Aztecs, Mayans and corn
Many of the foods we eat in Europe today were imported from the New World with the Spanish conquest from the 15th century onwards: corn, potatoes, beans, chillies, sweet potatoes, manioc, cocoa, tomatoes, vanilla and many other products without which our European gastronomies would seem far more bland.
Corn has been consumed in Mexico for at least 9,000 years. Cultivated by the Aztecs, then by the Mayas, it later reached the rest of the American continent thanks to trade with the Incas 3,000 years ago, while the less cold varieties were planted by the Pueblo Indians in the southern part of today's USA.
Mexico is considered the grain's center of diversity, and there are officially 64 varieties of corn in the country. This genetic diversity has been under threat since the introduction of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), with the Mexican government favoring the import of corn from the USA, leading many farmers to abandon its cultivation. This yellow, GMO corn is well graded, unlike the white, black, purple, brown, red, blue and even rainbow varieties that have been used by Mexicans to prepare their specialties for thousands of years. These corn kernels are treated with nixtamal, a mixture of water and lime that softens them before being ground into a paste(masa) used to make tortillas.
Chili peppers(chile) - originally from tropical America - are an integral part of Mexican culture, and the country boasts no fewer than 150 varieties, both fresh and dried. The powerful jalapeño is green, crunchy and smooth. Once smoked and dried, it is known as chipotle. The poblano resembles a small bell pepper and is usually stuffed. When dried, it is called ancho. The bola - called cascabel when dried - is shaped like a small ball. The habanero, resembling a small crumpled yellow or red bell pepper, is also very common in the West Indies. It is one of the strongest peppers in the world. Finally,árbol - also known in France as "bird's-tongue pepper" - is also extremely hot. Other condiments include cumin, coriander, oregano and epazote, also known as "false ambrosia". Mexico produces a number of cheeses, including queso fresco, a light, barely-aged cheese. Queso añejo is more mature and hard, while queso Oaxaca resembles mozzarella, often spun into a ball.
It's likely that the Aztecs were the first to cultivate tomatoes, giving us the word "tomatl". In Mexico, the term "tomato" refers to a green tomato, while "jitomate" is used for a classic red tomato. There are also over 70 varieties of frijoles or beans in the country: black, beige, white, red or spotted. In fact, many species are native to Mexico, and the Aztecs have been eating these legumes for thousands of years. Cultivated in central Mexico for over 7,000 years, the avocado is one of Mexico's best-known fruits, accounting for around a third of global production. Over 90% of the country's avocados come from the small state of Michoacán. Other tropical fruits include citrus, lychee, pineapple, banana, papaya, guava, coconut, zapote, mamey, pitaya and tomatillo.
Mexico is also home to a number of culinary oddities. These include nopal (the leaf of the prickly pear), which can be boiled or grilled over a wood fire and tastes a little like green beans, or huitlacoche or corn charcoal, a parasitic fungus that transforms corn kernels into large, spongy, grey balls. It's a delicacy of choice as a tortilla filling or in soup. Insects are also common. The chapulin (grasshopper), an Oaxacan specialty, is generally eaten grilled in a taco with guacamole, but escamoles (ant larvae), chinicuiles or gusano (called "agave worm", it's actually a caterpillar) or even salsa de hormiga, prepared with chillies and ants of the chicatana species, are not to be forgotten.
Mexican street food
Often called antojitos, local street-food snacks of varying sizes are generally made from tortillas. Tacos are small patties filled with meat, fish or vegetables. Tacos al pastor ("shepherd's tacos"), for example, are made with marinated pork, finely sliced with queso fresco, chopped onion and coriander. Tacos dorados or taquitos are also called flautas because of their flute-like shape. They are rolled with a filling, then deep-fried. Chalupas are similar to tacos, but in thicker brioche patties. Gorditas are small turnovers with taco-style fillings. Molotes are corn or potato dough fritters, stuffed and fried. Tamales, one of the most emblematic Mexican dishes, are prepared with steamed corn purée wrapped in the leaves that surround the corn cob. They are sometimes garnished with meat before cooking.
Antojitos can sometimes be very hearty. The pambazo is a sandwich made with bread soaked in a guajillo pepper sauce, then topped with chorizo potatoes. These snacks are often served with the inevitable frijol refrito, a black bean purée. These snacks are often served with the essential frijol refrito, a black bean puree. Other snacks include huarache, a large corn patty topped with frijol refrito, queso fresco, onions and minced beef tongue, or chilaquiles (fried tacos cut into triangles, topped with sauce, black beans, cheese and fried egg). And let's not forget quesadillas, tortillas folded in half, stuffed with meat and vegetables and, above all, lots of cheese, while the burrito is a tortilla rolled on a filling of meat, spicy rice and black beans. Finally, don't forget chile relleno, a chili recipe stuffed with cheese and/or meat, then breaded and fried.
The classics of Mexican cuisine
The most popular accompanying sauce is pico de gallo. This blend of tomato, onion, garlic, lemon, coriander and chili pepper is very fresh. The richer mole is made with various dried and ground chillies, to which cocoa and various spices are added. The best known is mole poblano (from Puebla), but there's also mole verde (made with green tomatoes) or rojo (red tomatoes). This sauce is generally served with poultry.
Chicken is indeed a popular meat, and can be prepared in many different ways, from the simple pollo asado (barbecued chicken) to the pollo encacahuatado, topped with a rich peanut sauce. It can also be found as a breaded cutlet(pechuga de pollo empanizada) for a derisory price. There's no shortage of egg recipes for breakfast: huevos a la mexicana (scrambled eggs with tomato, chilli and onion), a la ranchera (fried eggs with tomato and coriander compote on a tortilla) or motuleños (fried eggs with black beans, cheese, hot sauce, plantain and ham on a tortilla).
