Our Ingredients | Pure Herbs
At The Rub Kitchen, we believe that a good rub starts with the quality of its ingredients. Not what's in a supermarket jar, but herbs and spices that know their origins.
Most of our herbs and spices are sourced directly from India, where they are freshly ground right before our eyes. This makes a world of difference in taste, color, and aroma. Freshly ground cumin smells different from what has been sitting in a jar for months. You can taste that difference on your chicken.
Why India?
India is the world's largest producer of spices and has an age-old tradition in cultivating, drying, and grinding herbs. The soil, climate, and knowledge passed down through generations produce cumin, coriander, ginger, and turmeric of a quality difficult to find in Europe.
We work with suppliers who freshly grind our spices before shipment. This means that the essential oils — the carriers of flavor and aroma — are still fully intact when they go into our rubs. And ultimately, onto your chicken.
No intermediaries, no long storage periods, no artificial additives. Just pure product, from the source to your BBQ.
Cumin is at the heart of our Shawarma and Tex Mex rubs. Freshly ground cumin has an earthy, warm, and slightly citrusy aroma that standard cumin from a jar cannot match.
Cumin caramelizes beautifully at high temperatures and contributes to the dark crust you see on well-rubbed chicken.
Coriander seeds add a floral, slightly citrusy depth to our Shawarma rub. Freshly ground coriander has a subtle aroma that quickly dissipates with prolonged storage.
In combination with cumin, coriander forms the classic Middle Eastern base that gives the Shawarma its recognizable character.
Gochugaru are Korean chili flakes with a unique fruity and slightly smoky heat profile. The flakes give the Korean rub its characteristic deep orange-red color and a heat that builds rather than attacks immediately.
Kashmiri mirch is a mild Indian chili known for its spectacular deep red color and fruity aroma. In our Tex Mex rub, Kashmiri mirch provides that striking orange-red color on the meat.
Yellow mustard powder is the dominant flavor in our Carolina Gold rub — accounting for 37% of the total weight. It provides a slightly tart, pungent undertone characteristic of the Carolina BBQ tradition.
Allspice is the heart of authentic Jamaican Jerk rub. Its flavor combines cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a single spice — hence the English name "allspice".
Scotch bonnet is the sacred pepper of Jamaican cuisine. At 200,000 SHU, it's extremely hot, but we only use 2g per 100g of rub — purely for its unique fruity, floral aroma.
Our smoked paprika comes from La Vera, Spain — a region with a protected designation of origin (DO) for pimentón ahumado. The paprikas are traditionally smoked over oak wood.