The primary purpose of this is to help you imagine the foods within your own game, daydreams, or fantasy world.

Heartland Gateway – Inspired by Balder’s Gate, Zobeck, Lekos Haven, Magnimar, 17th century Amsterdam, 19^th and early 20th century Chicago, 17th century Shanghai, and more.

The aroma of a thousand spices intermingled with frying breads, and seafoods wash over you before you even step through the city walls. For miles now you have passed gardens and carts laden with fresh-smelling vegetables and fruits, especially cheerful looking and scented strawberries, making their way to the city.

Food stalls are everywhere, selling heavy and sometimes exotic smelling dishes. Workers and merchants bustle hither and tither, carrying little balls of fried food in pouches, which they occasionally pull out to eat as they hurry about their day. The taverns and inns fill with people seeking more substantial meals, stews, salads, roasted meats, and more, most laden with creamy, mouthwatering sauces.

It is food, clothing, and architecture that people first notice when entering a new land, and food that people most long for and dream of when they leave it. This zine will guide you to understanding the foodways of a fantasy city inspired by common fantasy and real world cities that act as a gateway for a heartland of major farming and industrial communities such as the real-world early 20th century Chicago, Early Modern Amsterdam, and 18th century Shanghai, Forgotten Realms Balder’s Gate, Pathfinder’s Magnimar, Midgard’s Zobeck, Lekos Haven of Realms and Hollows, and similar sorts of places of great wealth due to international trade and access to major agricultural regions that are teaming with corruption.

 

I break this down into a few primary parts

Part 1 - An explanation of the cultural cornerstones that influence the foodways of the region.

Part 2 – The primary ingredients used in their cuisine.

Part 3 – Common Street and Tavern Foods.

Part 4 – How these foods might impact the larger society.

Part 5 – A few recipes for fun

 

Note: I will be adding more recipes as I am able to experiment, in case you want to follow me.  

 

Creative and Change

I am putting this information in the Creative Commons, that way you can feel free to change it as you wish and include it in your own world.

Things to Understand

Garden farms

This city would probably, like many rapidly growing cities in regions with good farmland (Such as Rome and The Low Country of Europe) have encouraged the growing of numerous vegetables to make salads and add to stews, fries, or soups. As a result, peas, cauliflower, spinaches (sometimes creamed), and similar items would make their way into a large number of their dishes.

 

Fried Foods

The need for street foods encourages frying, but so too would a likely abundance of oil from flax farms that are often frequent in the growing areas of these places, and important for the textile industry, the creation of magical scrolls, quality books, and the creation of linseed oil to make paint and lamp oils. Thus, we can imagine that places like this would have plenty of oil as well, making it common to cook things such as fried buns with meat, vegetables, or sweets inside.

 

Spices and herbs

The skilled local gardeners, as well as the wealth of trade and influence from empires and distant lands seeking to tap into the wealth and obtain food from the heartlands would provide these places with an abundance of spices and herbs, which they would use relatively liberally.

 

Hearty and Heavy Foods

Influence from inland and rustic, as well as northern neighbors along with the frontier past would likely mean that many of their foods would be hearty and heavy.

 

Street Food and Tavern

This is a very competitive city, with a lot of ambition and hustle. Not only does this mean that street foods and quickly served tavern foods would be popular, it also means that the food vendors would compete with each other through innovation and change. New ways of playing with spices, new sauces, odd ways of cooking, and more would be invented, and either fall by the wayside quickly or influence new foods and innovations.

 

Rich Sauces

The wealth of butter, sour cream, oil, spices, herbs, and likely eggs, as well as their love of hearty foods means that they would likely have very rich sauces. Indeed, their warmer weather means they would likely have far more access to eggs, which they could use to differentiate themselves from other major cities by making custards and sauces with them, for example.

 

 

Common Ingredients

This is not a list of every ingredient used, just many of the most common ones. I include a number of ingredients that were not in Medieval Europe but are present in each of the fantasy worlds I’ve listed, as well as our own world, of course. So, feel free to remove or swap any of them.

 

Most foods are served with bread and sauces

Acorn starch would frequently be used as a thickener for these sauces, as well as for stews. In addition common sauces often involve strawberry jams. During the early summer fresh strawberries are often served, this changes to plums, apples, and then oranges in the winter.  Cream, sour creams, vinegars, butters, and more would also be used to make these sauces.

