The Maryland Kitchen: Pantry Essentials Every Maryland Home Should Have

Introduction

We’ve been running The Maryland Store for more than 27 years. In that time, we’ve talked to tens of thousands of Marylanders — natives, transplants, expats who moved away and want to keep their unique Maryland food traditions. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s this: a proper Maryland kitchen is a specific thing. It has certain items that are a foundation to build on.

This is our list. 

1. Old Bay Seasoning

We’ll start here because there is no other place to start. Old Bay is not optional. Old Bay is not a preference. Old Bay Seasoning is a Maryland kitchen law, and it's inclusion in non-negotiable.

Created in Baltimore in 1939 by Gustav Brunn, this blend of 18 spices was built for Baltimore's crab tradition and has since proven itself an essential or a secret recipe ingredient on a myriad of dishes. In addition to all types of crab dishes, including crab cakes, it's use is prevalent on shrimp, wings, fried chicken, corn, French fries, popcorn, deviled eggs, the rim of a Bloody Mary — if you’re not reaching for the Old Bay, you’re doing it wrong.

The yellow tin with the red and blue label is one of the most recognizable containers in American food, dare we say ALL food. In a Maryland kitchen, it should live on the counter. Not in the cabinet. On the counter. On the kitchen table.

The Old Bay family has grown considerably, and a well-stocked Maryland kitchen may want more than just the original. Worth exploring: Old Bay 30% Less Sodium Seasoning, Old Bay Garlic & Herb Seasoning, Old Bay Blackened Seasoning.

2. A Maryland Seafood Seasoning

(Beyond Old Bay Seasoning)

Old Bay is the standard, but any serious Maryland kitchen also has a dedicated crab seasoning in rotation. The one used by many Maryland crab houses and home crabbers for steaming crabs is J.O. #2 — made in Baltimore. It’s coarser salt and simple spices are designed to go on the crabs in the pot, not at the table. Get some. Try it on your crabs at your next home crab feast.

At The Maryland Store, we carry a range of Maryland seafood seasonings — including Jimmy’s Famous, Tomahawk Jim’s, Hooper's Crab House, and more. Each has its own personality and its own loyal following. Some specifically for crabs, some as a good all purpose seasoning. Try something new and add some to your pantry. That’s a very Maryland thing to do.

3. A Crab Cake Mix

Maryland Crab Cakes are legendary. Most Marylanders have a favorite recipe. For those times when you want to make crab cakes and don't feel like making them from scratch or you don't have the time, keep on hand one of these packets with all the spices you need to make a proper Maryland crab cake at home. You'll only need to add mayonnaise. Try the Old Bay Crab Cake Classic Mix or the J.O. Spice Crab Cake Mix

4. Old Bay Hot Sauce

McCormick introduced Old Bay Hot Sauce a few years ago and Marylanders received it with the cautious optimism of people who take their condiments seriously. The verdict: it’s good. It’s genuinely good. It brings the Old Bay flavor profile to a hot sauce format that adds a dash of spice to eggs, seafood, and anything else that benefits from a little heat with that signature celery, pepper, paprika, and herbal backbone.

It’s not a replacement for the original tin. It’s an addition to the lineup.

5. Local Honey

Maryland has a thriving beekeeping tradition, and local honey belongs in every Maryland kitchen. Beyond the obvious uses — tea, toast, baking — Maryland wildflower honey captures the specific character of the state’s fields and forests in a way that mass-produced honey simply cannot.

Here’s the practical case: honey produced within 50 miles of your home contains pollen from the local plants that trigger your seasonal allergies. Consuming it regularly — especially before allergy season hits — is widely believed to help your body build tolerance to those local allergens over time. It’s not a cure, but it’s a delicious reason to buy local. Make sure it’s raw and unfiltered to preserve the beneficial pollen.


At The Maryland Store, we carry honey from two Maryland apiaries — one in Carroll County and one in Frederick County — giving us coverage across central Maryland and beyond. If you live anywhere in the region, there’s a good chance one of our honeys is local to you. That’s exactly how it should work.

6. McCutcheon’s Apple Butter

Western Maryland and the Piedmont region both have strong apple-growing traditions, and apple butter — slow-cooked, spiced, spreadable — is one of the great products of that tradition. In Maryland, there is one name that stands above the rest: McCutcheon’s of Frederick. Made in the heart of Maryland’s apple country, McCutcheon’s apple butter is the standard by which all others are judged — rich, deeply spiced, and made the right way.


On biscuits, on toast, alongside pork, stirred into oatmeal or eaten with cottage cheese: McCutcheon’s apple butter is a Maryland pantry staple that doesn’t get nearly enough credit outside the state. If you haven’t had it, that’s the first thing to fix.

7. Maryland Maple Syrup

Most people don’t associate Maryland with maple syrup — and that’s a mistake worth correcting. It's a tradition in Western Maryland kitchens that hasn't spread universally throughout the rest of Maryland. Our maple syrup is from Allegany County, in the far western reaches of the state where Maryland narrows to less than 2 miles wide, squeezed between Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the Appalachian highlands. Local maple syrup is one of those Maryland facts that stops people cold when they hear it: the state that gave the world Old Bay and blue crabs also produces genuine small-batch maple syrup from mountain sugar maples.


