You Can Do It Better: Taco Seasoning

I think I read more ingredients lists and nutrition facts than prose anymore, which often leads to some surprising findings. Having an especially strong affinity for Mexican food, I naturally flipped around my can of taco seasoning to have a look. Here's what I found:

(in decreasing order based on percentage of the total weight)
Maltodextrin
Salt
Chili pepper
Onion powder
Spice
Monosodium glutamate
Corn starch
Yellow corn flour
Partially hydrogenated soybean oil
Silicon dioxide (anticaking agent)
Natural flavor
Ethoxyquin (preservative)
BHT (preservative)

I'm not a food chemist, so I had to do some research about some of these ingredients. Without going into painful detail, I'll break down the list:

• You'll notice the first ingredient isn't something you're likely to have in your spice rack. Maltodextrin is a sugar-like compound derived from corn.
• The second ingredient isn't a good sign either. In fact, one pound of ground beef prepared with this seasoning, following the instructions, will yield a concoction with a total 115 percent of a single person's daily allowance of sodium on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet.
• Chili pepper and onion powder are the third and fourth most prevalent ingredients, respectively, but they're the first ingredients providing anything close to "taco flavor." They're also very strong flavors, which probably mask the flavors of the other ingredients—and of bland industrially-produced beef or chicken—rather well.
• "Spice" is the maker's way of protecting their proprietary mix of herbs and/or spices from would-be copycats. It's a pretty safe bet that this "spice" is likely a mixture of cumin, garlic powder and maybe coriander.
• MSG, the bane of lovers of Americanized Chinese food, is also present here. Its purpose is to magnify the flavors of the spices—and to some extent the meat—by artificially triggering the fifth sense of taste the Japanese call "umami," or deliciousness. MSG is also a good source of headaches for many people.
• Corn starch and yellow corn flour are the second and third instances of corn products in this taco seasoning. They probably act as thickeners and/or fillers.
• The soybean oil is a bit of a mystery to me, but it might lock on to the oils in the spices in order to increase the shelf life of the product.
• Yes, silicon dioxide is basically sand. And yes, it is considered a legitimate additive.
• I have no idea what "natural flavor" might contain, but it could be any proprietary combination of what the manufacturer considers flavor enhancers.
• These last two ingredients are preservatives.
• Ethoxyquin is both a food preservative and a pesticide. It's used to prevent fats, like aromatic spice oils, from becoming rancid. There's no conclusive evidence that this chemical is dangerous, but it has been linked to increased levels of enzymes in the liver.
• BHT is butylated hydroxytoluene, a fat-soluble antioxidant, which has been (inconclusively) linked to child hyperactivity and possibly cancer. Basically, it protects the flavors of the product by preventing the spices from reacting with oxygen.

Honestly, some of these "ingredients" are down right odd—and even scary. From a corporate perspective, food product stability is incredibly important, but is having taco seasoning with a shelf life of two to three years worth passing on (to the consumers) the unknown costs of using some of these ingredients? Besides, how many consumers are likely to take the time to research butylated hydroxytoluene?

So with these questions and others swirling around my taco-craving brain, I set out to create my own seasoning mix without corn, sand and pesticides. I've been adjusting the proportions for some time now, but I think it's a good, all-natural alternative to the store bought stuff.

Homemade taco seasoning
Makes spice mix for 1 pound of meat or beans

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon garlic powder (not salt)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder (not salt)
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions:
Stirring together ground versions of all these ingredients is perfectly acceptable, but I like to lightly toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan to amp up their flavors. I add all these ingredients to a coffee grinder (dedicated to spices) and grind until they form an even mixture.

It's perfectly fine to add this spice mix to browned meat with 1/2 cup of water and reduce over low heat, but I usually go a little further. I normally stir the spice mixture together with 1/2 cup of water, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste to create a surprisingly deep flavor.  (The Worcestershire sauce is a better way to develop "umami" without chemical additives.) Just before serving, I like to stir in a tablespoon or two of finely chopped, fresh cilantro.

This is a really versatile recipe that can be altered for any personal preferences. The important part is that the total volume of ground spices be about 1/4 cup. It would be ideal to use this mixture immediately, but it's not likely to degrade in quality for about a month if stored in an air-tight container.

Results:
Customization is the name of the taco game, in my opinion. You could eliminate the garlic and onion powders in favor of freshly chopped ingredients added directly to the meat. I hope to eventually try an altered version of this with a black bean base. Ooh, new idea: tacos with a splash of fresh lime juice! See what I mean?

I've really come to love the vibrant, fresher flavors I find when I make tacos this way, especially with better quality, local meat. Best of all, however, is that I know precisely what's going into my food. No sand, no laboratory chemicals and no corn unless I choose to have corn tortillas! One thing is for sure, though—I'll never buy factory-made taco seasoning again.