 

Grains/Starch

Wheat, Potato, Wild Rice (largely imported), Rye, Oats, Barley, Rice (imported)

 

Most Common Vegetables

Spinach, Asparagus, Carrots, Cabbage, Leeks, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, and more

 

Most Common Fruit

Strawberry, Apple, Pear, Blueberries, Cherries, Raspberry, Plum, Orange (imported) and more

 

Most Common Animal Proteins

Pork, Beef, Mutton/Lamb, Eggs, Chicken, Goose, Duck, Goat

 

Most Common Vegetable Protein

Walnuts, Lintels, Flax Seeds, Hazelnuts

 

Most Common Oils/Fats

Flaxseed Oil, Butter and Dairy, Walnut Oil

 

Most Common Herbs and Spices

Bay Leaves, Parsley, Garlic, Sausage, Mustard, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Thyme, Sage, Ginger, Cloves, Saffron, Juniper

 

Other commonly used spices

Cardamom, Cumin, Pepper, Basil, Cervil, Coriander, Laurel, Tarragon, Fennel, Oregano, Lemon Balm, Sage, Anis , Liquorice, All Spice

 

Most Common Methods of Cooking

Pan Fry, Boiling, Deep Fry, Roasting, Baking,

 

Most Common Drinks

Anise Tea often with other spices added

Ale that has been heavily spiced

Milk sometimes Strawberries, cinnamon or other flavors and sweetened

 

Food preservation

Salt Curing and soaking in brine are the most common means of preserving foods, along with smoking

Though pickling, putting in oil, and drying are still important

 

 

 

 

 

Food Commonly Sold by Street Sellers Near the Gate

 Food stalls are one of the major pieces of bustle of the city, their scent overwhelming most others. For the streets of  thrive on the rapidly cooked or reheated foods that people can eat on short breaks from work while gossiping and laughing out in the street, perhaps while watching one of many street performers ply their trade. Such food is also convenient for those rushing from one location to another, as many people do, or for taking home to eat when they don’t have the energy or sometimes even the means to cook. After all, in crowded cities not everyone has a functional oven, and indeed, the danger of fire means that it is illegal for many people to cook for themselves.

 Despite the speed with which people eat this food they still want it to feel opulent, to some extent, filled with rich flavors and spices and herbs, often wrapped in waxy paper, as food often was in the Medieval era of our own world.

 Many of these foods are served with creamy sauces, or strawberry based sauces, even roasted meat might utilize this tart berry, mixed with spices, for the strawberry is the first major food to ripen in the spring, making it a favorite of the nearby countryside which is able to celebrate the bounty of the world early thanks to it. And while strawberries don’t last long, they can be preserved with the sugar (much of it from sugar beets) the city trades in, honey from the north, or in vinegar with spices to make a sauce for savory dishes.

  

Asparagus Pork Sausage Pie

A practical and hearty food, especially popular in the spring or in the winter when it is made sour by the presence of pickled asparagus. This dish also includes finely chopped onions, garlic, a bit of wild rice, and a mix of herbs and spices.

 

Creamed Spinach, Cauliflower, and Garlic Gratin on Fried flat bread with Cheese and Ham or Bacon

Even wrapped in waxed paper this bread funnel is a little sloppy, but people put up with it because of how beloved it has become. Typically eaten in the early summer but most especially in the fall as the weather starts to turn nippy.

 

Herbed Vegetable and Pork Fritters

Pork and vegetables ground together and covered in a mix of mostly local herbs. These are one of the more economical options, making it popular for the city workers, who can often be seen sitting together to catch a moment of relaxation between work, while pulling these from waxed paper and eating them.

 

Fried Cheese Croquettes

A mostly humble mix of potatoes and cheese fried together but given a touch of luxury because of the spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg that it is frequently cooked with, although cheaper versions are available in garlic, parsley, etc. Making this another popular choice for the workers of the city who can slip them into large pouches, still wrapped in their paper to eat as they work.

 

Crispy Pork Balls

A nod to the foods frequently eaten when this was a rustic frontier, with the addition of nutmeg and cloves, as well as deep frying, pork balls might be eaten from pouches, as Croquettes are, but are also frequently atop pottages to as a sort of treat for those eating at home at the end of a long, hard day.

