Specialty Oils, Vinegars, & Spices
I’ve bought a lot of smoked paprika over the years, different brands, different price points, and none of it prepared me for Rancho Gordo’s Castillo Spanish Pimentón. This one is more complex than any paprika I’ve ever tried. It’s not just smoky. There’s a bittersweet depth to it that regular paprika doesn’t come close to,…
I bought this one mostly out of curiosity and came away thinking it deserves a permanent spot next to my regular finishing salts, not just as a novelty. Where It Comes From Sal de gusano is a traditional Oaxacan condiment, made by toasting and grinding chinicuiles, the red larvae that live inside agave plants, together…
I have wanted to try epazote for a while, mostly because every recipe developer worth their salt insists it belongs in a pot of beans, so I finally picked up a jar from Penzeys and put it to the test. Where It Comes From Epazote is a leafy herb native to Mexico and Central America,…
We’ve all heard the myth: “Never salt your beans early, or they’ll stay rock hard.” While food science has largely busted that rule for regular salt, there is an ancient Mexican secret that turns the whole debate on its head. Enter Mixteca salt (sal blanca). Mined from 3,000-year-old inland springs in Oaxaca and Puebla, this…