CUISINE OF MEXICO

Thanks to pre-Hispanic and Spanish influences, Mexican cuisine, with more than 20 centuries of tradition, brings together the flavors of two continents with colorful and delicious dishes. The key to Mexican gastronomy is the vast number of ingredients used, including corn, beans, chili peppers, vegetables and domestic meats; however at times some of the food products can come from Europe as well. The wide range of flavors, colors and textures, the manner in which the dishes are presented, and the local culinary techniques used are all part of the unique experience.

MEXICO’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WORLD

Mexico is a source of grand gastronomical richness, not only because of the variety of modern-day ingredients, but also because of the vast culinary offerings that continue to influence the cuisine of other countries. Consider the origins of the following:

The Tomato: a fruit whose consumption in salads and Mexican antojitos (snacks of indigenous and Spanish mixed origin) is also the sauce base of international fame like in ketchup, of British origin; or soups like the Spanish gazpacho and popular Italian plates like pizza, cannelloni and spaghetti.

Chocolate: famous worldwide, an element made by splitting the cacao seed and had its origin in Mexico. In the pre-Hispanic era, the ancient Mexicans considered it a sacred element since Quetzalcóatl, one of the most important gods of pre-Columbian worship, gave it to the people so that they could use it in their offerings and rituals. In our days, this element has transcended borders, inventing itself in different nations around the world where it is sold in varying forms.

Corn: a native grain of Mexico, was the basic food of the American cultures who considered it a gift of the gods and the substance from which the first men were created. It is used in the preparation of dishes like polenta (ground and cooked), consumed in Italy, Bulgaria and Romania, where it is produced with the flour of this grain. From corn we also get huitlacoche, the fungus of the corn ear, considered a very important ingredient in dishes of high cuisine in Europe and the United States of America.

The chile: an ingredient of a thousand flavors, is enjoyed in diverse types of sauces that add flavor to innumerable dishes. This condiment is also known by the names of ají (red pepper) or Indian pepper, and is one of the most important ingredients in the preparation of typical dishes in the United States, India, Pakistan and Indonesia not to mention Eastern Europe and Central America.

The avocado: native fruit of the high altitudes of Central and Eastern Mexico, has multiplied its cultivation in different parts of the globe, distinguishing itself by its smooth texture and flavor. You can enjoy it in varying recipes of high cuisine, such as tartar de salmón y aguacate (salmon and avocado mousse) of the Canary Islands in Spain, or avocado and pecan ice cream, created in Israel.

Vanilla: whose sweet essence owes its origin to an orchid native of the Papantla area in the state of Veracruz, has become an essential ingredient in desserts, candies and cakes all around the world.

Guajolote (turkey), a bird whose meat is much valued in preparing special dishes in times like Christmas or Thanksgiving Day.

The nopal: a cactus native to the desert regions of Mexico, which has been consumed since the pre-Hispanic era, not only for its gastronomical qualities but also for its medicinal and industrial value. The use of the nopal is fundamental in the preparation of salads and sauces of Peruvian gastronomy, where it is known by the name of its fruit (tuna), while in Spain the tunas are served cool in syrup mixed with sugar and other fruits.

TRADITIONAL FLAVORS

To taste the traditional foods of each region of Mexico is like journeying through a collection of maps, and regional histories, where the culinary wealth of different countries intermingles with traditional Mexican cuisine.

Pre-Hispanic flavors are still inherent in exquisite dishes, sauces, fruit and herbs. Amongst these, tamales (a popular snack of cooked corn paste prepared with meat or fruit, wrapped in banana or corn leaves and steamed) together with tomato and chili sauces prepared in molcajetes (querns) and served with tortillas, are particularly remarkable. Other native grains and plants that define the quintessential Mexican kitchen include pumpkin seeds, pumpkin flowers and huitlacoche (a type of fungus that grows inside the corncobs) as well as fleshy nopal (cactus) leaves and succulent prickly pears.

During the colonial era, this grand variety of ingredients and local cooking techniques fused with those traditions and flavors arriving from Europe and Asia – creating centers of culinary experimentation. The fruits of this gastronomic journey are still ever-present in daily Mexican life.

The most famous creation of the old colonial chefs is mole poblano, a sauce made from different types of chilies, dried plums, almonds, cinnamon and chocolate and served with turkey or chicken meat. The traditional tortillas eventually transformed into what we now call enchiladas - tortillas in salsa verde (a sauce made with green chili peppers) adorned with cheese and onion rings. Other popular dishes, such as the famous chiles en nogada, stemmed from innovation. This tricolor dish is comprised of green poblano peppers stuffed with minced meat, banana, raisins, apples and pine nuts, and infused with a sauce of white nuts.

The traditional sweets, which you can find in the southern and central parts of the country, will please the eyes and delight taste buds. A good example of such a confection are the cicadas - sugar sweets that are also known as alfeñiques, buñuelos, camotes and crystallized fruit.

The Aztecs appreciated amaranth seeds in a variety of ways and can be sampled in the charamuscas, morelianas, pirulís and alegrías. Other delicatessens that stand out as traditional sweets are the colorful pepitorias which are made with pumpkin pips and the palanquetas that are prepared with nuts or peanuts, caramel sweets and tamarinds which are either salted or spiced with chilies.

With the passage of time, many other recipes were created though unrecorded. Remarkably these recipes were passed on verbally from one cook to the next and were safeguarded within families, villages and regions.

CONTEMPORARY FLAIR

In recent years, Mexican chefs have shown that the unique flavors of traditional ingredients and those from other countries, together with creative use of colors and designs, can be combined to create wondrous works of art. This recipe is used to create new techniques through which taste, presentation and texture are emphasized. These are also the techniques that embody the essence of contemporary Mexican cuisine.

In Mexican cuisine restaurants, you will find menus for multiple courses. Prepare your palate for taste a variety of delicacies and combinations - meat served with sweet fruit-sauce or prepared with pulque (white, fermented beverage from the agave plant).

Savor some of the traditional pre-Hispanic vegetables like huitlacoche (corn fungus), pumpkin flowers or huazontles (a plant bearing edible flowers) prepared with goat cheese and carrying a whiff of the Mediterranean. Imagine one of the most traditional sauces of the Yucatan Peninsula that is called chiltomate which is made with tomatoes, habanero chilies, onions and coriander, served over delicious taquitos de jícama (tacos made from a juicy, white tuber) stuffed with chapulines (grasshoppers), huitlacoche and Oaxaca cheese. Or how about some tacos with shrimp, laced with tamarind sauce and garnished with fried banana?

You will be continually amazed by the combination of cheeses, such as Camembert or Brie, with green chilies and pasilla chilies. You should also try shrimp with "black filling" (a sauce made with a traditional condiment from Mérida). Discover the diversity of the national ingredients, and their fusion with traditional Asian recipes, in a mixture where chipotle chilies substitute the seaweed in sushi, and the spring rolls contain nopal (cactus), avocado and carrot. Finally, remember not to miss reinvented typical recipes like guacamole served like a mousse with pieces of onion, tomato and crispy pork rind.

We could enumerate these kinds of combinations infinitely. It should also be noted that the variety of ingredients is not the only important factor; the presentation plays a fundamental role as well. Seeds, plants and fruit serve perfectly as decorative elements on the plate, and varied sauces are used to create lovely figures that add color and give a special touch to the dish.

Create a glorious ending for your delicious dinner with an exotic dessert made with fruit, liquors or spices that come from all over the world, accompanied by jellies and sauces with the most imaginative ingredients. Mexican confectioneries have made good use of these elements offer an unforgettable flavor.