Ma Khaen Bay

Ma Khaen berry is a false pepper of the Zanthoxylum family, with all the characteristics of this family: citrus flavor and slight bitterness.

Typical spice of Laos, and mainly used in traditional northern Lao cuisine, in sauces or with spices such as lemongrass, ginger or chillies.
This brown berry is also found in Vietnam, where it is called "Mat-Khen" or "Mac-Khen", meaning "eyes of the forest".

This highly fragrant spice is the spice of the Akhas, an ethnic group from northern Laos who use it almost daily in their cuisine. In fact, it's one of the few spices they use in their cooking. Traditionally, it is the women who harvest the little berry in the mountains.
They are a people at the crossroads of Laos, Thailand, Burma and China, a tense region where they represent a tiny minority oppressed in each of these countries. Their land is regularly and unjustly seized. They number around 500,000.

In Thailand, Ma Khaen Bay is ground into powder and used to embalm game meat for preservation.

Botany: Zanthoxylum rhetsa
Origin: Laos, Asia
Other names: Baie des cimes, Mat-Khen, Ma Khuang, Ma kwaen, baie mandarine, poivre mandarine, poivre des forêts, baie des Akhas, Mac-Khen, Baie des cimes
Ingredients: 100% Ma Khaen berry
Storage: Several years, protected from light and humidity.
Product strength: 6 (Scoville)