Vocabulary
Achiote vs Annatto: One Seed, Two Names, Three Forms
The same seed under a Spanish name and an English one, sold as whole seed, ground powder, oil and a Yucatecan paste. Which form does what, and where the paste stops being the seed.
Vocabulary
Where two traditions get collapsed into one. Ají and merkén are not chiles, sazón is not recado, and Mexican oregano is a different plant.
Vocabulary
Ají vs Chile: Two Words, Two Traditions, One Genus
Both words mean pepper and neither is a translation of the other. Where each belongs, why English collapses them, and what gets lost when a recipe swaps one for the other.
Vocabulary
Sazón vs Adobo: Two Jars That Are Not the Same Thing
One is a coloured seasoning salt, the other a garlic and oregano blend, and both names mean something different depending on which country you are standing in.
Vocabulary
Paico and Epazote: One Plant, Two Names, Two Traditions
The same herb, Dysphania ambrosioides, called paico in the Andes and epazote in Mexico. What each tradition does with it, and why English treats them as two ingredients.
Vocabulary
What Is Recado? The Yucatecan Seasoning Pastes, Explained
Not a spice blend and not a marinade exactly. The family of ground pastes from the Yucatán, what the main colours are, and why recado rojo is the only one most people meet.