 

Oyster in a Bun with Brandy Butter Sauce

Vast beds of shellfish make this one of the cheapest foods to buy in the region (as oysters once were in our history), yet also something favored by merchants and laborers, helping to bridge the gap between what the wealthy and poor eat in the city.

 

 

 Tavern and Inn Foods

Bustling and busy places, who compete against the street foods primarily through the offering of many sauces that wouldn’t be practical for a food on the go. While a few of these places are famous, with merchants and adventurers from all over the world dining within them, most are more local and as with such places nearly everywhere, cater to workers and merchants of various classes, often dictated by their location within the city. This list is more for middle of the road sorts of taverns and inns, the types of places adventurers are likely to eat or stay in.

 

Many of the foods are most popular during the winter, when people are more likely to enter a tavern to eat, rather than simply ordering food outside.

 

Drinks

The drinks of this city and the surrounding villages tend to be flavored with a heavy mixture of herbs and spices or with fresh and dried fruit. In the countryside nettle, juniper, strawberries, thyme, and other things that can be grown locally are more popular. In the city these are present, but so are cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and similar flavors.

 

 

A few Major Dishes of Note

 

Buttery mussels s and potatoes with walnuts

Long rocky coasts provide plenty of room for people to gather mussels, typically in large groups for safety, indeed many people from the city and surrounding area have gone on an outing where mussels were gathered, at least a few times, so many have some emotional attachment to them. That said they are also a very affordable food.

 

Pork and Peas Soup with onions and spices

Most popular during the winter.

 

Fried sausages and cheese in vegetable pottage

Diced sausages and cheese, fried into a gooey mess and placed atop a pottage made primarily of vegetables, with some grain. Stir in as you see fit and add whatever sauce you want.

 

Spiced cabbage and meat fry

Often made hot by pepper, mustard, and other similar spices, This dish is frequently enjoyed by those who like to sweat and is common during the long winter months.

 

Beef in fried bread with a cheese sauce

Minced beef, often with some vegetables, that are made into rough shapes that are wrapped in a thick dough and fried. This would normally seem like a street food, but they are often smothered in drippy sauces and served alongside a medley of vegetables, which are frequently pickled in the winter.

 

Savory Bread Puddings

Something to do with stale bread and what are often a hodge podge of whatever ingredients people have too much of, perhaps a bit of chicken, ham, cheese, vegetables, all soaked in cream and eggs, squished together into a loaf and baked.

Such puddings are often frowned upon by those with means, or at least they were until they tried them while gambling in seedy taverns. Now fancier bread puddings, often with expensive spices and fine meats are becoming common.

 

Roasted Meat with Sweet and Savory Strawberry Sauce

As a means of celebrating spring strawberry became one of the most common bases for sauces, both the sweet and those intended for savory foods. These strawberries can be mixed with tomatoes, garlic, onions, creams, mustard, vinegar, and spices.

 

Herby Goat Cheese, hazelnuts, and Spinach Tart

Outside of basic pottages, this is one of the simplest foods, one of nuts, cheese, and spinach. It started out as something herders would carry into the fields and forests with them but the romanticization of the pastoral life by poets and artists brought its popularity to the city.

 

 

Pork and barley pottage with turnips, parsnips, and spices

The most common dish in taverns that serve affordable fair, for it is the easiest food to make and has the most accessible ingredients.

 

Turnips and pork are grown further out from the city, to make room for the strawberry and vegetables to come fresh. This has given the turnip and pork farmers a rustic and uncouth sort of reputation, a reputation which has been somewhat transferred to the foods.  Not that this has prevented people from subsisting largely on these foods, for price overcomes any reputation, and indeed, many who eat them have come to enjoy the reputation of those who grow them.

 

Lots of little muddy paths run through the forests and hills to and from small villages that herd pigs and grow turnips, as a way of bringing these foods to market. No one really knows all the paths in this maze, making it easy for those not familiar with the region around the town to get lost on them. Yet many of the jobs adventures are hired for are among these paths, in the villages of people who grow their food a bit further afield than the cities military can regularly patrol.

 

 

Turnip, egg, ham mash with a hint of cloves

Mashed and buttery turnips with bits of ham and a cooked egg placed atop it, sometimes sprinkled with cloves.

