Korean BBQ Curio Spice Mix

Curio Spice Co. pairs gochugaru, an essential Korean chile, with scallions, fermented black garlic, and honey for this umami, medium-hot rub. Like a dry version of the popular chile paste, this blend keeps well and is versatile for all sorts of cooking, from classic Korean barbecue to your own inventive salad dressings, egg dishes and more. 

Maker: Curio Spice Co. (Cambridge, MA)

Curio Spice Co. started in a saffron field in Northern Greece. Kneeling in the dirt to help hand-harvest the delicate flowers that give us the world’s most valuable spice, Curio founder Claire Cheney began a curious journey to understand how, as humans who once revered spices like gods, we’ve relegated the same ingredients to dusty warehouses where they sit for years before reaching our kitchens. Spices were grown and traded for thousands of years, but recent history shows a declining respect for land and people and more a celebration of conquest, trade monopolies, and exploitation. Since 2015, the Curio team has been working to change this narrative and the way spices are produced and traded while creating unique spice blends that celebrate a sense of place. Their mission is to improve the livelihoods of spice farmers and inspire culinary creativity. They specialize in directly sourced spices, sourced locally from New England as well as from smallholder spice farms around the world. They pay above Fair Trade price—sometimes as much as ten times the commodity rate—for spices that burst with flavor. They give back through fundraising efforts via their Curio for a Cause campaigns, which support gender equality, climate resilience, and community empowerment. They instill in every product a respect for the land and the farmers who grow their spices, alongside a sense of wonder for the rare flavors available to us.