A couple of weeks ago, I drove to downtown Franklin to visit the
Savory Spice Shop. I needed to pick up a nifty gift set that I won from
Zest and Zealand took the opportunity to learn more about the shop and check out what it’s all about.
First, it’s different from the Stardust Tea & Spices store in West Nashville that I wrote about last year; Savory Spice Shop in Franklin is a franchise of a Denver store and spicerie (if you will). Yes, they sell a huge selection of individual spices and herbs, but a large portion of their business is in selling spice blends. Of the more than 400 items available in the stores, roughly 160 are spice blends from sweet to savory, Middle Eastern to Mexican, and from mild to hot.
There are dried and powdered chilies, pickling blends, tea blends, curry blends from all over India and Africa, multiple types of cocoa powder, flavored sugars, vanilla beans, and extracts. The shop is helpfully divided into sections based on the type of seasoning and/or what it’s used for. For example, the ingredients generally used for baking sweets are all in the same general area. I even saw organic arrowroot powder, an ingredient I often see in recipes for vegan ice cream to help with a creamy consistency.
All the seasonings are ground by hand in small batches in the Denver headquarters and restocked on a weekly basis, so what’s available in each store is as fresh as possible. The majority do not contain preservatives, MSG, gluten, dairy or nuts (if they do; they are labeled,) and there are no anti-caking agents added. And you can sniff and taste everything in the Savory Spice Shop before you buy. You can purchase many seasonings in as little as 1-ounce increments if you’re wary of commitment or just don’t need very much of a certain ingredient. And if you don’t know exactly what you want, the staff can help; Franklin store owner Hollie Rollins attended an intense “spice university” at the company’s headquarters before opening.
Despite spending an hour sniffing and tasting and learning about spices, I managed to leave with just my gift pack and bottles of Vietnamese Sweet Lemon Curry, Za’atar, and Herbs in Duxelles Seasoning, which was nearby a collection of specialty dried mushrooms, including morels. It was a veritable playground for a cook. My daughter enjoyed smelling and sampling the spices as well, though I believe the cocoa was her favorite. I recommend budgeting at least an hour to do the same the first time you stop by.
Savory Spice Shop
324 Main St., Franklin
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Noon-5 p.m. Sunday
(615) 472-8980
