My Dad and Old Bay Seasoning
Now that Father's Day is nearly here, I can't help but think about my Dad and two of his favorite foods--Maryland blue crab and Old Bay seasoning.
My Dad is now nearly 80 and living on Maryland's Eastern Shore, but when he was a young boy his family lived in Baltimore and Old Bay seasoning was a new product on the market.
In 1939, Gustav Brunn arrived in Baltimore from Germany. Carting a handheld spice grinder and a dream, Brunn concocted the spice mixture that is now famous well beyond the boundaries of the Chesapeake Bay. The mixture boasts 12 herbs and spices, and celery salt gives Old Bay its signature telltale flavor. The iconic blue and yellow metal tin has remained exactly the same for decades, and this year the mixture celebrates its 70th birthday.
My Dad is a traditionalist and never adds Old Bay to anything more exciting than crab. But the uses for this spicy aromatic mixture are endless and the official website has a plethora of recipes and usage suggestions for everything from a Bloody Mary base and barbecue sauce to coleslaw and, of course, crab cakes.
My salty dog son fell in love with Herr's Old Bay potato chips last summer while we were visiting the Eastern Shore. Unfortunately, we can't get those chips here in Seattle, so when I found Old Bay's easy recipe for Party Dip with a Zip, I thought I'd give it a whirl. The dip certainly isn't traditional, but it's deliciously reminiscent of the Chesapeake Bay.
I think Dad might even enjoy it with a cold beer and a basket of chips.
--Melissa A. Trainer
Garrett Taylor on June 11, 2009 at 02:43 PM
FYI: Both Herr's and Utz will ship their crab chips anywhere. Check out www.utz.com or www.herrs.com for options. I now live in Erie PA and have Utz shipped here because no local stores carry crab chips.
Melissa Trainer on June 11, 2009 at 08:23 PM
Thank you for the tip. I think a mail order box of crab chips could be a great solution for my son's crabby cravings! We won't be visiting the Chesapeake Bay region this summer so I'll be sure check it out.
Jake on October 15, 2009 at 01:07 PM
I like Old Bay Seasonings but my favorite salt seasoning is Stephanie’s Seasonings. It tastes good and is all natural with no sugar, additives or MSG. Here is the website:
http://www.stephanieseasonings.com
Try it out!