Another common dish, that sometimes acts as something as a dip or sop for heavy breads. This is considered a good breakfast, given how well it fills up those who eat it early, before they have to spend long hours at work. Thus, it is frequently seen being eaten by most people early on cold mornings.

 

 

Additional Foods of Note

 

Duck and strawberry apple medley

 

Beef and Vegetable stew with cinnamon, and herbs.

 

Herb crusted cod with creamy mustard parsley sauce

 

Breaded and fried vegetables with mushroom, butter, yogurt sauces.

 

Fried, herb stuffed mushrooms with meat and cheese

 

Pork meatballs with mustard, nutmeg, garlic sauce

 

Fried peak cakes (mashed peas, potatoes, and breadcrumbs turned into cakes)

 

Spiced, spinach and lentil soup (cumin, among other things)

 

Baked, mushroom bread pudding, with savory egg custard

 

 

 

Sauces

The regions pride in their sauces in comparison with those around them has pushed them to be creative and to love complexity in the creation of new ones. This isn’t a full list of the sauces they eat, but it is many of the most common or notable.

 

Spiced Mushroom Ketchup with Tomatoes

 

Spiced Cream Sauce

 

Spiced strawberry sauce

 

Sweet Strawberry sauce

 

Sweet mustard with herbs

 

Ground cauliflower, butter, cream sauce with nutmeg

 

Spinach and garlic cream sauce

 

Soft boiled eggs, cream, butter, bits of cheese, and herbs/spices all whipped together.

 

Garlic, oil, vinegar

 

Creamy garlic sauce

 

Sour Cream Herb Sauce

 

Cinnamon Golden Sauce

 

Walnut, garlic, oil, flax sauce, with herbs and sometimes tomatoes

 

Tomatoes, onions, garlic, oil, cream

 

Butter with parsley, garlic, and vinegar

 

Sauces

 

Egg and herb custard sauce

 

Creamy, Cheese, and mustard sauce

 

Spiced cider gravy (butter, cider, cinnamon, cloves, and a little meat broth)

 

Caramelized Onion and Sour Cream with thyme, garlic, often served with meat topped fry breads.

 

 

Impact of Foodways on Geography, Culture, and Economy

 Fields of blue flax flowers, of strawberries, orchards of fruit, and extensive fields of vegetables would make for a beautiful countryside surrounding the city. Often these would be connected by a web of wagon rutted roads. Further out would exist the places for the raising of meat and dairy. Swine are often herded through forests to eat, meaning the forests and pasture lands would be crisscrossed by a maze of muddy pig and cattle drover trails that would be in constant need of securing against the many dangers of the fantasy world. It is probable that militias, military aid from the city, and a constant string of sometimes semi-permanent adventurers would frequently patrol and undertake quests simply to keep the food flowing to the city.

 In our own world, when Rome, New York, the Lowlands, and more began to balloon into large urban centers this altered the farming villages around the cities, for the popularity of vegetables and fruit made these ever more popular. But farming these foods is often fairly labor intensive, so the switch to this type of agriculture often requires additional money. This meant that in many cases a lot (though not all) the small farmers ended up selling their farms near the cities, many moving to the city or working as laborers on the land they once owned.

 

Vegetable Farmers

The growing importance of vegetable and herb farming would create a certain amount of cultural disagreement between the larger city and the countryside, because vegetable farming can frequently alter a culture, as can massive international trade and living in a city.

 I am using the Hofstede Cultural Dimensions for this discussion as these are some of the best attested and most widely studied cross-cultural measures.

 Note: it is important to keep in mind that cultural differences created by farming are still variations from a local mean. In other words, while wheat farming communities in China are more individualist than other communities, they are still more collectivist than most of Japan, for example.

 

Power Distance Index (PDI)

Because vegetable farming requires a large amount of collaboration between people, workers, traders, etc. it tends to lead to more egalitarian systems of living and governance. It can also lead to the creation of cooperatives, in which a certain amount of decision making and income is shared between farmers, although certainly not all or even most of it.

 

2. Individualism vs. Collectivism (IDV)

The labor-intensive nature of vegetable farming and the need for people to stick with their roles in society would mean that people would tend to be more collectivist. Unlike the city where international trade would encourage people to seek their own path and allow them the right to choose their own social roles, in the countryside, roles would often be more dictated by family and social need and tradition.

