Edible Blue Ridge Fall 2022

SHARING THE BOUNTY Please make a point of supporting these locally owned businesses in our community

FromMetal to Market, From Stone to Spice WORDS GRANT KITTRELL PHOTOS COURTESY OF STONE SPICE COMPANY

“What is the recipe for a productive show?” When Josh Stone of Stone Spice Company posed this question, he wasn’t talking about his spices, though he very well could have been. Likewise, he could have been ex amining his passion for music, particularly the live concert–all of the show’s ingredients coming together to create a more powerful whole–but no, at this point in our interview, Stone was describing his reverence for the local farmer’s market: the vendors, with their unique stories and talents, all coming together to support and serve each other and the lo cal community. A “productive show,” according to Stone, relies on the insight and kindness of others. The learn-as-you-go method is nothing new to this entrepreneur, who never had any formal culinary training before starting down this peppered path–just a keen taste for BBQ wings and an itch to make a deserving dry rub. And that’s what he did in 2014, tossing together the “sweetness of garlic with the feisty orange habanero” to create what eventually would be called “Kiss of Fire.” After some support from a lo cal BBQ kitchen, who let Stone put his first experiment to the test (on wings, of course!), and with some encouragement from his wife, Deidre, a Lynchburg designer who wasted no time creating the company’s logo, Stone has since dedicated his time to imagining (and reimagining) a wide selection of uniquely flavorful blends. Learning curve? Sure, but Stone’s lack of formal training has allowed him to work beyond some of the limits a culinary education might have otherwise imposed. “I’ve been allowed to think outside the box,” he added. Indeed, from his often-unorthodox spice pairings to their equally energetic titles, Stone’s creative choices have been very much…his own. Try “Black ‘n Roll,” for instance, a blackening seasoning named, in part, after Stone’s love of the genre (black metal + rock ‘n roll); try his popu

lar line of “BBQT” blends, including the sweet “Buzzin’ BBQT” or its spicier cousins “Kickin’” and “Screamin’”; try “Adobodacious,” an adobo blend that contains, among other spices, Mexican oregano, white pep per, and turmeric–did someone say Taco Tuesday? In several recipes, Stone has also worked to cut out the usual salts and sugars, replacing them with more healthful alternatives: try apple cider vinegar powder; try granulated molasses. He’s also worked to create hot blends (some times very hot) that “actually taste good,” incorporating sumac and tan gerine zest, for instance, in his “Hot Toddy,” to highlight the fruitiness of the Carolina Reaper and amchur (dried unripened mango) to pull together other big flavors and balance the heat. And while his experi ments often start with a specific name and application in mind, Stone is no stranger to feedback–from a microphone or otherwise. His “Heat Tart” blend, for instance, was intended as a dry rub, but found a much clearer calling as a seafood blend. “Growing up, I never had any aspirations,” Stone said. He also didn’t like red sauce on his pasta, a fact that directly inspired his most popular blend, “Sketti Sprinkle” (black pepper, basil, garlic powder, onion pow der, parsley and sea salt). Stone seems to have found his calling in the years since, and that mission seems as tied to a smorgasbord of small, regional businesses as it does to his own recipes, as if each were drawn in herently from the other. Before our interview simmered to a close, Stone proudly lifted one of his black leather high-top boots above the table’s edge. He had purchased them after the suggestion of a fellow vendor, who thought they’d be better-suited for those long Saturdays standing at the Forest Farmer’s Market. Stone beamed with gratitude, seeming ready to take the stage. He let out a modest chuckle as he returned his foot to the floor, adding, “We all flourish when we help each other out.”

http://www.stonespicecompany.com

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