Among the most popular pork dishes are carnitas (meat cooked for several hours in lard and shredded), chilorio (shredded pork seasoned with chili, cumin and garlic) and calabacitas con puerco (spicy pork stew with zucchini). Cochinita pibil is a dish native to Yucatán, featuring pork marinated in citrus juice and roucou seeds (a natural red dye) and cooked for a long time in banana leaves. Chicharrónes, grilled pork rinds, are also eaten like potato chips.
In the north of the country, people eat machaca, dried beef simmered in a spicy tomato sauce and then shredded, often to garnish burritos. The term "bistec" refers to thinly sliced grilled beef served as a sandwich. Albóndigas are meatballs served in a chipotle pepper sauce. Other meat dishes include barbacoa (a type of barbecue over embers or a hole filled with hot stones prepared with beef or mutton), birria (spicy mutton soup) or cabrito al pastor (braised kid).
With over 9,000 kilometers of coastline, Mexico is a true paradise for seafood lovers. Fish (swordfish, tuna, grouper, dolphinfish, snapper) and seafood (shrimp, crab, lobster, oysters, squid, etc.) are often served with mojo de ajo (butter and garlic) and mojo a la veracruzana (tomato sauce, onion, garlic, olives, capers). Ceviche (raw fish seared in lemon or chili juice),aguachile (shrimp and avocado marinated in lemon juice and coriander) or pescado zarandeado (finely spiced barbecued fish) are also popular.
Soups are also popular. Caldo de siete mares is a seafood soup, while caldo tlalpeño is a chicken, vegetable and chickpea soup. Pozole is a thick corn soup topped with shredded pork, radish, onion and chili pepper.Arroz a la tumbada is a seafood rice specialty, whilearroz poblano is cooked in a green chili, coriander and onion purée with pulled pork.
Sweets and drinks
Mexican desserts include tres leches (sponge cake soaked in sweetened condensed milk and topped with whipped cream), sopapillas (sugar doughnuts, sometimes topped with honey, made with wheat flour, but sometimes also containing pumpkin purée), buñuelos (small round sugar doughnuts), conchas (brioche covered with a sugar crust), roscón de reyes (Epiphany-style brioche ring), pan de muerto (orange and aniseed brioche decorated with a cross for Día de Muertos, November1 ), pastel de elote (soft corn cake),alfajor (chocolate-covered dulce de leche cookies), churros and, of course, flan (crème caramel). As for traditional sweets, to mention only the most famous, you can try muégano (small cubes of fried dough agglomerated into a ball with caramel) and alegrías (nougat with honey and amaranth seeds).
Chocolate de agua is a typically Mexican hot chocolate, made with water rather than milk, and flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Or enjoy a horchata, a milky Spanish drink made from rice or oats, flavoured with cinnamon and served iced. Finally, coffee was imported from Ethiopia to the American continent in the early 18th century, entering Mexico via the state of Veracruz and then spreading to the southern states (Oaxaca, Chiapas) and the Pacific coast (Colima, Jalisco). Here, coffee is usually prepared in the American style, i.e. very diluted. Café con leche (coffee with milk) is a breakfast specialty. Cafe de olla is typical of the country: a coffee-based herbal tea with spices (mainly cinnamon), always served in earthenware jug-shaped cups.
Fresh drinks include licuados, delicious fruit juices made with milk, sold in stalls at ridiculously low prices. Or try chamoyada, a mango granita with lime juice and chamoy (a tangy chili sauce), oragua de Jamaica (an iced hibiscus infusion).
Tequila, mezcal and cerveza
Tequila is the Mexican spirit par excellence. This white spirit, which has a minimum strength of 35°, takes on an amber color with age. This brandy made from blue agave, a succulent plant native to Mexico, is made from agave hearts (known as piñas), which can weigh up to 100 kg. They are stewed in giant ovens called autoclaves, before being ground to extract a juice for distillation. It takes a minimum of 2 months to produce blanco tequila, and up to 10 years for añejo tequila. Produced since Spanish colonization, this drink owes its name to the town of Tequila (Jalisco state), and today the region boasts some 120 distilleries. Tasting it in its pure state is accompanied by a veritable ritual: a pinch of salt is placed on the back of the hand, which is then licked before taking a sip of tequila, before biting into the lime wedge. Tequila is also used in cocktails such as the margarita (tequila, lime, triple sec, crushed ice) and the tequila sunrise (tequila, orange juice, grenadine). Several distilleries can be visited, including Destilería La Rojeña, founded in 1758 and the oldest in Latin America, Destileria Herradura (founded in 1870) and Casa Orendain (founded in 1926).
Like tequila, mezcal is a spirit made from agave, but its production is generally much more artisanal: in the famous family-run palenques of Oaxaca state, agave hearts are cooked in traditional earthen ovens before their juice is fermented and then distilled. Unlike tequila, mezcal can be made from several species of agave. To protect itself from the industrial excesses of tequila, mezcal has had an appellation of origin since 1994, limited to four states: Guerrero, Durango, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas. To differentiate it from tequila, producers came up with the idea of adding a gusano (agave butterfly caterpillar) to the bottle in the 1940s. It is served dry, with orange quarters and chili powder.
Beer(cerveza) often accompanies Mexican meals. The best blondes(claras) are called Corona, Tecate, Bohemia, Superior, Carta Blanca. For brunettes(oscuras), Negra Modelo. In recent years, there has been an upsurge in craft beer production. For those wondering, the Desperados brand is a French creation, not a Mexican one. Wine production is not negligible.
