Frequently Asked Questions: Authentic Thai Curry Pastes

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Full list of ingredients

Allergies & Diets

Per-Serving Yield & Storage

What Makes Mae Jum Different

Is Mae Jum actually authentic Thai food, or just another curry paste on a US shelf?

Every recipe traces back to Jum's family kitchen in Trang province, Southern Thailand — passed down from her mother and grandmother, not developed in a product lab. The pastes are stone-ground the traditional way, which is why the texture and aroma are different from anything jarred or shelf-stable in a US supermarket.

This is the same range that won a Great Taste Award and earned praise from Tom Parker Bowles, food critic at the Daily Mail. If you want the version of Thai cooking that actually comes from a Thai kitchen, this is it.

What does 'stone-ground' mean and why does it matter?

Stone-grinding is a traditional Thai technique that processes herbs and spices slowly, preserving their natural oils, aromas, and complexity. Industrial methods use high-speed blades and heat, which degrade volatile flavor compounds. The difference is in the depth of flavor and once you taste it, it's impossible to miss.

Has Mae Jum won any independent awards?

Yes. Mae Jum is a multiple Great Taste Award winner. The Great Taste Awards are judged blind by a panel of food professionals and are widely regarded as the most rigorous independent food quality standard in the UK and internationally. Winning means the product earned its recognition purely on flavor.

Who is Jum?

Jum is the founder and maker behind Mae Jum. She grew up in southern Thailand surrounded by the herbs and spices that now go into every pack — galangal, lemongrass, turmeric, and others that have been grown and used in Thai cooking for generations. She moved to the UK in 1992, and Mae Jum was born from her desire to keep her family connected to their Thai heritage through food. Every recipe is hers, developed and refined over decades.

Why should I trust a small family brand over a big-name curry paste on the shelf?

Because the big-name brands are built for shelf life first and flavor second — added oils, sugar, and preservatives are what let a product sit for a year.

Mae Jum was built the other way around: Jum's own recipes, stone-ground, naturally preserved, sold in small enough batches that the quality doesn't have to be compromised to scale. It's flavors that will bring back memories from your holiday in Thailand or that high quality standard from your favorite Thai restaurant

Why sachets instead of a jar?

It's simply safer in transit — no glass to break, lighter to ship, and far less likely to arrive as a mess in your mailbox. Less packaging, less risk, more concentrated flavor per gram.

Cooking with Mae Jum for the first time?

I don't do well with really spicy food. Will this burn my mouth?

The range runs from mild to very hot, and every pack carries a chilli rating so you know what you're getting before you open it. Jum uses different chilli varieties depending on the recipe, and because most ingredients are harvested only days before the paste is made, there can be small natural shifts in heat from batch to batch, the way any fresh-ingredient product would.

Spice level is also in your hands: use less paste for a gentler dish, more for real heat. Panang and Massaman sit at the milder, creamier end; Jungle Curry and Kua Kling are for the heat-seekers. Start where you're comfortable — the paste won't force you further than you want to go.

I've never cooked Thai food before — will I ruin this?

Don't worry, you are in good hands. The hardest part of Thai cooking is getting the balance right between all the herbs and spices and we'll taken care of that part for you!

The cooking part is simple - bloom the curry paste in oil or the cream of the coconut milk, add protein followed by the remaining coconut milk with vegetables. Allow to simmer into everything is cooked and then season to preference.

Traditionally, you'll want to add a dash of fish sauce and a touch of palm sugar, but if you don't have these ingredients yet, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of light brown sugar will do the same!

What do I need to buy on top of the paste?

Depends on the dish, but commonly: coconut milk, and your choice of protein or vegetables. For a more traditional result you can add fish sauce, palm sugar, or shrimp paste — but the paste stands on its own without them if you'd rather keep it simple. Either way, you're not hunting down a specialty grocery list to get a real result.

How does this compare to the jarred Thai sauce at my regular grocery store?

Most supermarket jarred sauces are built around oil, sugar, and preservatives to survive months — sometimes years — on a shelf. Mae Jum's pastes are naturally preserved with salt, stone-ground rather than blended, and carry no added oil or sugar. The flavor comes from the herbs and spices themselves, not from a sweetened base. If you've found supermarket Thai sauce flat or one-note, this is the reason why, and we can be the fix.

Are these pastes actually good, or is that just marketing?

Over 2,100 reviews sit at a 92% five-star rating, and Mae Jum holds Judge.me's Platinum verification badge — which means every single review is published, good or bad, with none hidden or deleted.

A Great Taste Award and an endorsed quote from a national food critic aren't things a new brand can buy either — they're earned per batch, per judge, per taste test. This is about as close as review data gets to an unfiltered answer.

Is this worth it compared to just ordering Thai takeout?

A pack costs a fraction of a single takeout curry and makes multiple servings, using ingredients you control from your own kitchen — no added oil, sugar, or MSG hiding in the sauce. It's a different kind of value: lower cost per meal, and you know exactly what went into the pot. Order takeout once, or cook the same curry three or four times from one pack.

Which curry should I try first if I don't know Thai food well?

Panang and Massaman are the friendliest entry points — rich, coconut-forward, and only mildly spiced. If you want a proper introduction to the range without committing to a single flavor, the Taster Bundle covers Green, Red, Yellow, Panang, Massaman, and Jungle in one order — the lowest-risk way to find your favorite.

Can I feed this to my kids, or is it too much for a family meal?

Thai food doesn't have to mean heat. The spice-level badges make it straightforward to pick a milder paste for the family table, and you can always scale the amount of paste down further for younger palates while still using the full flavor base. One pantry item covers the whole table, not just the adults.

I want to cook for a dinner party — will one pack be enough for six people?

One pack is built around 6–8 standard servings, so for a group that size you'll be all set with a single pack per curry with 2 cans of coconut milk.

Would this make a good gift, or is it too niche for someone who isn't already into Thai cooking?

The Gift Box Set exists specifically for this — a curated taster range for someone who'd enjoy exploring Thai cooking but wouldn't know where to start buying individual pastes themselves.

It pairs a genuine story (a mother preserving her family's recipes) with a product people actually use, rather than a gift-and-forget novelty — the kind of gift that gets used the week it arrives, not left in a cupboard.