Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-03-12
Food
Report for
Old-Fushioned
Spice Blend
DUPLICATED
By Violet Faulkner

By Violet Faulkner
Despite the eccentricities Of
the March weather we're always
assured spring is on the way
when we see the first asparagus
show up in the markets. Let
me warn you, this early in the
season it's a luxury item. Not
vegetable to put on the shop
ping list if you waited until the
deadline to pay your income tax
Your budget will suffer less il
you settle for carrots, celery
collards. kale. old potatoes and
cabbage :. all of them recon-
mended buys for the week.
If you feel in the mood to dc
q little splurging Strawberries
are getting more plentiful and
not too costly. In our shopping
around town we ran onto some
beautiful giant artichokes shipped
in from California, choice
tomatoes and green corn from
the same source, and unusually
fine papayas from Central and
South America.
Although the weather hasn't
been too conducive for the fish
ermen, there are ample supplies
of the f1nny food to be had for
lenten meals. Frozen fillets of
cod, paddock, ocean perch, and
halibut are plentiful at reason
able prices. Frozen salmon and
swordf1sh, mackerel, oysters, and
clans are also available plus
sea bass and shad.
Spice Blend
Friends are always telling us
about new recipe, a new spice
or a new way of combining some
familiar dish. Our latest dis
covery is a spice blend used in
steaming seafoodS. It's been
around on the shelves for a few
months. we understand, but just
hadn't come to our attention
before this. So we thought it
might be new with you, too. The
friends who recommended it
were enthusiastic in singing its
praises for Steaming crabs. But
since it's too early in the season
for a crab feast, we settled for
shrimp and found it much to our
liking.
Gustav Brunn, originator OF
this sea food seasoning, was
formerly an importer and
professor of fine spices in his
native Germany. He landed in
America in 1899 with, as he
says, "a recipe, a wife, daughter
son and a spice mill" The
family settled in Baltimore,
where it was only natural he
should turn once again to the
spice trade. In developing this
particular blend spice detec-
tiveS" spent months tracking
down various sea food seasonings
that were famous in the Chesa-
peake Bay regions. After a great
deal of experimenting and COM
parison tests, the formula for
this blend was evolved. Eleven
different spices, finely ground
and skillfully blended. go into
the mixture. It's hot to the
tongue with ginger and pepper,
fragrant with aroma of celery
salt. mustard. laurel leaves, pi-
mento, cloves, mace, cardamom,
cassia and paprika. The spice
adds a spicy tang. too. to crab
cakes, cocktail sauces and a
pinch added to a salmon loaf
brings out wonderful new
flavor accent.
Meotless Grovy
1t must be the lenten season
that's bringing to light all the
different ways of adding zest
to meatless dishes. We sampled
a gravy the other day that really
had us fooled. Our hostess used
butter. the water in which the
vegetables had cooked as the
liquid then added a teaspoonful
OF a gravy seasoner she took
from the shelf. Being curious,
we took a good look at the label
on the bottle to see what gives.
It's a concentrated vegetable
product used for seasoning and
browning gravies, soups and
leftoverS. Made from celery,
onions. parsley. a touch of gar
lie, caramel. vegetable protein
vinegar and salt it added a
real meaty flavor to the gravy.
It's not meant to be used as
table sauce but stirred in Just
before taking the food from the
fire or put in baked dishes be-
fore cooking. One teaspoonful
is about right for the average
home dish. It adds flavor to
meat loaves and pies, hamburg
ers. fish casseroles, or to any
meat stew.
Here and There:
Some homemakers are con-
fused by the difference in hams
labeled fully cooked" and those
labeled 'ready-to-eat." Actual
ly. either can be safely eaten
without further cooking. Good
Housekeeping magazine explains
that one packer uses the fully
cooked" label for a ham that's
been thoroughly cooked and is
therefore very tender. Ready
to-eat" hams have had some
what less cooking and have
slightly firmer texture. Nat
ural green in foods: Avocado
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