Beau Monde Seasoning Mix

Make your own Beau Monde Seasoning Mix and store it in a tightly closed container to use in recipes. It's fun to make your own seasoning blends and homemade mixes. You can customize them to your tastes. It's also usually a lot easier than trying to find these blends at the store.

Beau Monde Seasoning mix is a combination of fairly ordinary spices that is a delicious blend when used on meats or chicken. It's also really good mixed with ground beef or ground turkey to make hamburgers.

The phrase "beau mode" means "good society" in French. No one really knows the origin of the blend or why it's named as it is. 

This blend typically combines celery seed, onion powder, and garlic powder. You can subtract any of the spices called for or add ones that you like. Add some cinnamon or perhaps some ground thyme or basil.

The bay leaf must be ground because this leaf has a very sharp spine that can cause injury if eaten. Make sure that the leaf is completely ground to a powder. You can also grind the celery seed for a more blended mixture.

To grind spices, use a coffee or spice grinder. Add the spices and pulse the machine as you would a blender or food processor. To clean a spice grinder, you can run some bread cubes through it. That will pick up any spice leftover, and give you seasoned bread crumbs into the bargain!

Most spice blends will last about six months if stored in a cool, dark place. Make sure that you are starting with very fresh spices. The spices should smell very strong; if they don't, discard them and buy new ones. Always mark spices with the purchase date if they don't have an expiration date stamped on the bottle or jar.

Label this mixture with the name and date it was made. Use it in soups, stews, casseroles, and to season grilled meat and chicken.