Huacatay, also commonly known in English as Peruvian black mint, is a herb with minty, aniseed and citrusy aromas, and very popular not just in Peru but many parts of South America.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
How to pronounce Huacatay?
Let’s deal with the pronunciation first, shall we? This is how you pronounce Huacatay:
Wa – ka – tai (like tie)
Huacatay is a herbaceous plant, and can grow to around a metre tall. It is in fact, part of the marigold family; you can see that its leaves do look similar to that of common marigold flower plants.
Tagetes minuta in Latin, the Peruvian black mint is a herb by many many names, depending on where you are. Huacatay comes from Quechua, an indigenous language group found in the Peruvian Andes.
Spanish colonisation means that over the years, the Peruvian black mint has been naturalised in many parts of the world, as far away as Asia and Australia.
Huacatay is also known as:
- wild marigold
- Mexican marigold
- stinking Roger 🙂 – Australia
- khakibos (also khaki bush) – Africa
- mint marigold
- and many more regional names
Huacatay Flavour Profile
As mentioned above, it is pretty minty, but with a strong basil aroma that you just can’t miss. There is also a hint of citrus there. This is what I can smell and taste so far. I’ll be using huacatay a lot over the next few months, so will add to this if I discern anything else.
Some people say there is also a hint of tarragon in it. I’ll have to get tarragon and compare!
This is the first year I’m growing black Peruvian mint. I came across it in the James Wong collection online. James is an English ethnobotanist, science writer and broadcaster.
James describes the Peruvian black mint as being a close cousin of fresh coriander (cilantro) in terms of aroma and flavour. I’m not getting that, no matter how hard I sniff, but everyone’s perception is different.
Coriander’s vegetal or herbal nose is very strong, something that you hardly get with huacatay (to my nose), which gives off a sharper, minty scent. But hey, I’ll keep at it and get back to you in a couple of months!
How to use Peruvian Black Mint?
Huacatay has different uses, depending on the region you are in. But it is commonly used in:
- stews
- sauces
- salads
- ceviches (above, which you know I love!)
- tea (thinks herbal tea)
- therapeutic/medicinal remedies (colds, inflammation, has antioxidants)
- ocopa sauce – ocopa is a traditional potato dish
Huacatay Recipes on LinsFood
Where to find Black Peruvian Mint?
The only thing I can suggest is to do a search online. Here in the UK, I doubt very much if you’ll be able to buy it fresh, but you will be able to buy the seeds online pretty easily. Which is what I did.
If you are in the UK, shoot me a line, and I’ll post you some, as long as we are in summer-autumn.
I hope you enjoyed reading up on this delightful herb. Have you come across Huacatay before?
Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think, and also with any added information that I might have left out.
Lin xx
Huacatay, Peruvian Black Mint
Equipment
- Knife and chopping board
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Peruvian black mint as needed
Instructions
Using Whole Leaves
- If using the leaves whole, just snip off a few stems, rinse and add to your recipe as needed. As in our iskiate recipe above.
Chopped up leaves
- This is easy. Just rinse your stems, and chop them up finely and scatter as the recipe calls for. Be sure to remove any particularly, woody stems.
Hi Azlin,
I will be growing huacatay (and aji amarillo) this summer for my peruvian relatives who can’t find them here. I’m also interested in making a paste for long term storage, but I would like to use citric acid instead of lime juice for the acidifaction. Do you have a recommendation for the amount, as well as the length of time for a water bath treatment? Thanks, Paul
Hi Paul, when I use citric acid to preserve food, I tend to be a little generous on the amount just to be on the safe side. This does result in the pastes being a little on the tart side.
These are my measurements (I use volume, instead of weight):
250ml/1 cup = 1/4 tsp of citric acid (this can be halved accordingly)
If your jar doesn’t hold more than 500ml (2 cups), then give it a water bath for 10 minutes.
Up to 1 litre (4 cups) – 15 minutes.
I hope that helps.
I have grown, this year, 8 large huacatay plants they are more than 8 ft tall about 2.4 metres. They are enormous!
Can anyone tell me how I can make a paste with the leaves that will last through the winter?
Hi Phil. I make a simple paste with Huacatay with just the leaves, lots of fresh lime juice and salt. Blend it all in a chopper and store in sterilised jars. Give the jars a water bath and they will keep a good 6 months. Because of the lime juice, we’ve got a great ph level for preserving.
The amount of lime juice you use will determine how wet or dry your paste will be.
Hi Azlin. The same situation here, a couple of huge huacatay plants that need harvesting. I was wondering how the water bath affects the taste, how is it compared to fresh, unprocessed paste? Many thanks! 🙂
Very interesting. Might see if I can get some seeds for this summer. Still time yet.
There is indeed. And if you have a sunny, warm-ish place, it will even survive in the colder months.
Nice, it’s definitely called stinking roger where I get it from, lol!
Wow! Never knew about this! Thanks!
A pleasure.
Thanks Azlin, I love learning new things on your site.
I am Peruvian, and this is a herb that grows wild here in some parts. Thank you for showcasing a plant from Peru, I enjoyed reading this, all those names were interesting! I am looking forward to your recipes.
Thank you, Alex, I really appreciate that.
This is so new to me, I’ve never heard of it! Thanks Lin.
A pleasure.
thank, Azlin, I learn so much from your posts. always so in depth and informative x
A pleasure, thank you.