The Unique Blend Of Ingredients That Gives Tajin Its Distinct Flavor

Bright, tangy, mildly spicy, and sour in juuust the right way, Tajín is one of those seasonings you can't recreate on your own. It's good on everything from fresh mango slices and popcorn to grilled corn and even cocktails. Its popularity in the U.S. has surged in recent years, but Tajín has long been a favorite in Mexico. The perfectly balanced blend of chili peppers, lime, and salt isn't necessarily complex, but the magic comes from just how well those ingredients work together.

With the help of an abuela and her innovative grandson, Tajín was invented in 1985 and showed up on American grocery shelves by 1993. The factory remains in Jalisco, but according to their U.S. director, a whopping 40 percent of sales are now in the States, not Mexico. The heart of Tajín is its dried Mexican chilis, which are a combination of chiles de árbol, guajillo and pasilla. These chilies aren't necessarily chosen for their extreme heat, but rather for flavor and a gentle but gradual warmth and earthiness. Instead of using fresh citrus, Tajín uses dehydrated lime juice powder, which is why it's so delectable on juicy fruit. The final flavor in the spice trifecta is finely ground salt, which also enhances the natural sweetness of fruit and makes the overall seasoning bright and so easy to eat. So go ahead, put Tajín on everything.

Culturally, Tajín reflects a long-standing Mexican tradition of pairing fruit with salt, acid, and spice. Street vendors have seasoned fruit with chili and lime for generations, and bottling that blend into an easy shaker container made it go global. The company revealed its early marketing strategy was to target moms who wanted their children to eat more fruit and vegetables. It's no wonder the pungent seasoning is a literal taste of home and nostalgia for so many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. As Mexican food historian Gustavo Arellano explained it in an interview with The New York Times, "Tajín is a lifestyle." 

Tajín is having such a "cool kid" moment in the food world right now that even Pop-Tarts tried to join in on the fun with their new peach cobbler flavor. But it's not just fruit; the seasoning also works on shrimp, sweet potatoes, micheladas, omelets, and even the rims of margarita glasses. My personal favorite way to take in Tajín is elotes, a Mexican corn-on-the-cob delicacy that involves creamy mayo, queso fresco, fresh-squeezed lime, and many healthy shakes of Tajín. That blend of flavors isn't exactly new, but the perfectly calibrated concoction packaged into a tidy little shaker has helped cement it in our shelves.