Old Bay Gets Dissed

It was only when this DCist moved to the Delmarva area from Texas that she realized that spice blends are truly a regional thing. Here, it’s all about the burnt-orange crab seasoning, like Old Bay or J.O. Even McCormick’s, which is based in the area and makes Old Bay, is ignored for its good work with Grill Mates and Salad Toppins. That's right, it's all about the orange dust.

This strange allegiance confounded us for some time until we came to realize this DCist, too, has a serious spice vice: Morton's Nature's Seasons, a perfectly executed blend of parsley, garlic, salt, onion, celery, and black pepper. A mere dash or two (okay, three) of this perfect mixture of herbs and spices is suitable for any savory dish and truly transforms it from “needs a bit of salt,” to ready to serve. If you’re not quite sure what else to do before plating a pork chop or ladling a bisque, throw some Nature’s Seasons on it, and you’re done. Yes, it is that easy. And it works every time.

But here’s the wrinkle: we’ve only been able to buy Nature's Seasons in Texas and a couple states in the Midwest. Since relocating out this way, we’ve spent hours rabidly searching every local grocery and high-end gourmet market for the stuff as if it were contraband. Our frustration with the lack of this wonder spice has forced us to smuggle it in from Texas or task relatives and friends with stashing some of it in their carry-ons (before we could order it online).