Wormseed is an old Aztec spice plant from the beet family, which contains many pseudo-cereals like quinoa or amaranth. The leaves and blossoms have a bitter, peppery lemon fragrance with a slight mint note. It partly reminds of woodruff. The taste is strong, slightly bitter and very complex, and hard to describe. It reminds of marjoram and fennel. The essential oils contained spread a smack of spruce needle flavour. It's not only the name 'Jesuit's tea' which indicated this but, in the USA, it's known as 'Mexican Tea' as the blanched leaves are said to be a good surrogate for real tea. Preferably, the spice herb is used fresh as it loses its aromatic versatility when being dried. As a spice, wormseed is often used in the Mexican kitchen, mainly with bean dishes, as it's said to help to reduce the bloating effect of legumes. But the leaves are also often added to steams, soups, and meat dishes. In the Aztech cultures, the plant was already known as a medicinal plant, pesticide, and dye plant, which makes a gold-yellow shade.
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