 

3. Motivation towards Achievement and Success (MAS)

People would tend to be more cooperative and less motivated by individual success than in the city.

 

4. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)

Vegetable farmers would suffer greatly from uncertainty, raids by monsters, problems with weather, fluctuations in demand and market prices, would make people less accepting of uncertainty. They would therefore attempt to mitigate this through tradition, superstition, and the use of magic as much as possible. This in turn would make druids, clerics, wizards, more important to their society as a whole.

 

 Villages

Growing vegetables and the digging of associated canals would likely allow for larger villages, strung along the roads and canals like ribbons with only small or no real gaps between them as the fields would extend out from these. Such villages would be relatively egalitarian, perhaps having councils that make up the entire village, allowing everyone to have a potential say in every decision, including court cases.

 That said there would be wealth and influence, which would likely be those who could use a wide range of magic such as clerics, wizards, and druids and major investors who could be nobility, merchants from the city, etc. Although their power might not be codified, many of the people of the villages would be dependent on them and so would be loathe to vote against them.

Pirates, Thieves, and Smugglers

The presence of a lot of high value products, such as vegetables, herbs, butter, cheese, and spices – along with what would likely be high taxes on goods brought into the city has historically encouraged a lot of smuggling, theft, and piracy. Much of this begins with smuggling, whole villages would likely become involved in avoiding levies and fees associated with roads and transporting goods. There would be hidden storage spaces, secret tunnels, and the like, all to avoid taxes. This, after all, has historic precedence in our own world and is recorded as far back as the Bronze Age. It is likely that the most smuggled items in 18^th century England were Tea, Tobacco, Brandy, chocolate, Wool, and other textiles. Really anything that could be hauled in large volumes and which is subject to some form of tax. In Japan for a long time rice was smuggled about the country, as fields were taxed based on the amount of rice they produced so the actual amounts were hidden to reduce this.

The advantage here is that, with homes so close together it would be easier to move goods from one safe house to another at night, hiding them from patrols and authorities during the day. Smuggling of this sort, however, has also historically encouraged organized crime. Thus, guilds of criminals would likely extend out into the countryside.  

 

 

Secret Tunnels and Chambers

Churches, homes, barns and more all had secret chambers to help facilitate smuggling, and these were often forgotten as time went on. Regardless, the presence of secret chambers in small villages could facilitate other sorts of more dangerous activities and monsters which could come to the attention of adventurers.

 

Adventurers

The fact that these villages are strung along like ribbons would make them relatively easy to patrol, but it could also potentially create little pockets of wilderness. This could give rise to high population densities of deer as are seen in the American Heartland and the farmlands around places like New York, with the state having about 20 deer per square mile. These deer could feed on the farmed foods to some extent, while remaining hidden in the out of the way batches. This in turn would provide food for many other creatures that might only occasionally emerge and become a problem for the people of the region.

Adventurers, however, might be called on not only to deal with problems which arise but to help reduce the potential for problems by seeking out dangers in the wilds before they emerge, or weaning down the number of dangerous, especially invasive creatures, the way government workers currently hunt and wean out invasive creatures in our own world, except instead of killer bees and northern pike, these invasive creatures could include manticore and ankheg.  

 

Migration and Magic

Labor intensive farming would likely bring in many additional people looking for work. It could also encourage the creation of Hedge Wizards. That is wizards who focus on spells like “unseen servant” geared towards very specific tasks, as a way of speeding up production.

This later point, the importance of magic to labor could create a new social hierarchy, similar to how millers often became the wealthiest and most influential people in small medieval villages, wizards, druids, and clerics. might in vegetable growing regions.

 

Economic Diversification

Flax especially would expand the industrial base of the region, allowing for the production of lamp oil, oil for painting, food oils, textiles, book making, magic scrolls, etc. Textile workers were once hugely important to the power of guilds and ordinary people as they were well organized, while the importance of making magical books and scrolls would encourage the creation of libraries in the region.

 

Social Stratification and Class Identity

The inflow of spices would make food a major marker of social status and stratification. This association, in turn, likely also increases the importance of manners while eating, as this is a further way to differentiate social classes. One, after all, knows immediately if someone doesn’t belong if they don’t know which fork is used for which dish or how to lay down to eat properly, as two examples.

