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All about Old Bay Spice Blend, Spice Blend
What it’s like, and how to make it
HeatMild
CuisineAmerican & canadian
Best forBraising, saute pan fry, grill bbq
Goes inSoups stews, grills roasts, dips sauces
WithFish seafood
What’s in itmustard, red pepper, black pepper, bay leaves, cloves, allspice, ginger, mace, celery salt, cardamom, cinnamon, paprika
How to use it
Chesapeake Bay's signature. Shake liberally on steamed crabs, shrimp, and corn — Old Bay is one of those spices you use by the tablespoon, not the teaspoon. Stir into crab cake mix, sprinkle on fries, season a seafood boil, or rim a bloody mary glass. Also great on roasted potatoes, popcorn, and buttered corn on the cob. The celery and bay give it that distinctive savory warmth. Mild heat.
Weeknight ideas
- fish
What’s in it
Every herb in the blend, and where to read about it on its own.
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Mustard
Sinapis alba, Brassica juncea
Seed and powder, from two related plants: yellow mustard (Sinapis alba), which is mild, and brown or oriental mustard (Brassica juncea), which is hot. Dry mustard is not hot at all until it is wet — water sets off a reaction between the enzyme myrosinase...
Sharp, nose-tingling heat once wet; before that, a dusty, faintly sweet, earthy powder
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Chile
Capsicum annuum
Dried chile peppers, whole, crushed or ground — the generic heat in twenty-nine products here, from curry powders to jerk to Tex-Mex. Heat comes from capsaicin and is measured in Scoville heat units; the shop's blends name theirs where the supplier gives a figure. The...
Heat first, then a dry, fruity red-pepper taste; the darker dried chiles run raisiny and the lighter ones bright and tannic
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Black Pepper
Piper nigrum
The dried unripe berry of a climbing vine — the mill on every table, and the most travelled object in any kitchen. Black, white and green pepper are all the same berry, picked at different moments and treated differently: black is picked unripe and dried...
Warm, woody, resinous and sharp; the bite is piperine, roughly a hundredth as potent as capsaicin
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Herb · Caffeine-free
Bay Leaf
Laurus nobilis
The leaf of the laurel — the crown of the ancient world, sitting in your soup pot. Bay does not announce itself; you notice it when it is missing rather than when it is there, which is why people argue about whether it does anything...
Herbal and faintly floral, a little like oregano and thyme, with a cool eucalyptus note; sharp and bitter if eaten whole
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Cloves
Syzygium aromaticum
An unopened flower bud, picked and dried until it looks like a small nail — which is where the name comes from, via Latin clavus. Cloves are the loudest spice in the cupboard: eugenol makes up somewhere between 45 and 90 per cent of the...
Hot, sweet, numbing and medicinal-warm
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Allspice
Pimenta dioica
One berry that tastes like three spices — cinnamon, nutmeg and clove at once, with a peppery, woody edge. The English were calling it allspice by 1621 for exactly that reason, and it confuses people to this day: it is a single dried berry, not...
Warm clove, cinnamon and nutmeg at once, with a peppery, woody edge
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Herb · Caffeine-free
Ginger
Zingiber officinale
The universal connector — ginger appears in more products than any other ingredient in the collection. The dried root is chemically distinct from fresh ginger: drying converts gingerols to shogaols, which are about twice as pungent, and that is why dried ginger tastes deeper and...
Pungent, warm, slightly sweet, citrusy (fresh); warm, mellow, deep (dried)
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Cardamom
Elettaria cardamomum
Green pods holding small black seeds, from a ginger-family plant of the Western Ghats — floral, resinous and eucalyptus-cool, quite unlike anything else in the cupboard. It is the third most expensive spice in the world after saffron and vanilla, which is why it is...
Floral, resinous, eucalyptus-cool and sweet-warm; the main volatiles are terpinyl acetate and eucalyptol
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Cinnamon
Cinnamomum verum, C. burmannii, C. loureiroi
The inner bark of a laurel tree, peeled, dried and curled into quills. Three different trees are sold under the one name, and the shop carries all three: Ceylon (Cinnamomum verum), the soft, papery, floral one from Sri Lanka; Korintje (C. burmannii) from the Kerinci...
Sweet, woody, warm — Ceylon floral and citrusy, Korintje smooth and familiar, Saigon bold and fiery-sweet
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Paprika
Capsicum annuum
Dried sweet red peppers, ground. It is in twenty-eight products here mostly for colour and body — paprika gives a rub or a stew its red without adding heat, and it carries a soft, sweet pepper flavour that fills in the gaps between louder spices....
