In Search of Orange Gold: Part One - An Introduction

Maura Judkis of The Washington Post once referred to it as Maryland's "magical fairy dust." The mere label suggests that a sprinkle will confer magical properties upon the subject.  In this case, "[s]prinkle it on almost any seafood -- or even beer or doughnuts -- and it becomes even more delicious." Judkis adds, "[i]t is one of the infallible constants in the universe; practically science. (There is an exception though, as even this magical fairy dust can't help a McDonald's McFish sandwich.)

That magical substance is Old Bay. One cannot truly understand the love that is created for this spice mixture unless he or she has spent some time in the State of Maryland.  It does not take much,  just a few days, and perhaps less if he or she happens to be hanging around any of the local crab shacks. It is that smell, which borders on indescribable (at least in my humble opinion). It is the texture, how it gets on your fingers as you eat those crabs.  And, most of all, it is the taste. How that combination of flavors complements the sweetness of blue crab meat or shrimp. 

Indeed, polls have shown how much people who live in the Free State love Old Bay. In fact, they seem to love it more than anything else. According to one poll, Old Bay had a favorability rating among Maryland residents of 83%. That is a higher rating that Marylanders have for their governor, or, for that matter, any other politician. Marylanders love Old Bay more than they love their sports teams, as 83% far exceeds fan support for football and baseball teams in the Old Line State. Simply put, Marylanders love Old Bay more than just about anything and everything else.

(Illustration: Maximilian Franz)

My history with the spice mix is to put it, "mixed" (pun intended). I have lived in the area for more than thirty years. My first true encounter with Old Bay came while I was in college. I was elevated to the position of steam cook at a local D.C. crab house where I worked during the summers. My job was to pack and steam pots with live crabs and blanket them with Old Bay, which came in containers that had the height of a kindergartener. I also had to cook those pots. I worked long hours in that kitchen. The combination of steam, sweat and Old Bay meant that, every night after work, I reeked of the spice. It had infiltrated everything: my clothes, my shoes and even my skin.  No matter how often I washed my clothes, the smell never went away. 

For years after that job, I never really cared for Old Bay.  I also went a long time without eating crabs (partly because of my experience working in that kitchen and partly because, quite frankly, I could not afford to purchase them). As time went by, my disdain for the spice faded, forgotten as I moved on to new jobs and new adventures. 

Photo: Baltimore.org

I eventually found myself living in Maryland with my beautiful Angel.  Slowly, but surely, I was reintroduced into steamed crabs.  I was no longer cooking them, but eating them. We went to local crab houses once in a while -- never the one where I worked -- and enjoyed a dozen crabs (or a crab feast, which was the all-you-can-eat small crab experience). As a tray of those crabs were presented to the table, we would be greeted by that smell of Old Bay.  When we ate those crabs, the wet, grainy texture of the mix as it got on your fingers while eating the crabs, provided a completely different experience. I had been won over, and, I have since become a big fan of the spice mix.  I even began steaming my own crabs, using Old Bay in the same manner that I used to as a steam cook.

I am not the only person to have been won over by Old Bay.  During the coronavirus pandemic, the demand for the spice mix increased substantially. The current owner of the recipes and rights, McCormick Foods, had to cut back production of its less popular spice blends in order to keep pace with the increasing demand for Old Bay.  That demand is not just in Maryland. As the PR people at McCormick like to say, "born on the Bay, loved in the USA."

The heightened popularity of Old Bay got me to thinking about just how this spice mix originated. It did not simply appear one day on store shelves or in restaurants.  There is a history.  I wanted to explore that history, which has led me to research and write a short blog series entitled In Search of Orange Gold. As it stands, this series will cover a range of topics, beginning with what preceded Old Bay, followed by the person who created the mix and how Old Bay developed over the years and decades.  I will also explore the ingredients that go into Old Bay and how the mix is used in a variety of recipes.  Finally, I will use my best effort to recreate the spice mix based upon what I have learned (given the actual recipe is a closely guarded secret hidden somewhere in the headquarters of McCormick Foods). 

I hope that you will find these posts as interesting as I found the subject matter to be when I wrote them.  To find all of the posts in this series, you can check out my Other Projects page. Until then ...

ENJOY!