A local spice company is getting some worldwide exposure, thanks to celebrity chef/foodie Andrew Zimmern. Blends by Litchfield-based Gryffon Ridge Spice Merchants are now available at shop.andrewzimmern.com.
“Andrew is a really talented man, and when he finds something he likes, he wants to bring it to attention to other folks,” said Gryffon Ridge CEO and co-founder Christine Pistole in an interview with The Times Record.
Zimmern — host of the Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods,” “The Zimmern List” and “Andrew Zimmern’s Driven by Food” — is no stranger to the Midcoast, having made recent visits to Five Islands Lobster Co. in Georgetown and Red’s Eats in Wiscasset. According to Pistole, it was while on a trip to Maine that Zimmern discovered Gryffon Ridge.
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime that’s going to turn corners,” Pistole said.
The company, which sells a vast array of herbs and spices in addition to blends, got its start in 2009, premiering at a Brunswick farmers’ market. In 2013, the company moved from Dresden to Litchfield.
Gryffon Ridge brands itself as “Maine’s only Certified Organic Spice Merchant.” Being organic, she said, helps to set her brand apart. Pistole said she doesn’t use anti-caking agents, MSG, stabilizers or fillers in her spice blends. Her home business is gluten- and peanut-free.
“It’s just true herbs and spices in our blends,” she said. “Our blends are spice-priority, and not salt.”
The company sells a variety of blends to suit most any taste or mood. Those looking for a taste of the Arabian peninsula may want to sample the Bezar Seasoning for the flavors of cumin, fennel and turmeric, among other ingredients. For something a little closer to home, the Moosehead Grilling rub contains juniper berries, black pepper, allspice, bay leaves and cloves. Want something south-of-the-border for fajitas or tacos? There’s Ziggy’s “My Brain is on Fire” Mexican Blend — a mix of chile, cayan, garlic and other spices.
Inspiration for new blends comes from brainstorming sessions with friends and while cooking. Research is also important, but so is taste and trial and error.
“There’s not a magic formula out there,” said Pistole. “It’s really all about the taste and the tongue and the palate.”
Balance in a spice blend is important, she said, adding “it’s about getting to where nothing over-pow- ers.”
The blends are created in small batches in Pistole’s commercial-grade kitchen. She does her own roasting of seeds and grinding.
“Everything’s done by smell, everything’s done by texture. If I don’t like the way it goes, it goes in the trash, and I start all over,” Pistole said. “When I’m roasting on the stove, I go and I go until the smoke is just right and the smell is just right. There’s certain ones, like the Sri Lankan curry, which is a dark roast. I put fans in the windows and the neighbors down the road know I’m making it. Every seed is roasted to just this side of the fire alarms going off.”
Gryffon Ridge ingredients are imported throughout the world. Her cinnamon comes from Vietnam, for example, chilies come from Mexico. Others are grown in Italy, India and France.
“To get the best spices out there, you really should be buying from the local region, to get the flavortones,” she said.
As far as her own palate is concerned, Pistole said this: “I’m all over the marketplace. I really am. I’m a lover of curries. I’m a lover of Indian food. I grew up in California where I was surrounded by some of the best Mexican cooking.”
She said it’s important to her business and her creativity to live and work in a rural area.
“One thing about working for yourself is you have to make sure you surround yourself in tranquility and where you’re comfortable,” Pistole said, regarding her home business tucked away in the Litchfield woods. “Every day, I watch my ducks, my chickens. I have six-and-a-half acres on the top of a hill, and it’s gorgeous.”
Stores throughout Maine carry Gryffon Ridge products, which can also be found at gryffonridge.com. You can also catch Pistole at local cooking demonstrations, such as at Now You’re Cooking in Bath. She is also at the Saturday farmers’ market in Brunswick.
“We’re a small business,” Pistole said. “I like that I’m the only crafter of the blends. When I make a blend I put a lot of love into it.”
jswinconeck@timesrecord.com
Variety is the spice of life
• LITCHFIELD-BASED Gryffon Ridge Spice Merchants sells a variety of blends to suit most any taste or mood. Those looking for a taste of the Arabian peninsula may want to sample the Bezar Seasoning for the flavors of cumin, fennel and turmeric, among other ingredients. For something a little closer to home, the Moosehead Grilling rub contains juniper berries, black pepper, allspice, bay leaves and cloves. Want something south-of-the-border for fajitas or tacos? There’s Ziggy’s “My Brain is on Fire” Mexican Blend — a mix of chile, cayan, garlic and other spices.
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