Food Allergies in Baltimore: Old Bay and Crab Cakes

Food allergies in Baltimore begin with a seasoning and a shellfish. Old Bay, born in the city, is a blend that includes celery salt, and the crab it seasons is crustacean shellfish. Add the binder in a crab cake and the breading on a fried dish, and several questions appear at once. This guide offers questions to ask, not a verdict on any plate.

What do food allergies in Baltimore involve?

Baltimore eats crab in many forms, from steamed crabs with a spiced coating to crab cakes and soups. The common thread is a spice mix and a shellfish. A diner who avoids shellfish has an obvious question, and a diner who avoids celery or mustard has a less obvious one, because those two are not on the FDA's list of nine major allergens.

The notes below are a map of where to ask. Your own doctor decides what is right for you.

What is in Old Bay, and why does it matter?

Wikipedia says Old Bay was created in Baltimore and is a blend of herbs and spices, including celery salt, red pepper, black pepper and paprika. It adds that other spices that may be used include bay leaves, mustard, cardamom, cloves and ginger, and that exact proportions are not published. So the exact mix is the maker's, and a kitchen may use a house version.

Celery and mustard are not among the FDA's nine, which are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. A menu that lists by the nine may never mention them, so name celery or mustard aloud if either is your concern.

Where does the seasoning show up?

Wikipedia says the blend is mainly used on crab and shrimp and also appears in clam chowder, oyster stew and on popcorn, fries and chicken wings. Steamed crabs are often coated in a spice mix that the diner handles with bare fingers, so the spice transfers to the hands, the table and the paper.

If a seasoning matters to you, ask what blend is used, whether it is a branded blend or a house mix, and whether other items on the menu are dusted with it. Fries and wings from a shared fryer or a shared shaker are common places for it to travel.

What can a crab cake hold?

It is crab meat bound with something, and the binder often involves egg, bread crumbs or crackers, and mayonnaise or mustard. These are general cooking patterns, so confirm each one. That brings wheat, egg and sometimes mustard in with the crab, and the cake may be fried or broiled in a pan that other items share. Our guide to the dish explains it.

Ask what is in the binder, what the cake is cooked in, and whether the sauce on the side carries mustard, egg or other ingredients.

What about steamed crabs and raw bars?

At a crab feast, the spice, the paper, the mallets and the shared tray are all part of the table. If you avoid shellfish, the shared tray is the problem, and few kitchens can separate it. Raw bars serve oysters and other shellfish from shared ice, so ask how items are separated. Our oyster bar guide covers the raw side.

Molluscs such as oysters are not crustaceans and are not on the FDA's nine, so name them aloud if they matter to you.

What about pit beef and the market stalls?

Not every Baltimore classic is shellfish. Pit beef is grilled roast beef sliced thin on a roll, and the bun, the sauce and the horseradish are the questions. Our pit beef guide covers it, and market stalls make many small items in one space, so ask the person who made yours.

For any sandwich, ask about the roll, the sauce and the surface where it was assembled.

How do you ask at a Baltimore table or counter?

Say the allergy first, then ask a pointed question: "I have a celery allergy, is there celery salt or a spice blend in this?" Ask whether a seasoning is added after cooking, and whether the same tools touch other orders. Ask the person to check with the cook. A server who offers to bring the question to the kitchen and return with a clear answer is doing the job well, and one who guesses is worth thanking and then double-checking.

Write down the answer and the date. Spice mixes and suppliers change, and a seasoning that was left off one week can be added the next.

What can the Mosey app do for your planning?

In the Mosey app, "Hide dishes that list" lets you choose allergens, and it hides any dish a place has listed with one. A dish with no entry stays and reads "Allergens not listed, ask the place", which is a cue to ask. Your choice stays on your phone, and the control works on dishes, never on places.

Rate dishes with a note of the answer, use tags as one diner's view, follow friends with similar needs and keep a list named Spice questions that others can join by link. A place can declare allergens in its dashboard.

Where else can you read about Baltimore?

Try the Maryland page, the Baltimore page, the US food guides, the lists page and the federal rules guide. Southward again, the Atlanta guide starts with pecans.

On your next Baltimore crab feast, get the Mosey app, rate the dish and write down what you were told.