Premium products
End users of our spices and blends often comment on what incredible flavor they have. Some say they actually use a lot less because the flavor is magnified in comparison to what they had been using. Those of us in the business know that spices have various designations that relate to their quality: Grade AAAAA, Premium Hand-Select, Extra Bold, to name a few. We buy only the best available spices. Then we hand pack which results in nearly flawless processing. That translates into impeccable quality and the willingness of end users to pay premium prices.
Because the best ingredients are essential to good cooking, I would like to extend a special thanks to Jay and Jane Bunting of Wayzata Bay Spice Company for helping me obtain high-quality seasonings for recipe testing.
Quote from Professional Cooking, Fifth Edition, 2003
Undisputed quality
As part of the 2004 bidding process for Lund’s/Byerly’s (Grocer of the Year in 2006) new private-label spice line, a dozen of our products were sampled and compared to the products of eleven other companies from around the United States. Once we were awarded the contract, we were told that the tasting panel had unanimously ranked us number 1 for their final choice. On the rare occasion of a single product that a person didn’t rank us number one, we were number 2.
This panel was comprised of culinary experts at Lund Food Holdings, Inc.
Innovative products
The world is a large place and we have seen more obscure spices and spice blends becoming available. The Food Channel has stimulated some of this as has world travel and immigration. At Wayzata Bay Spice Company, we believe the world of spices is our palette to develop new flavor combinations. When people ask how we come up with some of our blends, we explain that we work in much the same way as an artist but with a different medium. So, with that in mind, here are examples of some of our masterpieces that are rarely, if ever, found anywhere else in the United States:
- Ras el Hanout – our version of this ancient and classic Moroccan blend.
- Luau Pork – think ocean, sunset, palm trees and enjoy this taste of Hawaii.
- Chimichurri – this is a dry version of the Argentinean blend with a recipe to make a slurry.
- Northern Lights – our best seller of all time. A woodsy, smoky flavor with hints of raspberries.
- Wild Rice Seasoning – finally something that can actually flavor this wholesome grain.
- Swedish Meatballs – a Scandinavian classic for everyone to use.
- Tequila Lime – fish and chicken will never know what hit them.
- Taste of Brazil – inspired by “gouchos”, great on modern-day BBQ or preparing the national dish of Brazil, Fejoada.
Salt-free products
An outgrowth of our commitment to carrying only the highest quality ingredients is the ability to combine some of them and achieve superior flavor without salt. We have worked with nutritionists within hospital settings to educate patients who have been told to reduce salt in their diet. We designed a tool called the Flavor Profile to enable a person to isolate their primary and secondary flavor favorites and then mapped those to the world of spices and other ingredients so they could select items that they would like. To make a big change like limiting salt in the diet, you need to have alternatives that will satisfy your taste preferences. We have some blends that have become household favorites and they have no salt in them. Examples are:
- Adobo – classic Mexican blend that provides a little “heat” and a lot of cumin flavor
- Arizona Pepper – a beautiful blend of black and cayenne pepper
- Cardiac Cajun – all the Cajun flavor, but no salt to stress blood pressure and the heart
- Gone Fishin’ – cute name for this honey, lemon, dill combination. Awesome in tuna salad, on light flavored fish and in walleye batter.
- Herbes de Provence – a very good seller and people just cannot believe it has lavender in it.
- Garden Blend – a divine blend of herbs and shallots that give so much flavor without any salt
- Pig Out! – fun name and wonderful flavor on pork.
- Tommy’s Blend – an all-purpose grilling blend with coarseness and flavor to satisfy the taste buds.
- Tuscan – a zesty Italian blend.
- Zing – a tangy, all-purpose blend for veggies, fish, chicken and salads.
In total, more than thirty of our blends are salt-free.
Organic products
We stock a variety of organic products and are certified by the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association – one of the strictest certification agencies in the country. We responded to the market demand and have assembled the finest collection of organics that we could find.
MSG-free
We use NO MSG in any of our products. It is our belief that if you are using high quality spices, you can achieve the flavor you want without additions of this type of enhancer. And we thereby prevent the reactions some people have to this additive.