Old Bay Seasoning

Believe it or not, the story of how this humble spice blend was created could be turned into a movie.

Old bay seasoning was invented by Gustav Brunn. Born into a Jewish family in Germany in 1893, he worked as a spice merchant, making his own ingenious spice blends and selling them to sausage makers.

By the late 1920s, Brun’s sumptuous spices soon became the talk of the town (Bastheim, to be precise). However, in 1933, with the Nazi party on the rise, Brunn, fearing for his life, picked up sticks and relocated to Frankfurt with his family, where there was a large Jewish population.

Before long, Brun’s business was booming in Frankfurt, although success was once again scuppered by the Nazis. The family had planned to emigrate to America by the end of 1938 when, on the night of November 10, 1938, Kristallnacht  or ‘the night of the broken glass’ broke out. Jewish businesses, schools and synagogues were destroyed. Brunn was arrested and taken to a concentration camp.

A prominent Frankfurt lawyer heard about the imprisonment of Frankfurt’s most famous spice merchant and, following two weeks of negotiations, managed to secure Brunn’s release. After recovering from pneumonia, Brunn and his family finally escaped Germany and made the trip to Baltimore, USA.

Brunn eventually landed a job at McCormick’s – the country’s biggest spice maker. He only lasted two days though. Brunn’s son Ralph would later tell the Baltimore Sun that he was fired for being Jewish. 

So Brunn created his own business – the Baltimore Spice Company. He soon became the go-to spice guy for Baltimore’s fish market vendors, who were looking for something to liven up a favorite local delicacy – steamed crab.

Brunn made a note of their chosen spices – salt, pepper, mustard – and began to add his own ideas to create the perfect seasoning mix. The final spice blend he settled on would soon become iconic.

Brunn’s massive success kick started a rivalry with McCormick’s that would last decades. McCormick reportedly tried to block Brunn from becoming a member of the American Spice Association and even tried to copy the old bay seasoning spice blend. 

Brunn died in 1985, leaving behind a legacy as one of America’s most important spice merchants. The twist in this spicy tale? Just five years later, McCormick’s bought the Baltimore Spice Company. They still own the Old Bay Seasoning brand to this day.

As Gustav Brunn’s spice blend became increasingly popular, he decided he needed a catchy name to market it to fish sellers by the Baltimore docks. A friend of his who worked in the advertising industry suggested ‘Old Bay Seasoning,’ named after Baltimore’s famous old bay steamship.

The original Old Bay Seasoning mixture is a heady blend of mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, bay leaves, red pepper, cardamom, ground celery seed, cloves, mustard, paprika, celery salt, salt, pepper and ginger. 

My recipe calls for 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper and allspice to be added to the mix.

My homemade blend doesn’t and neither does the original.

Despite many people speculating that garlic powder was one of the secret ingredients contained in the recipe, Old Bay’s makers have stated that their product contains no garlic, in response to a question from a customer with an allium allergy.

It’s hard to pin down the taste of Old Bay Seasoning, as there are so many different spices that make up the mixture. The key tastes that spring to mind are salty, peppery and smoky, with a certain earthy savory quality.

As there’s no chili, there’s not really much heat to Old Bay Seasoning.

Old Bay has got a LOT more going on.

Cajun seasoning mix is a relatively simple spice mixture containing paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne, thyme, oregano and onion powder. 

Old Bay contains many more spices, particularly fragrant spices such as clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and mace. 

Yes! Not only is it vegetarian, but Old Bay Seasoning is vegan, gluten free and keto-friendly. 

Nope. My homemade Old Bay Seasoning contains nothing but natural ingredients.

There are a lot of spices in this recipe, so you shouldn’t need to add any. However, if you want a little extra heat, add ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.

If you can’t find all the ingredients on this list and you can’t find Old Bay Seasoning in the shops, there are plenty of good substitutes.

Check out my Old Bay Seasoning substitutes guide for all you need to know on replacing this spice blend.

When sealed in an airtight container and stored in a cool, dry place, Old Bay seasoning will last from six months to a year. I recommend keeping it in your kitchen cupboard.