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“Sorcery—which palo santo is traditionally associated with—is in vogue,” proclaims Yana Wolfson, beverage director of New York’s Mexican café, ATLA. But what exactly is palo santo?
For years, Wolfson has served a cucumber-yuzu agua fresca made with a palo santo-infused water. Wolfson is one of the many chefs and bartenders who are looking back to move ahead by “sourcing and celebrating ingredients of the past,” of which palo santo is one. Native to South America and Mexico, the wood is prized for its antibacterial properties and inviting citrusy-pine aroma, and was once burned during ancient ritualist ceremonies in Ecuador and Peru.
“Palo santo was burned by the Manteños, in the Manabí region of Ecuador,” explains Sacred Wood Essence founder Erik Suarez, referencing the country’s pre-Columbian civilization that dates back to circa 850 CE, one of the earliest known records of palo santo use. “There is evidence of it being burned in ceramic bowls, most likely during ceremonies or rituals.” According to Ecuadorian history, when the Spanish arrived to the country around 1500, they discovered the tree’s myriad health benefits—its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, and its ability to treat respiratory ailments, among others—and so they named it palo santo, which translates to holy wood in Spanish.
Lately, it’s begun to appear in beauty products—one of the first brands to embrace it was natural haircare brand Rahua, whose founder Fabian Lliguin explains that as a hairdresser of Inca descent, he’s been familiar with the wood since childhood, prizing the wood for its medicinal benefits and mysterious aroma. Now, palo santo is making its way onto restaurant and bar menus. To see just how one can use this magical herb, below are the four best benefits of palo santo. Read on to see which one piques your interest most.
Palo santo is known to ward off bad spirits.
Palo santo’s most well-known use is a spiritual one. According to Sudha Nair, naturopathy expert and wellness manager at Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An, the belief that it can ward off evil spirits is rooted in cultural and spiritual practices for many cultures, particularly for indigenous South Americans. “The smoke produced when palo santo is burned is believed to have the ability to clear negative energy and purify a space,” Nair says. “This cleansing effect is thought to dispel negative influences, including bad energies, creating a more positive and harmonious environment.”
Paula Benedi, integrative health practitioner and founder of Synergised, agrees and says that burning the wood as incense is the traditional practice; releasing the purifying smoke dispels negative energy.
It isn’t the only herb used to bring on good fortune. Many are familiar with white sage for its similar functions, but Benedi says they are two completely different plants with one of the biggest differences between the two is the smell. She says that burning palo santo will give off a sweet woody aroma while sage has more of an earthy musk scent. They also differ in their cultural significance. In South American cultures, explains Nair, palo santo is used for purification and healing to bring on the good vibes. White sage in Native American traditions focuses on removing negativity and energy cleansing a space.
It can be used to boost your mood.
Fans of aromatherapy know palo santo’s uplifting abilities. According to Nair, the essential oil is used to induce relaxation and reduce stress, anxiety, and emotional pain. It is also believed that the scent can stimulate creativity and increase focus, she adds.
“Palo santo is believed to have cleansing properties that may help clear stagnant or negative energy from the surroundings. Spritzing it on furniture and fabrics could contribute to a fresher and more revitalized environment,” she says. “The aroma of palo santo is often associated with relaxation and stress relief. Spraying it on fabrics like cushions, curtains, or bedding could create a calming ambiance, potentially aiding in relaxation and improving mood.” So whether you burn palo santo on your own or use a diffuser, having it around has many upsides for your well-being.
Some believe it can relieve headaches and provide other health benefits.
Nair says that palo santo has some healing properties and has been used to heal the physical symptoms of certain ailments, such as colds, the flu, headaches, and inflammation. Benedi explains that the smoke may offer respiratory benefits to ease coughs while its aroma induces a calming grounding effect to ease headaches and other discomforts.
It enhances flavor and adds an alluring aroma to food and drinks.
While palo santo wood is not typically used directly in food preparation or cooking (it is primarily known for its aromatic properties when burned as incense or used in smudging ceremonies), Nair says that what is starting to be incorporated into dishes or beverages is the essential oil. Derived from the steam distillation of the wood, the oil is used sparingly in some recipes for some unique flavor. “In very small quantities, [it] might be used by professional chefs or mixologists to add a distinctive and aromatic touch to dishes or beverages,” she says.
After learning about palo santo through a friend and becoming intrigued by its intoxicating aroma, in 2008 Suarez began selling palo santo essential oil at music festivals. Over the last decade-plus, he’s grown his company into one of the largest U.S. sellers of palo santo by volume, with much of his sales coming from the West Coast—also a hotbed for palo santo-infused drinks.
Last year, bar director Yael Vengroff of Los Angeles’s Spare Room updated the venue’s longstanding tequila cocktail, The Sandpiper, by infusing the base spirit with palo santo wood. Vengroff felt the tree’s woodsy-lemony taste would match the drink’s complementary flavors of spiced pineapple and cardamom. She explains that, in her drink, palo santo functions similarly to ”the way bitters work in many classic cocktails,” by uniting flavors without overpowering them.
Meanwhile, two months ago at Downtown L.A.’s Broken Shaker, Bar Manager Christine Wiseman threw Woke AF onto the neo-tiki bar’s menu. But rather than infuse palo santo into a spirit, she sources a palo santo essence from roving cocktail bar Road Soda. Initially keen to highlight botanicals in Fords Gin, her drink evolved into an elderflower liqueur and white vermouth-laced martini variation. Wiseman says the palo santo “enhances the botanicals of the gin, and gives it a stronger backbone.”
A number of U.S. distilleries, like Chicago distillery Letherbee, and New York’s Matchbook Distilling Co, are experimenting with adding the wood’s flavor to spirits, too. Last fall when Letherbee released its limited edition Autumnal Gin, one of the liquor’s primary botanicals was palo santo; specifically fresh sage steeped with palo santo smoke. Over at Matchbook Distilling, customers can create their own custom-blended booze via a selection of 50 botanicals, including a palo santo distillate.
And while many cross-country restaurants are mixing and muddling palo santo into drinks, some bars are infusing palo santo into foods. When Chicago’s Ludlow Liquors launched just over a year ago, chef Nick Jirasek tested out a palo santo-infused veggie eggroll, filled with palo santo-curried potatoes. Since then, the dish has evolved into a set of vegetarian samosas with a filling of potatoes mixed with coconut milk that Jirasek steeps with palo santo shavings and black cardamom.
Sacred Wood Essence’s Suarez says that he, like many others, sources his palo santo wood from Ecuador, and because of the sustainable way in which one must procure the wood, it’s not in danger of becoming extinct. “We work with a small family in Ecuador...they have special permission to collect dead fallen trees from the protected dry tropical forests of the Central Coast” to harvest palo santo wood, Suarez explains. In fact, aromatic palo santo wood can only be cut from dead trees or branches. A live tree, freshly cut, wouldn’t produce any aroma. The tree must die on its own, then dry for at least four years, enabling its internal sap to crystalize.
Suarez admits he’s a bit surprised to learn that palo santo has become a chic ingredient in a new spate of cocktails and bites. But he’s not new to the concept of it as an edible: “I chew on sticks all the time,” he says, “...to clean my teeth!”
