The holiday season is here, and there’s no better time than now to sit down with fellow foodie and owner of Arome, Janice Bell, and talk all things food and spices. Arome is the spice and kitchenware shop located in downtown Hood River, Oregon. It’s a beautiful store (one of my favorites!) and chock full of culinary delights including spices and herbs, high quality olive oils and vinegars, and top-notch kitchen supplies.
One step into the store and you are hit with the exotic smells and colors of various herbs and spices that stoke the senses and entice the appetite. Arome carries many locally-sourced spices and herbs, including dried hot peppers like the Carolina Reapers and ghost pepper-infused salt from grower Mike Benedict, to the locally-harvested thyme, basil and savory from Jean Marie’s Garden. Spices and herbs, not sourced locally, are purchased through small reputable suppliers that buy and sell only the highest quality ingredients from sustainable and ethical farming operations around the globe.
If you are like me, you have long forgotten jars of spices and herbs shoved into the far corners of your cupboards collecting dust. If so, it’s time to toss those old jars and replenish your supply at Arome. Janice’s advice is to open your jars of spices and take a sniff. If you can’t smell the spice, you’re not going to taste it in your food and it’s time to toss it. As for your herbs, take a pinch and rub it between your fingers and smell. Nothing? Then toss it. Ground spices will keep for about six months, while whole spices will keep for upwards of two years, if stored correctly. Temperature, light and humidity factor into the shelflife of spices, so make sure and store your spices in a cool and dry location.
Like many small businesses in the Gorge, COVID has impacted business and the overall shopping experience at Arome. Temporarily gone are the days of offering samples and enjoying lengthy conversations about the use of one herb or another in recipes. Instead, exchanges with customers have turned into brief murmurs through masked faces, or quick transactions for those picking up their supplies curbside. But, Janice and her staff continue to persevere. Arome recently revamped their website. It now includes photos and detailed notes on all items carried in the store and customers can now shop online. Shoppers can also place orders for pick up, or shop in the store as usual, as long as masked and respectful of social distancing rules. As for recipes and recommended uses of herbs and spices? Janice has put recipe cards out in the store to demonstrate how certain herbs and spices can be used and what to expect from their flavor profiles.
One of Janice‘s favorite items in the store right now is the Urfa chili. The Urfa chili is a partially preserved turkish chili that traditionally comes from the town of Urfa, in the south of Turkey on the Syrian border. The pepper is preserved by drying it in the sun during the day and wrapping it tightly at night to sweat the pepper and infuse the flesh with the remaining, and concentrated, moisture and flavor of the pepper. Once preserved, the pepper imparts a smoky, salty, raisin-like flavor. Janice recommends taking one teaspoon of ground Urfa Chili, one tablespoon of ground paprika, a ¼ teaspoon of lemon zest and the juice from half a lemon, mixed with enough olive oil to make a paste. Stir this paste into roasted potatoes, or rub it over roasted chicken to make a would be standard dish into something incredible.
In addition to the Urfa chili, other store favorites include the truffle salt, balsamic vinegar with fig, and their renowned Piri Piri spice blend. Check out these items, and many more, at https://www.aromehoodriver.com/, or in-store. Arome is located at 105 Oak St., in downtown Hood River. They are open seven days a week from 10 to 6, Mondays through Fridays, and 11 to 5 on Sundays. It’s a perfect place to replenish your spices, whether for your own cooking or for presents for your friends or family this holiday season.
