Everything about Mexican Cuisine totally explained
Mexican food is a style of food that originated in
Mexico. Mexican cuisine is known for its intense and varied flavors, colorful decoration, and variety of spices.
National cuisine
When Spanish
conquistadores, in other words
soldiers, arrived in the
Aztec capital
Tenochtitlan (the ancient city on which
Mexico City was built), they found that the people's diet consisted largely of
corn-based dishes with chilies and
herbs, usually complemented with beans and tomatoes. The
conquistadores eventually combined their imported diet of
rice,
beef,
pork,
chicken,
wine,
garlic and
onions with the indigenous foods of
pre-Columbian Mexico, including
chocolate,
maize,
tomato,
vanilla,
avocado,
papaya,
pineapple,
chile pepper,
beans,
squash,
sweet potato,
peanut,
fish and
turkey.
Most of today's Mexican food is based on ancient traditions, such as the
Aztecs and
Maya, combined with culinary trends introduced by Spanish colonists.
Quesadillas, for example, are a
flour or corn
tortilla with
cheese (often a Mexican-style soft farmer's cheese such as
Queso Fresco), beef, chicken, pork, and so on. The indigenous part of this and many other traditional foods is the chili pepper. Foods like these tend to be very colorful because of the rich variety of vegetables (among them are the chili peppers,
green peppers, chilies,
broccoli,
cauliflower, and
radishes) and
meats in Mexican food. The French occupation of Mexico influenced Mexican cuisine with
baked goods such as
sweet breads and the
bolillo (pronounced bo-lee-yo), a Mexican take on the French roll. There is also a minor
Filipino influence due to the
Manila-Acapulco galleon trade, which lasted from
1565 to
1815.
There are also more exotic dishes, cooked in the Aztec or Mayan style, with ingredients ranging from
iguana to
rattlesnake,
deer,
spider monkey, and even some kinds of
insects. This is usually known as
comida prehispánica (or prehispanic food).
Common dishes found on a national level
Foods that are part of the Mexican culinary tradition include:
Regional cuisine
Mexican food varies by region, because of local climate and geography and ethnic differences among the indigenous inhabitants and because these different populations were influenced by the Spaniards in varying degrees. The north of Mexico is known for its
beef production and
meat dishes. Southeastern Mexico, on the other hand, is known for its spicy
vegetable and
chicken-based dishes. Seafood is commonly prepared in the states that border the
Pacific Ocean or the
Gulf of Mexico.
Mexican cuisine outside of Mexico
A distinction must be made between truly authentic Mexican food, and "Tex Mex" (Texan-Mexican) cuisine. Mexican cuisine combines with the cuisine of the southwest
United States (which itself has a number of Mexican influences) to form Cal-Mex and
Tex-Mex cuisine.
While Mexican Restaurants can be found in almost any town throughout the United States, few use "authentic" or "traditional" techniques and ingredients. Some states, such as Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of California and Florida, have high Mexican/Hispanic populations; many authentic Mexican Restaurants can be found in these parts of the country.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mexican Cuisine'.
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