Old Bay Seasoning
Encyclopedia
Old Bay Seasoning is a blend of herb
s and spice
s that is currently marketed in the United States
by McCormick & Company
, and produced in Maryland
. It is produced in the Chesapeake Bay
area where it was developed by German immigrant Gustav Brunn in the 1940s, and where the seasoning is very popular to this day. At that time, crabs were so plentiful that bars in Baltimore, Maryland, offered them free and seasonings like Old Bay were created to encourage patrons to purchase more beverages. Old Bay is just one of many crab seasonings created during that era, yet it is one of only a few that survived. Notable others are J.O. Spice and Baltimore Spice. McCormick recently has offered a lower sodium version of Old Bay Seasoning.
Old Bay Seasoning is named after the Old Bay Line
, a passenger ship line that plied the waters of the Chesapeake Bay from Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia
, in the early 1900s. Gustav Brunn’s company became the Old Bay Company, producing crab seasonings in the unique yellow can container until the company was purchased by McCormick & Co in 1990. McCormick continues to offer Old Bay in the classic yellow can.
The seasoning mix includes mustard
, paprika
, celery seed, bay leaf
, both black
and red pepper
, cinnamon
, cloves, allspice
, nutmeg
, cardamom
, salt
, mace
and ginger
. It is regionally popular, specifically in Southern States
and parts of the Gulf Coast. Due to the strong presence of the United States Navy
in Maryland and Virginia, it is a common fixture in galleys onboard Navy ships. It is chiefly used to season crab
and shrimp
.
In addition to flavoring seafood, the seasoning is often used as a topping on popcorn
, salads, eggs
, fried chicken
, french fries
, tater tots
, corn on the cob
, and potato chips. Several movie theaters in the Chesapeake region actually offer it in the condiment section. Potato chip manufacturer Utz
created the original "Crab Chip" based on an analogue spice mix. The popular potato chip variety was later copied and marketed by Herr’s
(however, Herr's uses the Old Bay seasoning and it is sold as "Herr's Old Bay Chips"). Early in its history, the Subway sandwich shop
used Old Bay when mixing their seafood and crab salad. Many local Subway shops in the Baltimore region still have Old Bay for use on sandwiches. Old Bay is also occasionally used around the Chesapeake Bay region as an ingredient in Bloody Marys
.
McCormick has a number of other products under the Old Bay banner, including seasoning packets for crab cakes, salmon
patties and tuna
, tartar sauce
, cocktail sauce
, and seafood batter mix. They also make other seasoning blends that mix Old Bay seasoning with garlic
, lemon
, herbs and blackened seasonings.
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s and spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s that is currently marketed in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by McCormick & Company
McCormick & Company
McCormick & Company manufactures spices, herbs, and flavorings for retail, commercial, and industrial markets. The company began in 1889 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. One hundred years later, McCormick moved from downtown Baltimore to the suburb of Hunt Valley, Maryland. McCormick has...
, and produced in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. It is produced in the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
area where it was developed by German immigrant Gustav Brunn in the 1940s, and where the seasoning is very popular to this day. At that time, crabs were so plentiful that bars in Baltimore, Maryland, offered them free and seasonings like Old Bay were created to encourage patrons to purchase more beverages. Old Bay is just one of many crab seasonings created during that era, yet it is one of only a few that survived. Notable others are J.O. Spice and Baltimore Spice. McCormick recently has offered a lower sodium version of Old Bay Seasoning.
Old Bay Seasoning is named after the Old Bay Line
Baltimore Steam Packet Company
The Baltimore Steam Packet Company, which was also known as the , was an American steamship line from 1840 to 1962, providing overnight steamboat service on the Chesapeake Bay, primarily between Baltimore, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia...
, a passenger ship line that plied the waters of the Chesapeake Bay from Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, in the early 1900s. Gustav Brunn’s company became the Old Bay Company, producing crab seasonings in the unique yellow can container until the company was purchased by McCormick & Co in 1990. McCormick continues to offer Old Bay in the classic yellow can.