On pancakes and waffles, as a recipe sweetener, as a meat or vegetable glaze, in cocktails, drizzled over ice cream: it’s a pantry item that tells a story about the part of Maryland most people forget exists. And it’s delicious.

8. Crab Picking & Oyster Shucking Tools

If you eat steamed crabs in Maryland, you there are 2 essentials you need to have: a crab knife and a crab mallet. The long time standard knife is the Carvel Hall Crab Knife. Originally made in Crisfield, the current style has been around for more than 50 years. Families have passed this knife down through generations of Marylanders.

Our one piece solid stainless steel crab knives are very popular with veteran crab pickers. The one piece straight blade style is one of the best for everyday pickers. For more experienced pickers, and for a different way of picking crabs, our one piece curved blade style is a popular choice. Want an economical choice? We have plastic crab knives.

Just as essential as a crab knife, or maybe more important, is the crab mallet. Our quality American made hardwood crab mallets are the standard. For a fancier style mallet, that makes a great gift, try our Pewter style crab mallet.

Oysters have been a large part of Maryland culture for millennia. Modern day Maryland oyster shuckers need a good oyster knife. We have a variety of oyster knives available.

9. A Maryland Cookbook

Every Maryland kitchen needs a reference point — a cookbook that takes the state’s food traditions seriously and gives you the recipes to back them up. We carry many at The Maryland Store, and after 27 years we have strong opinions about which ones belong on your shelf. Our top three:

The Crab Cookbook by Whitey Schmidt, the Crab Guru — the definitive guide to cooking Maryland’s most iconic ingredient, from the man who has spent a lifetime mastering it. If you’re serious about crabs, this is the book. All crab, all the time.

My Favorite Maryland Recipes by Mrs. Helen Avalynne Tawes — written by the wife of former Maryland Governor J. Millard Tawes, this is a classic of Maryland home cooking. Gracious, authoritative, and deeply rooted in the state’s culinary traditions. A piece of Maryland history you can cook from.

Mrs. Kitching’s Smith Island Cookbook by Frances Kitching — Smith Island is Maryland’s only inhabited offshore island, and its food traditions are unlike anywhere else in the state. Frances Kitching’s cookbook is the essential record of that unique culinary heritage, including the famous Smith Island Cake. An irreplaceable book.

These are good to keep on hand for snacking

Not necessarily a pantry staple, but worth keeping on hand for some delicious snacking.

Berger Cookies

A Baltimore institution since 1835. The Berger Cookie is a soft vanilla cookie topped with a thick layer of chocolate fudge frosting — so thick it’s practically the point of the whole enterprise. One cookie is a commitment. Two cookies is a lifestyle.

You’ll find Berger Cookies at grocery stores throughout Maryland, and they’re worth seeking out fresh. The short shelf life is part of what makes them a local treasure rather than a national brand — these are meant to be eaten in Maryland, not shipped across the country. Consider them a reason to visit.

Jimmy’s Famous Crab Dip Chips

Let’s talk chips. You may have heard of Utz — a perfectly fine chip company, headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania. We love our neighbors, but when it comes to Maryland chip loyalty, we go with Jimmy’s Famous Crab Dip Chips — a Maryland-made chip that tastes like cheesy crab dip. Not crab-seasoning-adjacent. Not seafood-flavored. Crab dip. In chip form. It’s as good as it sounds.

This is the chip that belongs in a Maryland kitchen. We carry them at The Maryland Store, and once you’ve had them, the Pennsylvania alternative loses a little of its appeal.

Jimmy’s also makes a Boardwalk version — seafood spice and vinegar — a nod to the legendary Ocean City boardwalk fries at Thrasher’s. If you know, you know.

Further Reading: Old Line Plate

If the history behind Maryland food is as interesting to you as the food itself, we can’t recommend Old Line Plate highly enough. It’s an independent research project by Kara Mae Harris, a digital humanities researcher and culinary historian dedicated to exploring Maryland’s foodways through historic cookbooks, archival research, and genealogical work.

Behind the scenes is a remarkable database of 80,000 recipes and their associated people, places, and ingredients. On the surface, it’s cooking, community, and connection — the history of a famous recipe, the life of a person who shared a favorite dish with a church cookbook, a deep dive into a single ingredient. Each dish has a story, and Kara Mae Harris tells them beautifully. It’s exactly the kind of work Maryland’s culinary heritage deserves.

The Maryland Kitchen Is a Statement

Stocking a Maryland kitchen isn’t just about having the right ingredients. It’s about knowing where you’re from, what you value, and what you’re going to put on your crabs. It’s a declaration of identity, one pantry shelf at a time.

We’ve been helping Marylanders celebrate this state for more than 27 years. We know what belongs in a Maryland home — and we’re happy to help you stock it.

Find Maryland-made pantry items, gifts, and more at The Maryland Store — or visit us at 2200 Sykesville Rd, Westminster, MD.