Sweet red pepper, no heat, vivid colour; the smoked one adds deep oak smoke
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Mace
Myristica fragrans
The red lace that wraps the nutmeg seed inside its fruit — the same tree, a different spice. Mace whispers where nutmeg shouts: lighter, brighter and more delicate, with a peppery edge and a hint of citrus and pine, and a warm orange colour that...
Like nutmeg but lighter and brighter — warm, slightly peppery, a hint of citrus and pine
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Salt · Caffeine-free
Celery Salt
Apium graveolens with sodium chloride
Salt mixed with ground celery seed — and for a Calgary shop, the most local thing in the cabinet. The celery-salt rim belongs to the Caesar, which was invented here in 1969, so this is a hometown ingredient before it is anything else. Three products...
Salty and green — the smell of a cut celery stalk, slightly bitter and grassy, with warmth underneath
What it goes with
The cardamom and bay leaf in Old Bay both contribute linalool — Darjeeling's defining compound. Brew a cup alongside steamed crabs or a crab cake. For a citrus match that picks up the hidden celery seed limonene, try our Earl Grey.
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Where it takes you
Reviews
What the time-travelers say
206 of the shop’s 213 reviews are five stars — left by people who actually bought the tea
Write a review
Great products and great service
I had a slight mix up on my order, they were quick to reply and correct my order with no issues. Amazing service and great…
I had a slight mix up on my order, they were quick to reply and correct my order with no issues. Amazing service and great products.
— Nick C. Verified
Great tea
A lovely, delicate tea. The peach is strong without being overwhelming or cloying, and the calendula is a nice addition. Very…
A lovely, delicate tea. The peach is strong without being overwhelming or cloying, and the calendula is a nice addition. Very tasty!
— Zoe R. Verified
Maple Peach
The maple peach is delicious. What a beautiful combination. I will most definitely order it again, and a higher quantity of it.
— Gerda S. Verified
Always handy
I use dillweed often. This dill is fresh and has a nice aroma. I use it in marinades, salad dressings, and on fish. Good stuff.
— Jennifer D. Verified
Great stuff
This has helped my household a lot with circulation and alertness when we had it everyday. Will be ordering again soon. Thanks
— Dave G. Verified
Love this tea. Hands down my fav rooibos. This store is our one-stop-shop for tea and spice. Great service, top notch product.…
Love this tea. Hands down my fav rooibos. This store is our one-stop-shop for tea and spice. Great service, top notch product. 10/10!!
— Erin Poeta P. Verified
Delicious
I love this black tea, it has a really nice smooth flavour and love how it’s Swiss water method decaf. Will be buying again!
— Jessica A. Verified
Great flavorful tea
Toffee Ole is one of our favorite teas to share with friends in the evening, when we want something non-caffeinated but quite…
Toffee Ole is one of our favorite teas to share with friends in the evening, when we want something non-caffeinated but quite flavorful.
— Joel R. Verified
Another full bodied ‘real tea’ . ie It is not a flavoured tea. However, we do very much enjoy the Cafe Latte tea which is a…
Another full bodied ‘real tea’ . ie It is not a flavoured tea. However, we do very much enjoy the Cafe Latte tea which is a flavoured tea!!!
— Ted H. Verified
teas
love , love, love and they shipping is very fast. the headache tea works great, the throat coat tea works great as well
— Miranda A. Verified
4 stars
It worked beautifully; perhaps if I add a little more honey, it would make it better… It is a wellness tea, after all!
— Merrilee B. Verified
Bancha with a splash of lemon
A wonderful Green Tea. Smooth in taste. Also suitable as a summer tea with a splash of lemon. A second infusion makes an…
A wonderful Green Tea. Smooth in taste. Also suitable as a summer tea with a splash of lemon. A second infusion makes an enjoyable second cup!
— Monika F. Verified
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The whole shop on one floor — every tea, spice and blend, filtered by what you are after, with the basket beside you.
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Short trips — a place, a moment, a feeling — each with the teas and spices that get you there.
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Ingredients
Every plant, seed, bark and salt in the shop on one page — what it is, why it is in the blend, and where it comes from.
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Local Delivery & Shipping
How it reaches you — free Calgary delivery over $60, one flat rate for every province, and what happens if it is wrong.
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