Using Blended Spices like Old Bay Seasoning to Enhance Flavors

Spices come from vegetable plants and are used in cooking to add a pungent taste, like pepper, or an aromatic smell, like sweet basil or sage. Spices, including herbs and seasonings, enhance the taste of our beverages, breads, fresh and cooked fruits and vegetables, fish, and meat dishes. Most kitchens have a collection of favorites.

Spices can be purchased separately, like parsley or mace, or as a blend of several ingredients. Knowing the individual spices in a blend gives the chef an advantage in preparing the elements of the finished meal.

One favorite blend is Old Bay(R) Seasoning which was created in Maryland as a spice for dishes made from the blue crab caught in nearby waters. The list of ingredients on a tin include celery salt, celery seed, mustard, red pepper, black pepper, bay leaves, cloves, allspice (pimento), ginger, mace, cardamom, cinnamon, and paprika. The complexity of this popular seasoning adds to the flavor of seafood, chicken, and cooked vegetables.

If chicken is prepared for the dinner meal with Old Bay(R) and the steamed vegetables with celery seed, black pepper, and a drizzle of seasoned oil, the dishes share a similar profile which will complement the overall taste of the food. If the dessert features fruit sprinkled with cinnamon, the seasonings carry through from beginning to end.

The classic plate may be crab cakes. There is a recipe on the tin from McCornick & Co. Inc. The only further seasoning called for is 2 tsp of parsley flakes and 1/2 tsp of prepared yellow mustard.

The McCormick website has several recipes featuring Old Bay(R), including one for Old Bay(R) Butter Sauce on Fish. They recommend using the same sauce to dress a side dish of red potatoes or snap peas.

The Old Bay(R) website has recipes for chicken, burgers, dips, salads, crab, fish, and shrimp.

The writer has a favorite recipe. Peel a sweet potato and cut into large French fry size pieces. Spray or brush with a good olive oil. Place them in an edged baking sheet or pan in a single layer. Sprinkle with Old Bay®. Bake at 450 degrees for a few minutes until they start to turn golden. Turn them over, sprinkle with additional seasoning, and bake until the surface starts to turn golden. Serve hot with tomato catsup or chutney.

For chefs tempted to create their own version of Old Bay(R), try a Google search on the expression, spice blend recipe.

Sources
McCormick & Co. Inc.
Old Bay