Asteraceae

Subfamily Asteriodeae
Tribe Astereae

Spilanthes oleracea Jacquin

Description: Paracress has no particular odour, but when eaten it has an interesting flavour that slowly develops from pleasant and salty to a strong, tickling-burning pungency that leaves back a numb feeling in the mouth. Biting into a flower head of paracress is an adventure long remembered!
The pungent flavour of paracress is due to an unsaturated alkamid, spilanthol, which reaches its highest concentration (1%) in the flowers.

Uses: Culinary use of paracress is today restricted to tropical Brazil, particularly the provinces Acre, Amazonas, Pará and Ceará, where the herb is much used in the cooking styles of the indigenous peoples. There, the strach-containing tubers of manioc is a staple, and since that vegetable has a quite bland taste, it is often flavoured with potent spices. For this purpuse, paracress is often used; the leaves are used fresh, added as a whole and eaten as an additional source of vitamins (and flavour).