Kiwi Seasonings - Lime and Wild Basil product reviews

OK, it took me a while to get around to this one... I figured it would be best to try it with fish, as that would allow the flavour to be fully expressed without being drowned out by the flavour of the food.

I chose a nice portion of Hoki and mixed a couple of tablespoons of this with some breadcrumbs, and crumbed the fillets. A quick pan-fry and they were ready to taste.

Being a great fan of Basil Pesto, but never having tried wild basil, I wasn't too sure what to expect... and I admit that I wasn't too sure what I was tasting. A bland fish, plain breadcrumbs... the only flavour I should have been getting should have been from this mix... but it was VERY subtle on the tongue, despite being clear to the nose.

The flavour was there... but it was so subtle I fear I should have tripled the amount I used... or basically used this mix without any breadcrumbs. To test the theory, it was back into the kitchen to fry up two more small bits of fish. One with a half/half mix of breadcrumbs and one using only the last of this seasoning mix. The results were far more telling...

Using the half/half mix, I think, turned out the best on points overall - The breadcrumbs gave it a really nice texture, and havinf more seasoning allowed the flavour to come through a bit more, but it was still very subtle. Too subtle for my tastes actually. The seasoning-only test piece had a really nice flavour, but the lack of breadcrumbs meant that it had no texture to speak of, and certainly no crunch - which I really love on pan-fried fish - so lost out there.

Overall, though I think this is a wonderful idea and a quality product - and being fully Kiwi gives it massive Kudos in my books - I just don't think this seasoning works for me. I suspect it takes a master chef, or someone with better-than-Joe-Bloggs cooking skills to get the best from it. Those with really sensitive palates will get far more from this than my curry-soaked, chilli-fried tastebuds managed to drag out.