Gran Mitla sal de gusano…aka worm salt. 😮

Disclaimer: I never thought I’d brave up to buy a jar of worm salt, but once I tried it at a mezcal tasting, I was hooked and all doubts went out the window. So if I can do it…you can too.

Sal de gusano is a traditional spice from Oaxaca (the heart of the mezcal world) that’s commonly consumed scattered onto orange wedges while sipping on mezcal. It can be used as a palate cleanser between tastings, or just as a complement to the intense flavors of a smoky mezcal.

The salt is also used in traditional cuisine and food dishes in Oaxaca and is made by grinding up toasted gusano (the larvae of the agave moth that lives on agave plants), and combining it with salt and chilies. The larvae (aka caterpillar) spends its entire life eating only the agave plant and hence the natural flavors pair particularly well with distilled agave.

The end result is smoky, earthy, and adds unbelievable depth and umami. I don’t think I can enjoy mezcal without some of this on hand again. This jar is from Amazon for anyone who’s interested!