Before there was an Oaktown Spice Shop, John Beaver spent his days at the grinding mill of a spice shop in his hometown of Milwaukee. The work taught him valuable lessons about the spice-making process that he would carry with him. For example, the moment a whole spice is ground, it begins to release its oils, and from there the flavor only fades.
He carried that lesson to Oakland, where he and Erica Perez found a city that cared a great deal about food. People bought their produce at the farmers market and their meat from the butcher shop, and John and Erica couldn't help asking why the same thought didn't go into where their spices came from. In 2011, they opened Oaktown Spice Shop.
The process still looks a lot like John's old job. They search for the best-tasting version of each spice they can find, wherever in the world that happens to be, then grind it in small batches. Speed matters here. Grind too fast and the mill adds heat, which dulls the very flavor the grinding is meant to release. Each batch is sifted for texture before it goes into a jar or into one of the shop's own blends.
The blend most people know them for is Golden Milk, hand-mixed from turmeric, ginger, Vietnamese cinnamon, cardamom, and black pepper. The drink it's named for has ancient roots in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The earthiness of the turmeric gets its balance from the rest of the jar, with cinnamon and cardamom on the sweet side and ginger and black pepper on the spicy one. Whisk it into warm milk (any kind you like) and it turns creamy and fragrant. It's also good stirred into oatmeal or a bowl of pancake batter.
Their own trick is to cook the blend into a paste with coconut oil and keep it in the fridge, so a cup is never more than a spoonful away. The oil holds the spices in suspension and makes for a smoother drink, though they're candid that some sediment settles at the bottom no matter what.
You'll find Golden Milk in our Farm Stand, along with a few of their other blends.
Their Better Than Everything Bagel spice is filled with black pepper, garlic, fennel — the same blend you would find at a bagel shop. Shake it over eggs, roasted vegetables, grilled meat, or a salad, and yes, it still belongs on a bagel with cream cheese.
The Umami Sea Salt is sea salt blended with shiitake mushrooms and black garlic, and what comes out is deeply savory. Season a steak with it, or stir a pinch into a pot of soup.
The Oaktown Sweet Heat BBQ Rub runs to twenty ingredients, with sassafras leaf, grains of paradise, lemongrass, and rose petals among them, and the result is sweet and complex with a hint of umami underneath. Rub it on chicken or pork chops, or toss it with vegetables before they go onto a skewer.
Twist the lid off a fresh jar Oaktown spice and you'll understand why John and Erica put so much effort into making spices that are well-worth the work.
Oaktown Spice Shop's Golden Milk
Recipe courtesy of Oaktown Spice Shop. Makes about ½ cup of paste, enough for 10 to 20 cups.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Oaktown Spice Shop Golden Milk
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tsp honey or sweetener, to taste
Directions
- Combine spices and water in a saucepan and whisk to combine. Add coconut oil and bring to a simmer, then simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, whisking constantly. Let cool, then whisk in honey or sweetener of choice.
- Store the paste in a clean jar. It will keep in the fridge for about 3 months.
- For Golden Milk, gently heat a cup of milk of choice. Whisk in 1 to 2 teaspoons of paste.
How To Add Farm Stand Products to Your Delivery
Farm Fresh To You members: Head on over to our online Farm Stand Market to customize your upcoming delivery. Market is open from noon on Thursday until 6 p.m. on your cutoff date. After you confirm your produce items, click the orange button "Confirm and Continue To Other Farm Products" to add the products to your delivery.
Not part of our farm family? Find out if we deliver to your neighborhood. You can even get your whole office in on the fun with our office snack packs. Find more information about our office deliveries here.
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Photos: Oaktown Spice Shop
