Strong-flavored and leafy, it's used in Mexican cooking, particularly in Yucatecan dishes. It is also a carminative, which means it reduces the gas associated with beans. Now that's enough to make you run out and buy some. But there's another reason - the incomparable flavor epazote adds to black beans, quesadillas and other dishes. You have to acquire a taste for it.
Some cooks use another Mexican herb, cilantro, in recipes that call for epazote.
The two show up in many of the same recipes, but their flavors aren't really similar. Ivey always uses epazote in black beans. He recommends adding the herb during the last 30 minutes of cooking to maximize flavor. Ivey notes fresh epazote is often paired with melting cheese in the Oaxacan province of Mexico. Perhaps the most popular use of fresh epazote leaves is in cheese quesadillas.