and in preserving food. Some foodies substitute black pepper with juniper berries to get a little spiciness, minus the bite. Juniper berries are also used to flavor gin and beer, frozen desserts, candy, gelatins, puddings and non-alcoholic beverages.
Juniper berries also have many health benefits. Health-conscious consumers use them as a stimulant to detox or flush out impurities in the bladder and kidneys. Juniper berry is considered an herbal bitter, and is often used to promote digestion and as an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory agent. Many juniper berry-based essential oils are sold online as remedies that calm nervous tension, soothe sore muscles and joints, increase focus, promote weight loss, lessen cold and flu symptoms and promote respiration.
Artiste is the best source of high quality, specialty ingredients from all around the world. Interested in knowing more? Need to know, Ask Joe!
How can we help create a beverage that’s both good and good for you? How do we maintain the flavor our customers and their target audiences expect from their branded beverages and still add ingredients with health benefits to meet the new demands of the beverage market?
This is one of many challenges we hear from our beverage clients every day at Artiste, and that’s where our passion comes in. Part of that passion is to stay steps ahead in our knowledge and use of trending ingredients and new resources from around the world. We are also ahead of the curve in terms of the testing needed to show product performance and efficacy. With our knowledge in both areas, we can ensure our ingredients will boost our customers’ beverages with both the flavor and health benefits their consumers love and want.
Our purpose is to keep things simple for our customers, and that is an important part of our core principles. We know the challenges they face, and we do everything we can to mitigate those challenges and bring the best healthy, organic and natural ingredients the world has to offer. Most importantly, when we’re tasked with replacing or adding an ingredient to deliver stellar performance measures for any finished beverage, we will search the world over to find the perfect ingredient.
We know that game-changing ingredient is out there, somewhere in the world, and it’s our job to find it. Our mission is not just to source a great ingredient, but to exceed expectations and identify the ingredient with the performance our customers need for their beverages to be competitive.
Stated simply, Artiste knows Specialty Ingredients. If you need to know, ask Joe.
When a recipe calls for a special combination of herbs or spices, it is very convenient to blend these ingredients beforehand. Blends such as chili powder, curry powder, herbs de Provence and garlic salt impart layers of flavor to a range of cuisines worldwide. Baking blends such as pumpkin pie spice and the British mixed spice, lend bold flavor to popular desserts.
The desire for blended spices has surged during this period in history, as people and families are cooking more now than ever before. The need to prepare home cooked meals and the new rituals of families enjoying adventures in the kitchen together has moved the spice industry to create exciting new blends to help “almost homemade” cooks have more flavor options to try in their creations. The result has led the way to more open interest in trying new combinations and unique new spices. Blends are the perfect companion to home cooking exploration.
Blended spices can be sprinkled on popcorn, roasted vegetables and baked potatoes, stirred into creamy soups and salad dressings, or used as a rub for fish, poultry and meat. There are several variations of blended spices that are available ready-made, but many chefs create their own signature blend for the perfect combination of flavors.
Artiste is the best source for high quality ingredients from around the world. Interested in knowing more? Need to know, ask Joe!
Native to Indonesia, andaliman peppers have been cultivated by the Bataks of North Sumatra for centuries. A distant relative of the sichuan pepper, it offers a tangy, fresh citrus flavor complemented by a subtle numbing sensation. Andaliman pepper powder enhances meat and fish recipes, pairs well with chilies and curries, and can also be used whole in simmered recipes and sauces.
This flavor-packed pepper also offers tremendous health benefits. Andaliman is thought to stimulate circulation, reduce pain, improve gut health and promote bone strength. It is also thought to help reduce inflammation, boost the immune system and lower blood pressure.
Artiste is the best source for high-quality ingredients from around the world. Interested in knowing more? Need to know, ask Joe!
Harvested from the depths of the ocean, seaweed is a form of algae that ranges in color from red to green, and brown to black. It offers a wide range of culinary and cosmetic possibilities and is also an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. This oceanic wonder contains iodine and tyrosine, which supports thyroid function and also contains fiber and polysaccharides that support gut health. Seaweed is thought to reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Some say it may even help one lose weight.
Seaweed grows along rocky shorelines around the world. However, it’s most commonly enjoyed in Japanese, Chinese and Korean cuisine. Offering a bold aroma and a salty, yet mineral-like taste, seaweed powder can add flavor and nutrients to power-packed smoothies, seasoning blends, salad dressings, veggie dips, savory soups and much more.
Another common use of seaweed powder is in luxurious, high-quality skincare products. It is a powerful detoxifying ingredient that pulls out toxins deep within skin pores, which can help with many skin ailments. This powerful powder packs a punch, also containing vitamins, minerals, amino acids and trace elements.
Artiste is the best source for high-quality ingredients from around the world. Interested in knowing more? Need to know, ask Joe!
Hailing from the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, of Indonesia, nutmeg is a small seed that packs a big punch. Not only is nutmeg an important ingredient in the culinary world, it’s also a rich source of vitamins and antioxidants.
Commonly sold as a ground spice, but also available in whole-seed form, nutmeg has a bold fragrance and a warm, slightly nutty taste. Professional chefs and home cooks alike have used its distinctive flavor profile to enhance beverages, entrees and desserts.
Although it’s more often used for its flavor than its health benefits, consuming nutmeg is thought to improve one’s mood, support dental health, and assist with better sleep. Nutmeg is a rich source of antioxidants that protects against signs of aging, as well as serious conditions such as cancer, heart disease and liver disease. Nutmeg also has been used in many skincare products like masks, serums and creams due to its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and astringent properties which has been said to brighten dull skin and gently treat acne.
