Yes, I love to cook, but spending every night learning the electric stove top was getting old. [Enter Mike with a new grill to break in and a ’ton’ more time without those pesky OC social obligations] I’m an opportunist, so I figured now was the time to encourage Mike’s cookout ambitions by focusing my WNC search on quality meats, rubs and sauces.
On Sunday we decided to take the family for a downtown Asheville walk and check out The Spice and Tea Exchange of Asheville. The company is a primarily Southeastern chain, with about a dozen stores, but is new to WNC. Their offering includes basically three things: fresh powdered & whole bean/pod/leaf spices, gourmet loose leaf teas & blended spice combinations used in cooking, barbeque and grilling. Shoppers have the option of buying in prepackaged 1 ounce packages or buying any amount in bulk. As most spices and teas originate from the East, they lack local products. But I believe they do an excellent job of providing fresh, quality compliments to WNC food. My delicious local meat and veg are best enjoyed with the freshest spices, rather than back-shelf, bottled flakes of unknown age.
1 oz Mexican Mole, 1 oz Chocolate Black Tea & 0.5 oz Hungarian Sweet Paprika
We met the very helpful Virginia, who was a wonder with Emma and had our troublemaker entertainingly distracted in a shop full of uniform glass jars, stacked on climbable shelves (a toddler's challenge). I’d advise giving yourself some time to really browse the shelves and sniff your way through the store (beware the Hickory powder, it fried my olfactory system).
We started at the blends, with the intention of buying a chicken rub. As Virginia guided us through the offerings, I realized my favorites were all for lamb and beef. The Butcher’s Blend was wonderful and I will be buying it for one of the beef roasts I procured at Cane Creek Beef & Poultry. The lamb seasoning has inspired me to find a local supplier.
Virginia pointed out various Southeastern regional offerings, as well as a number of traditional international blends. All are made on site from the franchise recipes. In the end, we decided on a complex & fresh mole blend that didn't even make the grill. Instead, I sauteed one diced onion and three chicken thighs cut into pieces, added chicken broth and the mole seasoning, then simmered while the brown rice cooked. It was excellent; a 7 on Mike's eating moan meter (Prime Rib bones being 10). Emma spit it out, but she's on a cookie fix...
Chicken Mole, Brown Rice & Broccoli
Next we browsed the teas and found a chocolate black tea that smelled like heaven. Generally we stick with more traditional tea blends, but we recently had tea at the Biltmore Inn and fell for a Mighty Leaf Truffle tea. The Exchange's version is a simple, high caffeine, black tea with a touch of chocolate shaving. Smooth and slightly sweet. Don't drink before bedtime!
Finally, we came to the general spice section. From those selections you have the option to create your own blends or buy an individual spice in bulk. I’d say the quality and freshness are equal to the bulk spices I buy at Henry’s (Wild Oats/Whole Foods/Earthfare), but the selection is much wider and you have the benefit of Virginia advising you on food pairing.
Of course, I narrowed in on the Paprika selection. Since we travel to and have visitors from Hungary on a regular basis, I buy and use a great deal of the authentic, fresh spice of the Magyars. If you haven’t sampled some of my Hungarian cooking, you may be shocked to hear that authentic, fresh paprika from Hungary is not maroon brown, nor dry. The stuff they generally sell in the States is an abomination. You should be looking for a slightly moist, slightly clingy, bright in color powder that acts as a cornstarch-like thickener to traditional chicken & beef stews and tastes like a fresh, complex pepper puree. Skip the gritty, bland tasting deviled egg topper.
The Exchange had 3 or 4 offerings, which is the best selection I’ve seen in the US. I’m not sure from where it originates, but I tried the sweet paprika, which is the staple of Hungarian cooking. The consistency was about as good as the commercially made Magyar product I buy there, but not as moist as the homemade kind. The taste and texture have similar comparative values. Overall, it is a good supply of the fresh spice; while not being able to meet the qualities of homemade, it sure is cheaper than that flight to Hungary!
Overall, the store is inspiring to those who want to add a little science to their cooking. Even if you don’t like to cook, it can be an educational diversion. Just about everyone is going to find something they can enjoy and the 1 ounce packaging makes for excellent gift giving. I’d love to use them as hostess gifts as we dine at our new friends’ houses, matching blends to personalities.
I bought mine at The Spice & Tea Exchange of Asheville, downtown Asheville.
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