Piñon incense (L) and Horno burner on the mantle of my kiva fireplace (R)
Santa Fe is known for the fresh clean mountain air that our altitude (7000ft+) and our relatively small population density provides. It is a luxury that I sometimes take for granted until I have to travel to a large metropolitan area and am reminded that as Santa Feans, we are for the most part pollution-free.
That being said, Santa Fe does have unique odors that come and go with each season. Spring brings us the scent of broom, lilac and lavender. Summer the air is heavy with sweetgrass and sage, especially after a monsoon rain. Late summer and fall brings the distinctive aroma of roasting green chile.
Late fall and winter days and nights are filled with the scent of piñon.
Piñon is a pine tree that grows throughout the mountains of the southwest and is a primary component of the Santa Fe National Forest. Piñon has traditionally been used in New Mexico for building material, arts and crafts and, of course firewood in the winter. We also use the Piñon pine nuts in many New Mexico recipes.
Piñon Trees outside Santa FeEvery year, (usually in mid October), when the evening temperatures start to dip, people begin to light their fireplaces all over town—and the wood of choice to burn is Piñon. Piñon has a distinct scent that blankets Santa Fe all winter.
Just about everyone that visits me during the winter months comments about the way Santa Fe smells.
Fortunately, if you would like to smell like Santa Fe this winter, Incense of the West has a solution. They offer many types of wood incense, including piñon.
Box of piñon incense from Incense of the WestOne of the cool things about the incense is that you don't have to build a fire, although lighting piñon incense can be a little tricky.
The incense comes in small blocks (pictured at the top of this post) instead of cones or sticks and is basically compressed piñon sawdust. The block must remain in the flame until the sawdust begins to glow.
Once the incense is lit, you can place it on any surface that won't burn, but here in Santa Fe, we have special incense burners specifically for piñon.
These burners are shaped like mini hornos. Incense of the West makes a kind of cheesy rendition for the tourists, but you can find hand-made (and much nicer) horno incense burners at many of the pueblos.
My horno incense burner
My horno incense burner was a gift that I received before I moved to Santa Fe. It is made of micaceous clay and was purchased at the Taos pueblo. It is one of my favorite things because when I start to get bummed about the passing of summer, I can light a little piñon, sit back and look forward to another great Santa Fe winter—maybe this year I will learn to ski.
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