Weymouth-made Bell's Seasoning is a Thanksgiving favorite, even for Martha Stewart

WEYMOUTH – Jennifer Rooney said it was an annual tradition for her grandmother to make meatballs on the day after Thanksgiving. One of the key ingredients in Todesca family meatballs that stands out in Rooney’s mind is a teaspoon of Bell’s Seasoning. 

“I remember it specifically,” Rooney, of North Weymouth, said. “Still to this day, if I’m going to make meatballs, I go out and get Bell’s Seasoning.”

For many on the South Shore, the iconic yellow box with the blue turkey on it is instantly recognizable as Bell's Seasoning, created in 1867 and made in Weymouth by Brady Enterprises since 1971.

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Nearly synonymous with traditional Thanksgiving for New Englanders, Bell's has remained unchanged for 154 years.

A finely ground mix of six spices and pepper, Bell's Seasoning is one of the South Shore's most cherished culinary claims to fame and has been featured by Martha Stewart, celebrity cook Rachael Ray and in Good Housekeeping Magazine. State Rep. James Murphy, a Weymouth Democrat, even filed a bill seeking to make Bell's the official seasoning of the commonwealth. 

"The aroma is such that you open the box and it's Thanksgiving," Meredith Rappaport, the company's marketing director, said on a recent afternoon at the East Weymouth factory. "You can use it in a million different ways. The seasoning is so versatile."

When you enter the Weymouth factory, the smell of spices is immediate. John Critchley, corporate executive chef for Bell's Seasoning, said the factory produced 50,000 to 60,000 boxes of Bell's Seasoning starting in August in the leadup to Thanksgiving.

What's in Bell's Seasoning?

The distinctly American seasoning comes from around the world. The ingredients are rosemary, oregano, sage, ginger, thyme, marjoram and pepper. It is free of salt, sugar, preservatives, artificial coloring and additives. Critchley said the ratios and sourcing of each seasoning makes Bell's unique and hard to replicate. 

"It's mostly savory from the sage and oregano, but the pepper and ginger adds a tiny bit of spice," Critchley said. "It's a fine powder, which makes it a good enhancer, and there is zero salt, so you're not worried about overdoing it."

The seasoning came about serendipitously when Boston chef and inventor William Bell set out to make a sausage seasoning. He later decided, for unknown reasons, to use it for poultry, minus the salt.

He packaged it from home in brown paper bags starting in 1867 until he opened a business on State Street in Boston. Bell's Seasoning was later sold to D&L Slade, which Brady Enterprises purchased in the 1970s and moved production to its Weymouth factory. 

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Rappaport said the company often receives letters from Bell's Seasoning loyalists sharing their memories of holidays and recipes, which are featured on the Bell's website.

"It's truly meaningful for people," she said.

More than 60 people responded to a Patriot Ledger reporter's Facebook callout seeking people who had fond memories of using Bell's Seasoning during Thanksgiving. 

Emily Jackson-Darosa, of Weymouth, said Bell’s Seasoning is a staple of her aunt’s stuffing recipe, and her father used Bell’s for everything from soups to roasted chicken. 

“My entire family uses it. Stuffing has to have Bell's, and lots of it," she said. "To me, when you sniff the spice, that's what stuffing tastes like."

Her family is from upstate New York, and Jackson-Darosa said they could buy Bell’s there. It’s harder to come by in other parts of the country.

While her father was visiting from Iowa, Jackson-Darosa recalled him flipping through a Vermont Country Store catalog and adding several boxes of Bell’s Seasoning to his order for far more than it cost locally. 

“I was like, ‘What are you doing? It’s literally made here.’ He was paying a fortune for it, so then for years after that I’d always send it to him,” she said, noting that sometimes you can smell Bell’s Seasoning in the air in Weymouth. “I tell that story every Thanksgiving and Bell’s always makes me think of my dad.”

Bell's has expanded the company's offerings over the years, adding gravy, stuffing, rice and other seasonings, sides and toppings. Critchley said the brand's stuffing has really taken off, and they go through 90,000 pounds of bread crumbs a week ahead of Thanksgiving. 

Bell's Seasoning is sold nationwide during the holidays, but limited to the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic other times of the year. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic, Bell's started offering online ordering last year. Rappaport said the company heard from customers all over the country who said they usually buy Bell's during visits to New England, but didn't travel during the pandemic and needed another way to get it. Hundreds of orders came in once the company launched the online store.

"People were like, 'I can't have Thanksgiving without Bell's,'" she said.