'Tis the Seasoning

Attention: if there is some type pre-made seasoning that is available to you at this moment please get it now. Please do this before proceeding. Thank you.




McCormick, Lawry's, Mrs. Dash, Montreal...what do they all have in common? Garbage.

In the years that I've worked, I've encountered many different kinds of pre-made seasonings, rubs, blends, etc., and I've come to the conclusion that I'm absolutely against most of them. If it's a seasoning made with dried herbs then it smells and tastes like cardboard. Oh, and you shouldn't using dried herbs anyway. Shame on you! If it's a seasoning made from spices then probably 99% of the time it will be filled with mostly...well you'll find out. If it's a seasoning with both then you'll have nasty cardboard.

Did you know that the ingredients on the label are listed in that order for a reason?

Ingredient lists start with the largest amount of ingredient first and works its way down to the ingredient with the least amount. So right now, I want you to take a look at the ingredient list on the bottle of seasoning you have with you and tell me what the first ingredient is...go ahead. I'll wait here...

Most of you will probably say...SALT. "What's so bad about salt," you ask? Nothing except for when you use too much of it. Companies fill these seasonings up with salt because it's a cheap filler. Looks like you're getting more seasoning, but you're just getting a lot of salt. If you remember my blog about salt, it's there to bring flavor out. Not to make things salty. Some people like the flavor of these seasonings so they put more on thinking it'll taste better. It actually makes it worse because they're putting more salt on. When I make some type of seasoning, I keep that and salt separate. I always seasoning my food with salt and pepper first, then I seasoning with my mix. You want the salt to season the food and draw moisture out so that the moisture can mix with the seasoning and caramelize when it cooks.

Very rarely do I use any other seasonings besides salt, pepper, and granulated garlic. I believe that you should be able to taste the food rather than masking it with other flavors. Don't get me wrong, I do like a little bit of curry or cumin or paprika sometimes but most of the times, you'll only see me use salt and pepper. When I was living on my own (I now live with my mom and dad. (and I love it)) I always had a mix. It was a 2:2:1 ratio of garlic:salt:pepper. I used that more than anything else. Of course sometimes a dish need a little more salt or a little more pepper but I always had those on the side too. But the garlic is what puts it right over the top.

So all in all if I see pre-made seasoning at your house I'll probably get very angry inside and I won't do anything because well...at the end of the day, you are your own boss. Just know that I'll be staring at it and will empty it the second you turn around.

bien manger

-cwis