Confidence with Curio: Safe, Clean Cinnamon
Fall is here – a season that inspires gathering and community. This means spiced baked goods, warm beverages, and hearty stews filling our tables. As we all embrace this cozy season with its nostalgic and comforting flavors, there can be nothing more jarring than learning that one of your favorite...
Secret Spice Society Boox Boxes
Looking good and sharing a story Great packaging has power — most importantly, the power to communicate. We’ve seen it in action: our packaging shares Curio’s story and mission to support farmers, create community, and inspire culinary creativity. From our inception in 2015, we’ve had a strong visual identity. In...
Story of the Spice Wheel
It was about ten years ago when I first had the idea to pursue spices as a career. I had worked in specialty coffee for many years, doing many deep, caffeinated dives into the world of single origin coffee where the term 'terroir' was in common use. Terroir, from the French,...
What is Allspice?
By Gillian Ehrman The sweet, pungent smell of plants on this hot and humid day in Cambridge takes me back to a hot September afternoon in Deep East Texas, walking around my university's gardens. I remember Carolina Allspice from a past plant walk; I close my eyes, breathe in, and...
Montréal Lamb Kofta with Tahini-Yogurt Sauce
Makes 6 servings These crisp kebab-worthy meatballs get their kick from Monsieur Montreal. Blooming the spices, shallots and garlic in oil brings out Monsieur Montreal’s savory notes and piquant peppery flavors, both of which cut through the richness of beef or lamb. We love serving these kofta with a simple...
Spiced Kettle Corn, Four Ways
By Andrew Janjigian I’ve been making the Sichuan version of this popcorn mix for years now, ever since I developed it with my friend, the Vietnamese and Asian cuisine maven Andrea Nguyen. I give bags of it to friends for holiday or birthday gifts, or bring it to parties,...
Producer Spotlight: Firetongue Farms
Words by John Kilfoyle. Photos courtesy of Fire Tongue Farms. Fire Tongue Farms is a chile pepper farm started in Hollister, CA in 2014 with the goal of growing high quality, rare chile pepper varieties for local chefs, hot sauce makers, and spice companies. They dry and smoke most of...
The Story of Curio's Tins: Forever Recyclable, Forever Classic
Even before I started my business back in 2015, I remember staring at an antique saffron tin that sat on my desk, filled with pens and other office detritus. It sat on my desk as a reminder of what packaging can be – a beautiful object, useful beyond its original...
The Sweet Life of Sour Spices
words and pictures by John Kilfoyle Sourness is something we often try to avoid. The sourness of spoiled milk, rancid butter, and flattened beer are all indications that these things have been out for too long, left to ferment and turn acrid. Sourness is one of the 5 fundamental flavors–along...
Pepper Your Drinks, People!
Looking for new ways to use spices this summer? A great place to start is with your drinks. The classics are classic for a reason, but you can always zest up the average lemonade and gin-and-tonic to break the heat on a hot summer day. You could add different base ingredients–limes for...
How Spicy is "Spicy"?
A few years ago I overheard my sister compliment one of my aunts on some turkey meatballs she had made. “They have a nice little kick to them!” my sister said with her mouth full. “Thank you! They have a good amount of heat, right?” my aunt replied. “The garlic...
Sensory Learning for Kids (all ages!)
Spices are a lovely way to get you and your kids engaged in the senses. Use these ideas for ways you can put that spice cupboard to work and learn something new: The Nose Knows GameTake out 6-10 pure spices from the cupboard and sprinkle a bit of each...
Support our Farmers in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is facing an economic crisis. New government leader, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, made the decision to shift the entire agriculture sector to strictly organic production (including bans on any uncertified organic fertilizer) creating devastating effects. The impacts include slowing the output of Sri Lankan exports to a near halt, and a surge in Sri...
A Golden Braid for Easter
by Andrew Janjigian Choreg—or choereg, cheoreg, or chorek, depending upon who is doing the spelling—is essentially an Armenian brioche—a butter, milk, and egg-enriched sweet bread— but with a few twists. First, it is usually formed into a three-stranded braid, not unlike many challah, or formed into individual rolls. Secondly, it...
Sichuan Five Spice Peking Duck
Recipe & photo courtesy of Anna Rossi For the Duck1 4-5 lb whole duck, opt for “Air Chilled” for the crispiest skin if possible5 teaspoons Sichuan five spice4 tablespoons maple syrup3 tablespoons soy sauce1 tablespoon Chinese wine1 teaspoon brown sugar1 clove garlic, crushed but still whole1” x 3” shaving of orange...
Colombian Beef Sancocho
In the midst of a cold snowy February, we invited our customers to share a soup recipe or story as part of the Great Cambridge Soup-Off. We received so many stories about how our customers have thawed from the Winter chill and the following is the winning entry. Colombian Beef Sancochoby Mary-Ann...
2021 Benefit Report
Our mission is to IMPROVE the lives of spice farmers by directly sourcing from small, sustainable farms and INSPIRE culinary creativity by crafting blends that celebrate unique flavors from around the world. We value organic, fair trade ingredients, supporting women, and enriching our local community — and making sure we...
2020 Reflections by Amina Butoyi Shabani
After hours of watching New Year TV programming on the Radio-Télévision Nationale du Burundi (RTNB), it was almost time to usher into a new year: 2020. It was the first time since 1991 that I was celebrating New Year in Burundi, yes…twenty-nine years. A few days later, I had to...
There’s A Hummus Among Us!
If Middle Eastern cuisine were a theater, lamb kabob might play the dashing lead. Fatoush, a tangy salad tinged with sumac, and pilaf, a buttery rice with pine nuts, its trusty sidekicks. But off to the side, waiting patiently for its close-up, would be hummus, a velvety spread made of...
2020 Benefit Report
Did you know we’re a Certified B Corporation®? Yes indeed! This means that doing yearly transparency reports is part of how we run our business. They are always filed with the State, but now we’re making them accessible (and a bit prettier) here. Thanks for checking it out and please...