The seasoning mix includes mustard
Mustard seed
Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of various mustard plants. The seeds are usually about 1 or 2 mm in diameter. Mustard seeds may be colored from yellowish white to black. They are important spices in many regional foods. The seeds can come from three different plants: black mustard , brown...
, paprika
Paprika
Paprika is a spice made from the grinding of dried fruits of Capsicum annuum . In many European languages, the word paprika refers to bell peppers themselves. The seasoning is used in many cuisines to add color and flavor to dishes. Paprika can range from mild to hot...
, celery seed, bay leaf
Bay leaf
Bay leaf refers to the aromatic leaf of the bay laurel . Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance. The leaves are often used to flavor soups, stews, braises and pâtés in Mediterranean cuisine...
, both black
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
and red pepper
Capsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
, cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
, cloves, allspice
Allspice
Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice that is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...
, nutmeg
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...
, cardamom
Cardamom
Cardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India and Bhutan; they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds...
, salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
, mace
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...
and ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
. It is regionally popular, specifically in Southern States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and parts of the Gulf Coast. Due to the strong presence of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in Maryland and Virginia, it is a common fixture in galleys onboard Navy ships. It is chiefly used to season crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
and shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
.
In addition to flavoring seafood, the seasoning is often used as a topping on popcorn
Popcorn
Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
, salads, eggs
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
, fried chicken
Fried chicken
Fried chicken is a dish consisting of chicken pieces usually from broiler chickens which have been floured or battered and then pan fried, deep fried, or pressure fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior...
, french fries
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
, tater tots
Tater Tots
Tater Tots, a registered trademark for a commercial form of hash browns made by Ore-Ida, are a side-dish made from deep-fried, grated taters. Tater Tots are widely recognized by their crispness, cylindrical shape and small size....
, corn on the cob
Corn on the cob
Corn on the cob is a culinary term used for a cooked ear of freshly picked maize from a cultivar of sweet corn. The ear is picked while the endosperm is in the "milk stage" so that the kernels are still tender...
, and potato chips. Several movie theaters in the Chesapeake region actually offer it in the condiment section. Potato chip manufacturer Utz
Utz Quality Foods, Inc.
Utz Quality Foods, Inc. , based in Hanover, Pennsylvania, is the largest independent privately held snack brand in the United States. The company was founded in 1921 and distributes a variety of potato chips and other snack foods throughout the United States....
created the original "Crab Chip" based on an analogue spice mix. The popular potato chip variety was later copied and marketed by Herr’s
Herr's Snacks
Herr's is a Nottingham, Pennsylvania-based brand of snack foods, most notably potato chips. While their products are sold throughout the Eastern United States and Canada, their stronghold is the Mid-Atlantic region. -History:...
(however, Herr's uses the Old Bay seasoning and it is sold as "Herr's Old Bay Chips"). Early in its history, the Subway sandwich shop
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
used Old Bay when mixing their seafood and crab salad. Many local Subway shops in the Baltimore region still have Old Bay for use on sandwiches. Old Bay is also occasionally used around the Chesapeake Bay region as an ingredient in Bloody Marys
Bloody Mary (cocktail)
A Bloody Mary is a popular cocktail containing vodka, tomato juice, and usually other spices or flavorings such as Worcestershire sauce, Peri-Peri Sauce, Tabasco sauce, beef consomme or bouillon, horseradish, celery, olive, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and celery salt...
.
McCormick has a number of other products under the Old Bay banner, including seasoning packets for crab cakes, salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
patties and tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
, tartar sauce
Tartar sauce
Tartare sauce is a creamy white sauce frequently used to season fried seafood dishes.-Composition:...
, cocktail sauce
Cocktail sauce
Cocktail sauce is one of several types of cold or room temperature sauces often served as part of the dish referred to as seafood cocktail or as a condiment with other seafoods. In America it generally consists of ketchup mixed with prepared horseradish. Some restaurants use chili sauce, a spicier...
, and seafood batter mix. They also make other seasoning blends that mix Old Bay seasoning with garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
, lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
, herbs and blackened seasonings.
External links
- Old Bay Seasoning - official web site, including history