True story, about thirty years ago I was making this recipe. And it called for Beau Monde Seasoning. Any true gourmand knows what I went through to get it.
I searched far and wide, high and low. Finally I found it at a bulk food store on Michigan Avenue and Outer Drive Streets in nearby Dearborn, MI.
I do have to tell you. It clearly had been lying around in their bin I could tell, which might have something to do with what I am about to say.
But Beau Monde Seasoning is just Celery Salt!
Correct me if I am wrong. But it looks like celery salt. It tastes like Celery Salt. Need I go on?
Purists please prove me wrong, if you must. But someone please back me up here too. Because even in bulk, it’s not cheap. Thank you .
(Oh, and this is not just is not a rhetorical question. Is it just Celery Salt? As I said, my sample was a little old. Could that’ve made a difference?)
Googling “what is in beau monde seasoning” yields a variety of results and ingredient lists, though celery seed appears to be the constant. Depending on the particular formulation, it may also have onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper, black pepper, cinnamon, sugar, and/or salt.
It looks like Spice Islands has the trademark on the name Beau Monde for seasoning; their web site lists the ingredients as “Salt, Dextrose, Onion, Celery Seed and Silicon Dioxide.” (Dextrose is a type of sugar; silicon dioxide is an anti-caking agent.)
Celery salt, OTOH, appears to usually be just ground celery seed and salt.
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