Ingredients · Spice

Tomatillo

Physalis philadelphica · Solanaceae (nightshade family)

Tomatillo
Not a green tomato, whatever the look suggests. The tomatillo is a different genus — Physalis — and it grows inside an inedible papery husk formed from the calyx, which is where the Mexican husk tomato name comes from. It is sharply tart rather than sweet, and that tartness is the whole point: it is what makes a green salsa green-tasting. One product carries it as a powder.

What it’s like, and how to use it

The partFruit
KindSpice
CaffeineCaffeine-free
Where it is fromMexico
TasteSharply tart and green, with a citrus edge; nothing like a tomato

How to use it

The powder brings tartness to a dry blend where lime juice would wet it — which is exactly its job in a chimichurri mix. Fresh, tomatillos are charred or simmered for salsa verde, and the husk is always removed.

With food

Cilantro and lime. Chile, especially serrano and jalapeño. Onion and garlic. Pork and chicken. Avocado. Corn.

With spices

Cumin. Mexican oregano. Chile. Garlic. Coriander seed.

With tea

Not a tea ingredient.

Its story

Where it comes from

Domesticated in Mexico before the arrival of Europeans, and it played an important part in the culture of the Maya and the Aztecs — more important, in fact, than the tomato. The name comes from Nahuatl tomatl. Our lot names no origin.

What happened

The tomatillo was the more important of the two, and the tomato took its name. Both are Nahuatl tomatl, and it was the tomatillo that mattered more to Maya and Aztec cooking — the tomato became the famous one only after it crossed the Atlantic. The husk is the giveaway: no tomato has one, and Physalis is the same genus as the Cape gooseberry and the Chinese lantern.

On the shelf with it

Every product it goes into.

Every ingredient in the shop

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