Herbs and Spices of the World - The Wonders of Mexico!

By Marilyn Zink

Last issue we talked about the herbs common to the West Coast of B.C. and the natives who often used them. As a follow-up to that, one of the herbs mentioned, Labrador Tea which looks like a small rhododendron, can be found on the bog trail of Pacific Rim National Park near Tofino.

This issue we’ll discuss the interesting herbs and spices of Mexico. Most people are familiar with cumin and cilantro, though there are many other interesting herbs used by Mexicans for culinary and home healing remedies. The name in brackets is the latin name.
Cilantro, (coriandum sativum) also known as Coriander or Chinese parsley is a self-seeding annual, with a tangy, almost pungent flavor. Cilantro is used in a great variety of Mexican dishes and is often what makes that dish taste ‘Mexican.’ The leaves are used in fresh green salsas, as well as in several other cooked and fresh salsas, bean and rice dishes, soups, stews and moles. Cilantro is usually associated with the fresh plant, which can’t be dried successfully. The seeds are known as coriander.

Cumin (cuminum cyminum) is a flavorful and highly aromatic seed used whole or ground in a wide variety of Mexican meat stews and soups, and is also used in Middle Eastern and Indian dishes. This spice known as cominos by Mexicans is thought to relieve flatulence, colic and indigestion.

Chaya, (cnidoscolus Chayamansa) also known as chayamansa, chayacol, and keki-chay is found naturally only on the Yucatan peninsula. The leaves of this non-flowering herb have been used in Mayan cuisine since pre-Hispanic times. Fray Diego de Landa, one of the chroniclers of the conquest, describes dishes prepared with chaya in his Relación de las Cosas de Yucatan. Nowadays, in addition to its traditional Mayan place in tamales and pumpkin seed sauces, it is an ingredient in Yucatecan contributions to Nouvelle Mexican Cuisine, such as crepas de chaya. It makes a refreshing agua fresca, said to detoxify the blood. In recipes calling for chaya,finely chopped young spinach leaves may be substituted.

Epazote or wormseed, (chenopodium ambrosioides) is a hardy perennial, with its resinous fragrance and serrated, tapering leaves, grows wild in many parts of Mexico and the United States, especially California. Considered indispensable in cooking black beans, epazote is also unsurpassed in quesadillas and in many mushroom dishes.

Widely used as a remedy for intestinal disorders, including parasites, it is also mixed with tabacco leaves and employed as a poultice on poisonous insect bites. Epazote may be dried for culinary use during winter in cold climates.

Indian paintbrush (castilleja lanata) or Hierba de conejo grows wild in desert areas of the United States and Mexico. It is a bright red-flowered herb traditionally used by the indigenous people of what is now the state of Nevada, and by the Zapotec people of Oaxaca, where it is still frequently added to a pot of beans or rice.

Hierba santa or hoja santa piper auritum, (piper sanctum) is abundant in the south-central region of Mexico, and has palm-sized, velvety leaves of this anise-scented, bushy perrenial make fragrant wrappers for grilled or steamed fish dishes, such as the Pescado en Hoja Santa of Veracruz, where it is quite commonly known as acuyo. It is also used as a flavoring in green moles, a tamale wrapping, and with chicken and shrimp dishes. As a home remedy, it is considered anti-inflammatory and prepared as a tea for stomach cramps and as a poultice for skin irritations.

Avocado leaf or Hoja de aguacate (persea Americana) has a licorice-like aroma that is used to season soups, chicken, fish dishes and beans. Taken three times a day on an empty stomach, avocado leaf tea is sometimes prescribed by Mexican herbalists to expel intestinal parasites. Eating the leaves is said to increase breast milk production.

Verbena (verbena officinalis) is commonly used as a digestive tea, and also considered a cure for bilis, an ailment consisting of headache, stomach ache, and loss of appetite, most frequently caused by extreme emotional upset.

Purslane or Verdolaga (portulaca oleracea) is eaten either raw in salad or steamed in mole verde, and is considered asucculent annual traditionally served in Mexico in a pork stew - espinazo con verdolagas - with a tomatillo-based sauce.

Next issue: Asian herbs and spices