Merken Spice

Merken Spice, also spelled merquen, is a traditional seasoning blend from the Araucanía region of central Chile. It has a perfume that is robust and hearty, with the sweet, dark fruit smell of ripe pepper mixed with the woody flavor of the smoke the peppers were roasted in. There’s a hint of citrus fluttering around the edges of this blend; it brackets the aroma in gentle, bright waves, and joins forces with the salt to dig underneath the smoke and earth of the peppers to give the entire blend lift. Goat’s horn chiles, native to Chile, give this blend the unique, smoke-and-dark-fruit flavor that reflects the South American landscape. The peppers have some, mild, heat, but the intensity in this blend comes from its rich flavor. We blend our Merken Spice in small batches in our facility, to ensure our customers get the freshest and most flavorful products possible.

Merken Spice has been sorely underappreciated in the culinary world until relatively recently. A blend that is regularly used by the native Mapuche people, merken has had a reputation for being rustic, something for the less financially well-off to cook with. Interest in global cuisine has expanded over the last few decades, and with that has been an increase in local foods and traditional cooking, particularly among people looking to understand their own culture. Merken has gone from an extremely local product found on the tables of indigenous families, to a Chilean farmer’s market find that regularly appears tabletop by the salt and pepper, to an increasingly sought-after presence that trends on menus from New York to Los Angeles.

Tips From Our Kitchen

Merken Spice has rich flavor, and would be a wonderful addition to hearty meat; massage into a beautiful strip steak or add to any beef dish to which you want to give a twist, like goulash. Sprinkle it over a bowl of turkey chili. Rub over fresh tuna and grill to medium-rare. Add to the seasoning for a duck confit, then used the seasoned duck fat to make the richest fried potatoes ever. Put in the water for a crab boil, stir into fresh salsa, add to lentils or fresh succotash. Make a sandwich spread by stirring into mayonnaise. Toss peanuts or almonds in Merken Spice and toast until fragrant.

Our Merken Spice is blended from smoked paprika, goat's horn chiles, sea salt, and coriander.

Hungry for more information?