Artiste is the best source for high quality ingredients from around the world. Interested in knowing more? Need to know, ask Joe!
Hazelnuts, full of nutrients and loaded with antioxidants, are a popular culinary ingredient that can be traced back to the ancient Mesolithic and Neolithic eras. In those cultures, raw hazelnuts were a key part of the diet of hunter-gatherers. In ancient China, hazelnuts were considered a sacred food, and in ancient Greece, the physician Dioscorides wrote that hazelnut paste could cure a long series common ailment.
Today, hazelnuts are grown around the world and are prized for their nutty, toasty flavor. They can be used in confections like pastries, pies, and biscotti, used as a flavoring for coffee creamers or hazelnut liqueur, and pressed to produce hazelnut oil, which is used as a cooking oil in place of canola or olive oil. It can also be ground into hazelnut flour, often used as a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour, which continues to grow in value in our health-conscious society.
Although hazelnuts have a variety of uses, one of its most well-known uses is in hazelnut spread. Did you know that 25 percent of the global supply of hazelnuts is used by the European company Ferrero to create their signature Nutella spread?
Artiste is the best source for high quality ingredients from around the world. Interested in knowing more? Need to know, ask Joe!
Rosemary is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen leaves and delicate flowers. Though best known as a food seasoning, it is one of the most popular aromatic and medicinal plants worldwide.
First cultivated in the Mediterranean region circa 500 B.C., rosemary was a popular culinary and medicinal herb among the ancient Greeks and Romans. Today, Spain, France and Morocco produce much of the world’s rosemary.
Rosemary offers a pronounced lemon-pine flavor that is woodsy, peppery and earthy. In cooking, it is used to enhance soups, casseroles, salads and stews. Rosemary is also added to tea blends for its aroma, flavor and health benefits. It’s high in antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory compounds, and may help lower blood sugar, improve mood and memory, and protect vision and eye health.
Rosemary is a prized herb in traditional folk medicine, and its essential oil is thought to improve brain function, stimulate hair growth, relieve pain and ease stress. A potent antioxidant, rosemary oil is also used in luxury moisturizers and cleansers because it protects the skin, prevents signs of premature aging, and helps treat acne and eczema.
Artiste is the best source for high-quality rosemary essential oil, as well as other products derived from the world’s finest ingredients. Interested in knowing more? Need to know, ask Joe!
For our next journey, we’re heading to the most beautiful parts of Asia, where the citrus family of fruits continues to amaze with its never-ending ingredient versatility. Each type of citrus packs a world of flavor, food, beverage and fragrance applications, as well as natural health and beauty benefits and desirable scent and taste.
Kaffir Lime, a citrus native to parts of Asia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, is well-known for its signature flavoring of Thai and Malaysian dishes. As the world embraces more fusion and blends of spices, flavors and scents, we are seeing more requests to include this special lime in a range of applications.
Kaffir lime, available as an essential oil or in powder form, has a growing list of health benefits. The fruit is quickly becoming a key ingredient in many health and beauty aids, thanks to its oral hygiene, aromatherapeutic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, immunity-boosting, antimicrobial, and natural insect-repellant properties. It’s an integral ingredient in hair-care products that smooth and detangle hair and control dandruff. Kaffir lime also facilitates fast healing in acne and wound-care treatments, as well as in anti-aging and skin-care products. Also, because Kaffir lime has such a soothing and relaxing scent, anti-anxiety and relaxing aromatherapy products containing this fruit are increasingly in demand.
The leaves of the Kaffir lime plant are as valuable as the fruit itself – just ask any Thai chef. While the lime’s potent flavor and sour/floral undertone perfectly enhance the layers of flavor in signature Asian-fusion dishes, the leaves have neutralizers that can tame stronger scents like garlic, while the leaves themselves add an appealing flavor. No wonder Thai cuisine is so tasty and trendy.
Outside of Thai, Kaffir lime has a world of other culinary uses. Chefs and mixologists alike are adding Kaffir lime powder to marinades, ice creams, creamy cocktails, guacamole, lemonade drinks, noodle dishes, tacos and fajitas. There is no limit to what Kaffir Lime can do.
Artiste can source Kaffir lime leaf in a form that is best suited for your application.
Artiste is the best source for high quality ingredients from around the world. Interested in knowing more? Need to know, ask Joe!
Native to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, the clove tree is a tropical evergreen that produces small, reddish brown flower buds that are commonly used as a spice. Cloves were an important part of the earliest spice trade and are now grown throughout the world.
Found in both whole and ground forms, this versatile spice offers a bold, woody aroma and a warming, bittersweet flavor. Cloves are an integral ingredient in regional cuisines worldwide, and are used to season meats, stews and sauces; add flavor to chai tea and cider; and bring spicy warmth to pies and pastries.
Cloves contain manganese, which helps maintain brain function and build strong bones. Cloves are also high in antioxidants, particularly eugenol, which can reduce the oxidative stress that causes many chronic diseases. Studies suggest that compounds in cloves may also prevent cancers, improve liver health, help regulate blood sugar, promote bone health and treat stomach ulcers.
Clove is also an essential component of many premium skin-care products such as cleansers, moisturizers and serums. Clove oil, a known anti-aging ingredient, helps revitalize skin by boosting blood circulation and reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. Its antibacterial properties also help treat acne while reducing blemishes and marks.
Artiste is the best source for high quality ingredients from around the world. Interested in knowing more? Need to know, ask Joe!
