The Passion Behind Mitten Made Spice
Mitten Made Spice began with a love for flavor and the art of cooking, founded on a few simple convictions. Quality over quantity. Natural over artificial. Fresh over warehoused. Spice was once an artisan's work, made by hand and in small amounts, until a focus on quality turned into a push for profit, at the expense of your family. We dare to disagree with that trend, and we are returning to those roots.
From home cooks to professional chefs, we cater to a shared desire for real, authentic flavor. Elevated classics and innovative new blends, made in small batches from ingredients chosen with an unquestionable dedication to quality.
What we are building is a community that appreciates the finer things, people who taste the difference and trust it will be there every time. We work tirelessly to earn and maintain that trust.
Our Core Values
Quality
We are dedicated to providing only the finest spices, ensuring that every blend meets our high standards and enhances your culinary experience. The highest level of attention to detail from sourcing to technique, refined relentlessly and monitored constantly.
Responsibility
A commitment to the environment by reducing, reusing and recycling across the business. From visible choices like glass jars instead of plastic to invisible habits like reusing containers, boxes and packaging wherever they can serve again.
Community
We believe in building relationships with our customers and supporting local producers, creating a vibrant and positive community around a love of food.
Authenticity
Real fire and real smoke. Never liquid smoke, no artificial ingredients, and no shortcuts that have become industry standard at your family's expense.
Homegrown
A small USA based business started in Michigan. From a home kitchen to farmers markets to your table. We have real roots that large corporations cannot match.
Originality
Flavor you will not find anywhere else. Each ingredient undergoes a meticulous production process that is too tedious for other spice companies to emulate. Our recipes and blends are original. Some are inspired by traditional flavors that already exist elsewhere, and we are not afraid to improve them with new ingredients when we feel it makes a worthwhile difference.
FAQs
How do you source ingredients?
We buy from specialty spice merchants and other small businesses rather than large distributors. Michigan first where we can, then the rest of the country, and further afield when the ingredient truly belongs somewhere else. Climate and growing zones make that call, not convenience.
Everything we use is natural, without exception. Beyond that we have a preference for fully organic ingredients, though we do not claim to be entirely organic. That is a high bar, and one we would rather earn in time than claim unjustly.
What defines pricing?
We are a small business in the United States, and we watch what things cost the same way our customers do. While our spices cost a bit more than mass produced products, the quality more than reflects it. Whether you buy from us or reach for something cheaper, you get exactly what you pay for.
Better ingredients cost more, and they flat out taste better. Quality is what determines value, and value is what sets our price. Making spice this way is slow and tedious work, and within that we keep it as affordable as we can.
What is the difference between Fire Roasted and Slow Smoked?
Essentially nothing, except time on the grill. Every spice gets fire roasted to a degree as well as smoked. The smoke flavor will always be subtle (except on the Celtic Salt) and a background subtlety rather than a dominant one.
The focus is always on enhancing a natural flavor through the fire roast. It is important to remember you cannot season your food in a natural method to make it taste like it came off a smoker. Liquid smoke and artificial ingredients simply do not compare to an authentic woodfire smoke such as we use.
What is the shelf life?
Spices and seasonings do not really go bad. For the most part they lose flavor and potency, and that is all. Ours do the opposite at first. They are fresh enough to age well in the glass jar for the first few months, settling into deeper flavor. There is no rush to use them, though they are made fresh and meant to be used.
You may notice ours stick together over time. Every spice does. Store bought brands add synthetic ingredients to prevent it and still clump. Ours are entirely natural and we leave those additives out on purpose. So if your spice sticks together, shake it well before use or break it up by hand. It has not gone bad.