Herbs · Profile
Huacatay (Peruvian Black Mint): The Marigold Behind Ocopa
It’s sold as Peruvian black mint, but huacatay isn’t a mint at all. It’s Tagetes minuta, a strong-smelling South American marigold, and its leaves are what flavor ocopa, the Arequipa sauce poured over boiled potatoes. Fresh, it smells loud and resinous, somewhere between mint, basil, tarragon and citrus peel, and it’s easy to use too much. Elsewhere in the world it grows as a weed, its oil goes into perfume and flavorings,12 and US rules allow it as a flavoring only as an oil.3
At a glance
| Botanical name | Tagetes minuta L. |
| Other names | Huacatay (Quechua, Peru); black mint; chinchilla enana (Spanish); wild marigold, Mexican marigold, khakibush and stinking-Roger (English) |
| Plant family | Asteraceae (daisy family); the genus Tagetes is the marigolds |
| Part used | Fresh leaves; also sold as a paste |
| Native range | Brazil to southern South America, per Kew |
| Key aroma compounds | Tagetone, dihydrotagetone, tagetenone and (Z)-β-ocimene, in proportions that vary widely2 |
| US status | Approved as a natural flavoring only as an oil3 |
Measured values
10 figures, sourced| Measure | Value | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential oil: tagetone | 14.1 % of the oil | commercial oil from Madagascar, as reported in a 2018 reviewDistilled oil, not the fresh leaf | mdpi.com |
| Essential oil: dihydrotagetone | 11.6 % of the oil | commercial oil from Madagascar, as reported in a 2018 review | mdpi.com |
| Essential oil: (E)-tagetenone | 9.0 % of the oil | commercial oil from Madagascar, as reported in a 2018 review | mdpi.com |
| Essential oil: (Z)-tagetenone | 6.7 % of the oil | commercial oil from Madagascar, as reported in a 2018 review | mdpi.com |
| Essential oil: limonene | 66.3 % of the oil | sample from Argentina, as reported in a 2018 review | mdpi.com |
| Essential oil: (E)-tagetenone | 19.1 % of the oil | sample from Argentina, as reported in a 2018 reviewDiffers from the Madagascar sample; different samples, not a disagreement over the same scope | mdpi.com |
| Essential oil: beta-caryophyllene | 14.8 % of the oil | sample from Argentina, as reported in a 2018 review | mdpi.com |
| Essential oil: alpha-pinene | 11.8 % of the oil | sample from Argentina, as reported in a 2018 review | mdpi.com |
| Essential oil: (Z)-beta-ocimene | 7.2 to 37.5 % of the oil | studies cited in a 2018 review; rose as the plant developedSome studies found the opposite trend | mdpi.com |
| Essential oil: dihydrotagetone | 51 to 14 % of the oil | studies cited in a 2018 review; fell as the plant developedSome studies found the opposite trend | mdpi.com |
Each figure is quoted as its source states it, with the samples or standard it applies to. Where sources differ, both are shown; nothing is averaged. All measured values
The plant
Kew’s Plants of the World Online lists Tagetes minuta as a subtropical annual, native from Brazil to southern South America. Surprisingly, Kew counts Peru as a place it’s been introduced, not part of its native range.4 USDA’s GRIN taxonomy agrees, listing native records for Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina, but not Peru.1 GRIN records the name huacatay as Quichua, from Peru.
The plant gets around. Kew’s list of places it’s been introduced is long, starting alphabetically with Alabama, Albania, Algeria and Angola. GRIN flags it as a potential seed contaminant and weed, and records uses in plant and weed control when intercropped.1 One of its English names is stinking-Roger.
Flavor and the compounds behind it
Fresh huacatay smells loud and resinous, somewhere between mint, basil, tarragon and citrus peel, with a musky marigold edge. It’s easy to use too much.
The chemistry varies a lot. A 2018 review of Tagetes essential oils in Molecules says the main compounds in T. minuta oil are acyclic monoterpene ketones: tagetone, dihydrotagetone and tagetenone.2 The reported figures differ widely from sample to sample:
| Oil sample (as reported in the 2018 review) | Main compounds |
|---|---|
| Commercial oil from Madagascar | Tagetone 14.1%, dihydrotagetone 11.6%, (E)-tagetenone 9.0%, (Z)-tagetenone 6.7%2 |
| Sample from Argentina | Limonene 66.3%, (E)-tagetenone 19.1%, β-caryophyllene 14.8%, α-pinene 11.8%2 |
The review also reports studies in which (Z)-β-ocimene rose from 7.2% to 37.5% as the plant developed, and others in which dihydrotagetone fell from 51% to 14%. Some studies found the opposite trend, it notes, and it concludes that composition is very variable and may depend more on the plant’s growth stage than on where it grew.2 These figures are for distilled oil, not the fresh leaf you’d cook with, and we found no analysis of the leaves sold in Peruvian markets.
How huacatay is used
- Ocopa. Ocopa is a sauce from Arequipa, poured over boiled potatoes. Chef Flavio Solórzano’s recipe, published on Peru Delights, calls huacatay its main ingredient. It’s blended with mirasol and ají amarillo chiles, onion, garlic, toasted peanuts, crackers, evaporated milk and queso fresco, then served over potatoes with lettuce, egg, cheese and black olives. The same recipe’s ingredient list marks the huacatay as optional and offers 1 teaspoon of huacatay paste in place of fresh leaves.5
- In place of cilantro. Some cooks use small amounts in salsas instead of cilantro. The flavors aren’t similar, though. Huacatay is far more pungent.
Go easy, and chop it fine or blend it. A small handful flavors a whole batch of sauce. Outside South America, huacatay paste (which the recipe above accepts in place of fresh leaves) is the practical option.
Buying and storage
Fresh leaves should be bright green and very aromatic. We found no published shelf-life figure for fresh huacatay or its paste. Once you open a jar of paste, keep it in the fridge and follow the label.
Safety
US federal rules list “Tagetes (marigold)”, naming Tagetes minuta among the species, as a natural flavoring substance allowed as oil only.3 That listing covers commercial flavoring. It doesn’t address eating the fresh leaf the way a home cook does. GRIN’s records file T. minuta under vertebrate poisons, toxic to humans or livestock, without giving doses or circumstances.1 The 2018 review mentions ambiguous data on phototoxic thiophenes in Tagetes, but in connection with T. erecta, a different species.2
None of these sources looks at the small amounts of fresh leaf that go into a sauce, and we found no regulator opinion on that use. The NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has no fact sheet on it.6 GRIN lists its medicinal uses as folklore.1 Claims that it treats colds, parasites or bacterial infections have no support from any systematic review or health agency we could find, and we’re not making them.
Substitutes and comparisons
Nothing’s a close match. A mix of mint, basil and a little tarragon gets you in the neighborhood. See huacatay substitutes and these related pages:
Footnotes
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Tagetes minuta L., GRIN Taxonomy, USDA Agricultural Research Service. npgsweb.ars-grin.gov · Reference work ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Salehi et al., “Tagetes spp. Essential Oils and Other Extracts: Chemical Characterization and Biological Activity”, Molecules, 2018. mdpi.com · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
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21 CFR 172.510, Natural flavoring substances and natural substances used in conjunction with flavors, US Food and Drug Administration. ecfr.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Tagetes minuta L., Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. powo.science.kew.org · Reference work ↩
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Flavio Solórzano, “Ocopa Sauce”, Peru Delights, 2017. perudelights.com · Publication ↩
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Herbs at a Glance, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. nccih.nih.gov · Regulator ↩