Pipicha: what it is, taste and uses in cooking

What is it?

Pipicha (Porophyllum tagetoides), also written pipitza or pipicha, is an aromatic Mexican herb of the Asteraceae family whose slender, elongated green leaves are eaten fresh or briefly cooked as a seasoning. It is a close relative of papalo, but its leaves are narrower and its aroma more subtle and citrusy, with notes combining coriander, aniseed and lemon. It is cultivated and grows wild mainly in Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala and the Mixteca, where it forms part of the regional recipe book. It is essential in chileatole (a savoury, spicy corn atole), in corn soups and in preparations with tender maize. It also appears in some tlacoyos, tacos and country broths. Its use is less widespread than that of papalo but equally identity-bearing in Oaxacan cuisine, where it provides a distinctive fresh aromatic profile.

Origin and history

Pipicha has pre-Hispanic origins and forms part of the traditional quelites (wild edible greens) of the Mexican high plateau and the Mixteca. Its name comes from Nahuatl, possibly from 'pipiztli' or similar names for the Porophyllum. It belongs to the same family and genus as papalo (Porophyllum), and the Nahua, Mixtec and Zapotec peoples ate it as a seasoning. Fray Bernardino de Sahagún documented various quelites in the Florentine Codex, where the Porophyllum appear generically under the Nahuatl name 'papaloquilitl'. CONABIO documents Porophyllum tagetoides as a wild and semi-cultivated plant in central and southern Mexico. Larousse Cocina records it as an aromatic herb of Oaxacan and Pueblan cuisine. It is one of the herbs that best preserve pre-Hispanic culinary continuity, with uninterrupted use in the regional cuisines of the indigenous peoples of southern Mexico. Its local name varies slightly: 'pipicha' in Oaxaca, 'pipiltza' or 'pipitza' in Puebla and Tlaxcala. The tender leaves are harvested before flowering for a better aroma.

Characteristic ingredients

Pipicha is an annual herbaceous plant 30-80 cm tall, with cylindrical green or reddish stems, alternate narrow lance-shaped leaves with oil glands visible against the light, and small tubular flower heads with violet or whitish-yellow flowers. It grows in disturbed soils, milpas, backyards and farmland of central and southern Mexico. Its leaves contain essential oils with tagetone, limonene and other volatile terpenes that provide the characteristic aroma, similar to papalo but more subtle and citrusy. It supplies vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, calcium and antioxidants. Unlike papalo, pipicha tolerates brief cooking better and is used both raw and lightly cooked in some dishes: it is added to boiling chileatole during the last few minutes to perfume it without destroying its aroma. It is also added fresh to tlacoyos, memelas and country broths. It is kept as a bunch in water or refrigerated wrapped in damp paper, although it loses its aroma quickly. The main season runs from June to October.

Cultural significance

Pipicha is an identity-bearing aromatic marker of Oaxacan cuisine and the Pueblan Mixteca. Its most emblematic use is in corn chileatole, a savoury, spicy atole with tender maize, masa, chilli and pipicha, considered one of the classic antojitos of Oaxacan markets. It also appears in corn soups, esquites with fresh cheese, stuffed tlacoyos and rural broths. SADER and CONABIO promote Mexican quelites as a food-security strategy. Oaxacan cuisine, together with that of Michoacán, was key to the declaration of traditional Mexican cuisine as Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010, and pipicha forms part of the corpus of representative culinary plants. Its sale in markets such as Tlacolula, Etla and the central market of Oaxaca sustains the family economies of women farmers. Pipicha retains a very regional cultural value: in many places outside Oaxaca and Puebla it is practically unknown, which makes it an aroma that defines belonging to these regional cuisines.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between pipicha and papalo?

They are sister herbs of the Porophyllum genus but distinct species. Papalo (Porophyllum macrocephalum or ruderale) has broad rounded leaves and a very intense aroma; it is eaten raw. Pipicha (Porophyllum tagetoides) has slender elongated leaves and a more subtle aroma with citrus-aniseed notes; it is used raw or briefly cooked. Pipicha is predominantly Oaxacan; papalo, Pueblan.

What does pipicha taste like?

It has an aromatic herbal flavour milder than papalo, with notes combining fresh coriander, soft aniseed and lemon. It is less polarising than papalo and proves more versatile. It brings freshness and a citrus touch that especially enhances tender maize, fresh cheese, chillies and masa. Its fresh profile makes it ideal in corn preparations.

How is pipicha used?

It is used fresh, chopped or in small sprigs. It is added to corn chileatole during the last few minutes of cooking to perfume it; it is incorporated raw into esquites, tlacoyos, memelas, country broths and soups. Unlike papalo, it tolerates brief cooking. The leaves are sold in bunches in Oaxacan and Pueblan markets during the season (June-October).

Where does pipicha come from?

It originates in centre-south Mexico, particularly Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala and the Mixteca. Its name has Nahua roots. Sahagún documented related plants in the Florentine Codex. Today it is cultivated and gathered mainly in Oaxaca, where it has formed part of the regional recipe book since pre-Hispanic times. CONABIO documents it as a native plant with traditional ethnobotanical use.