Do you love to cook, or know someone who’s a wizard in the kitchen? Then you’ve got to visit Savory Spice Shop in downtown Westfield, a gourmand’s dream come true with its comprehensive collection of freshly ground spices from around the world. I bet you’ll never buy a plastic jar of stale spices from the supermarket again!

Owned by the dynamic sister-dou Becky Solheim and Jackie Mittelhammer, Savory opened in November of 2010. Both sisters have backgrounds in finance, but it’s their passion for food and spices that they were excited to share with the town of Westfield and beyond.

What can you expect to find at Savory? Individual spices, of course, from basil to paprika and everything in between, but you’ll also find: specialty salts; customized spice blends; hot sauces; locally made products such as jams, teas, and honey; as well as cooking products like mortars and pestles, grinders and mills, salt cellars, cedar planks, etc. A Savory spice pack would make a fabulous hostess gift, don’t you think? They have more than 40 themes to choose from, including “Best of BBQ,” “Curry Lovers,” and “Roots to Greens.”

Here’s one of the many great reasons to shop at Savory — you only have to buy what you NEED. In other words, if you only need a little bit of cumin for a recipe, there’s no need to buy a whole expensive jar. According to Jackie: “One of our mottos is ‘taste what you want, buy what you need.’ Our shop provides tasters of pretty much all of products, which allows you to really get a sense of what you may or may not like prior to bringing it home. We grind our spices on a weekly basis to ensure the freshest product possible, so there’s a big difference in smell and taste of our products when compared to your typical grocery-store-bought spices. We often hear things like, ‘why is your parsley so green?’ and ‘my food has never tasted so good!'”

Jackie was kind enough to share one of the shop’s favorite recipes, which uses one of their most popular seasoning blends, Peruvian Chile Lime Seasoning. Yum! http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/recipes/peruvian-turkey-burgers.html.

You know I love hearing about local businesses working together. The folks at Savory have established an excellent reputation among local businesses, many of which now use Savory’s products in their establishments — John’s Meat Market of Scotch Plains, Red Knot Restaurant at Galloping Hill, and Loaded of Garwood all use Savory’s spices in their kitchens. Savory has also paired up with Cool Vines for unique wine tastings, and Weight Watchers for showcasing healthy cooking with herbs and spices.

The shop hosts events monthly, ranging from cooking classes and demonstrations with local chefs to local organizations looking for a fun night out.  For more information call 908-264-8947 or visit http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/new-jersey/westfield.html.

You can find Savory Spice Shop at 138 E. Broad Street.

HOURS:

Monday-Friday: 10 am to 6 pm

Saturday: 10 am to 5 pm

Sunday: 11 am to 4 pm