I just moved back home to New Orleans after twenty-something years in various other corners of the US, and seeing the aisle of local products is both disorienti

I just moved back home to New Orleans after twenty-something years in various other corners of the US, and seeing the aisle of local products is both disorienting and familiar. There’s a few brands with pro-looking graphic design, a few of which have made it out of the state (you can buy Zararain’s stuff elsewhere, for instance), and a lot of brands you’ve never heard of outside Louisiana with labels that look designed by the owner’s cousin who has the Adobe suite. The stuff with the amateurish labels is inevitably the best. It’s not packed with preservatives and stretchers and all the other crap you have to adulterate your food with to be able to ship it across the country and have it be shelf-stable. There’s other surprises around the grocery store, but the feeling’s most intense in the Local Seasonings Aisle at the local Rouse’s.