by JANA WILSON
While you may not currently be able to travel to far-flung exotic places, the Nashville Spice Company in neighboring Brown County, Indiana, can at least bring flavors from around the globe to you.
“Spices are grown in all parts of the world,” says co-owner Greg Fox. “We’ve had international students from Indiana University tell us that certain spices we carry are just like the ones they get at home.”
It might be the Syrian-based Za’atar made with sesame seeds, sumac, coriander, cumin, lemon zest, coarse sea salt, and anise seed that a student found so comforting. Or it could be the pork rub with demerara sugar, ginger, coriander, clove, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, sesame, black pepper, and lemongrass that made a Vietnamese student feel at home.
These unique tastes that identify a country’s cuisine are what first sparked a passion for spices for Fox and co-owner Mark Schmidt. The pair has traveled extensively and found themselves drawn to local spice shops.
Fox and Schmidt opened the Nashville Spice Company in 2017. Today the shop, located at 227 S. Van Buren St., offers an array of original spice blends, carefully curated kitchen items, and other types of homeware.
Recently, the partners acquired a building just outside of Nashville that serves as their test kitchen and production facility. Here, with the help of resident chef Carrie Douglas, they hand blend and bottle spices themselves, rather than through an outside company.
Also, in their test kitchen, Fox and Schmidt plan to offer cooking classes designed around the use of spices from different cuisines.
For curbside pickup or to have spices shipped to your home, visit nashvillespicecompany.com.
