Mac mat (Mắc Mật)

In Vietnam the fruit of the Clausena Indica mắc mật (mac mat), literally 'ant fruit'. The is a lonely wild plant of which both the (fresh) leaves and the (dried) fruits are used as a flavouring.

New! Macmat. Still in limited quantities :-)

The Clausena Indica or wild wampi, like the Szechuan plants, is a member of the Rue family and related to Citrus. In Vietnam, this tree grows in the limestone mountains of the northwest. Cao Bang and Lang Son. The fruits and leaves are traditionally used as medicine and spice by the ethnic minority groups living there, the Tay and Nung. The pickers are primarily Tay, like the pickers of our mac mat from Lang Son.

The mac mat's inflorescence is panicle-shaped. The flowers are greenish-white, about 6-8 mm long. The fruits are almost spherical berries, pink or cream-colored, 1-2 cm long. They contain a lot of pulp and a single seed. They are, of course, at their most delicious when fresh. However, they are only available for a short time and only at the local markets in and around Cao Bang. Moreover, the tree only bears fruit once a year, and the harvesting season is limited to the months of June and July, and only available then. Therefore, many leaves and fruits are dried in the open air.

Taste and smell

Mắc mật has a characteristic odor, the taste is light

Taste and smell

Mắc mật has a characteristic odor, the taste is slightly spicy, slightly sweet, with a sourness similar to sumac. Mắc mật khô, the dried fruit also has bitter tones.

Usage

If you soak them briefly in water - about five minutes - you can easily bruise the fruit - with or without the seed - and then grind it into a fine paste with a mortar, Just like you do with tamarind. The pulp has a more refined flavor than the seed, but it only makes up a small portion of the fruit.

You can also grind the whole berries without soaking them first. Dry-ground mac mat is called bột mắc mật.

In Vietnamese cuisine, the berries are added whole to pickled bamboo shoots, to marinades for pork, duck, and chicken (whether roasted or stewed), and to sausages. It is sometimes used in place of allspice or nutmeg. Also try the berries in Vietnamese beef soup (Pho vang)—leave them whole and let them steep in the broth.

Take Chẩm chéo, a paste used as a dipping sauce for meat and bamboo shoots. The paste is made from equal parts mắc mật, mắc khén, dried Chile, garlic and ginger, Sometimes also cardamom. The dry ingredients are roasted, after which the other ingredients are added, and finally, a little—but not too much—water.

Features:

• 100% pepperberries of the Clausena Indica
• foraging!
• origin: Lang Son, Vietnam
• available in our store since February 2, 2026

Assortment

• available in glass and stand-up pouch (no test tubes)
• larger quantities on request

Gift wrapping

• The jar is available in a tasteful gift packaging, consisting of a cube box filled with black tissue paper.
• For an overview of our gift packaging, please refer to the section gift wrapping

General advice

• store mac mat in a dark, dry and cool place
• best before January 2028 (01-2028)
• the expiration date is an indication

Batch number MF600422

The batch number helps us track which batch an item originates from. It's listed on the packing slip and invoice.