Epazote is a popular Mexican aromatic herb known for its distinct smell and taste. It’s the perfect finishing touch to your favorite Mexican beans, soups, and stews!
What Is Epazote?
Epazote (pronounced eh-pah-ZOH-teh) is a large and leafy aromatic herb that’s used in Mexican cooking, particularly in central and southern Mexico. It’s often used to add flavor to dishes like canned black beans, canned pinto beans, and in Mexican soups and stews.
The word originates from the Nahuatl language and is a combination of the Aztec words for “skunk” and “sweat” for its distinct smell.
What Does Epazote Taste Like?
When you first come across epazote, don’t let the smell throw you off. It has very distinct notes of anise, mint, camphor and/or eucalyptus with a strong aroma of petroleum, but when added to a recipe, the flavor mellows out and adds a delicate layer of fresh flavor.
Cooking with Epazote
Epazote is usually added at the end of a recipe to add a layer of delicate fresh flavor. It adds wonderful flavor to recipes like:
Epazote also has great medicinal properties and is commonly used as a digestive aid. It can be used to make tea and is a great addition to use with beans since it also helps with gas and bloating.
How to Store Epazote
There are a couple of ways to store epazote to preserve the freshness as long as possible. You can wrap the leaves in a damp paper towel and store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
You can also place the epazote in a glass of water (just like you would do with flowers) and place it in the fridge. This is also my favorite way of storing other fresh herbs like cilantro!
Where Do You Find Epazote?
Epazote can be found in most Mexican grocery stores or even in farmer’s markets. If you can’t find any fresh near you, you can find dried epazote online.
Epazote Substitutions
Epazote has a very unique and distinct flavor profile that’s hard to replicate. The next best substitution would be cilantro to give you that fresh herb taste.
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