 

Canals

Vegetables would need to be well watered and shipped to market quickly which would encourage the extensive creation of canals on which boats could travel swiftly down towards the ocean city, while returning home more slowly.

 

Cultural Melting Pot

Massive international trade, migrations, and the like would mean that people in the region would meet with and have to get along with people from many different cultures.

 

Tourism Attraction

Religious pilgrimages, natural beauty, etc. have long been important points for tourism, but so too has food. In the middle ages regions would often name cheeses after themselves to encourage people to visit them or at least pass through them during pilgrimages.

 

Festivals and Religion

Many of the most important gods and festivals have historically been tied to food in some way. This is more than just harvest and planting festivals. Major celebrations were also timed to coincide with the slaughter of animals (such as winter festivals similar to Christmas and Yule), with the first milk, with the opening of wine barrels, etc.

 

Smugglers, Pirates, and Thieves Guilds

High value items that can be relatively small

 

 

Swineherds, Cattle, and Grain

Although meat is usually raised further out on the periphery, as is grain, they would still be present to some extent, near the city and certainly would be a primary source of income in the heartland of whatever continent it was on. As such, while I won’t spend too much time discussing their overall impact, a few points would be interesting about them.

 First pigs were often raised on forest foods and in wooded areas. As such they would likely require adventurers, rangers and druids most especially to keep the herders and animals safe.

 Cattle herding often involved people moving animals between various pasture lands and living in homes that would stand empty for half or more of the year. In fairy tales such homes were often occupied by fairies during the times when humans were away and we can of course imagine pixies, sprites, satyrs, and the like moving into these homes in the wintertime. This created something of a bond between humans and fairies out in these peripheral regions and explains why places that would herd cattle and sheep were the last to stop believing in fairies within our own world.

 Grain farms tend to be much larger, and with a few exceptions (such as rice) they require less labor per acre than vegetable farming. This tends to create more individualist societies than those closer to the city, though usually not so individualist as those within the cities.

 

 

A few Recipes

I am only including three recipes in this post, but will be adding more as time goes on, not only for this region but for others.

Pork Sausage and Asparagus Pie

 

For the filling:

1 pounds chopped Asparagus 

1 pound diced pork sausage

1/4 Cup chopped and crushed Walnuts

3 diced scallions

3 diced garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 tablespoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon powdered thyme

2 tablespoons mushroom broth

Salt and Pepper to taste

Vegetable oil for cooking. Walnut or flax seed work well, but really any will do.

 

Fry the asparagus, stirring it only occasionally so it can blister.

Add the pork and a little salt and cook for a while

Once the pork has started to brown add the scallions, garlic, ginger, and other spices and keep cooking and stirring until everything is well fried and blended.

 

This is usually placed inside a shortening based pie crust (I often buy it premade but there are numerous recipes for this). The pie crust you use determines how long you bake this.

  

 

Buttery Mussels with potatoes and  (optional) nuts

1 Pound mussels

1/2 pound cooked mashed potatoes  or mashed turnips if there are no potatoes in this part of your fantasy world.

Optional 1/4 cup diced hazelnuts, walnuts, or other seeds

3 tablespoons butter

2 minced cloves of garlic

1/2 tablespoon berry brandy, sloe gin, or berry juice

1/2 tablespoon dry thyme

1/2 teaspoon bay leaf powder

1/2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Pepper to taste

(Optional) Sour cream with thyme, basil, and rosemary or (butter spice sauce)

Cook the mussels on high heat in a frying pan you can cover with a lid or a Dutch oven, shaking occasionally, util the mussels open (usually about 5 or 6 minutes).

Remove the mussels from the liquid with tongs or some other safe method and let the liquid continue to simmer.

Discard any unopened mussels and remove the rest from their shells and chop.

When the liquid from the mussels is reduced by half add the butter and garlic until tender.

Add the mussels, (nuts if using) parsley and juice/brandy, add a pinch or two of pepper.

Put this mixture over mashed potatoes

You can add additional butter or sour cream with herbs if you want.

 

 

Butter Spice Sauce

3 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon ground bay leaves

1 tablespoon smoked salt

1 teaspoon celery seed

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon mustard

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon parsley

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

 

Mix the dry ingredients together

Mix in with the butter.

You can use it on hot meat, fish, vegetables, or seafood, or cook with either.