Mexican Cuisine

Making tortillas on a comal
Oaxaca, Mexico

Mocajete used to make salsa
Oaxaca, Mexico

Steak, fries, guacamole, and beans at VIPS
Mexico City, Mexico 

Entomatadas
Oaxaca, Mexico

Tres Liches Cake
Oaxaca, Mexico 

Cheese Quesadillas
Oaxaca, Mexico 

Salad, Rice, Salsa, fajitas, chorizo and fruits
Teotitlan, Mexico 

Fajitas with chicken covered in guacamole and cheese.
Teotitlan, Mexico

Helado made from kiwi
Puebla, Mexico

Tamales with cheese and chicken
Mexico City, Mexico

Chile en nogoda
Oaxaca, Mexico

Chicken crepes with tomato sauce
Oaxaca, Mexico

While in Mexico you see many different cultures from many different indigenous groups. As Mexicans take steps into the future you can still see glimpse of their past, such as, their architecture, languages, crafts, and foods. You can see the changes in how different indigenous groups eat. For instance, the people near the coasts usually eat more seafood, but people hours from the coast usually had a plant and grain based diet. Although times have changed and traveling has becoming quicker and easier, you can still see that their diets haven’t changed as drastically as thought. The reason for that being is that most of the crops needed for their meals are grown natively in their lands. Crops like corn, chili peppers, tomatoes, squashes, avocados cocoa, and vanilla. Most of these are used for their everyday meals.  The Europeans eventually brought over meats, fruits, and spices, which gave them more to contribute to their recipes.

Corn is probably the most used starch in Mexico. It’s most commonly ground down and mixed with lime, to make the dough that’s used for tortillas and other things; although it is also used for salsas, soups, and many other dishes. In the past Mexicans didn’t have flour so this dough ground from corn and lime, would be grilled on a comal (flat top stove) and be a nice flat shell in 10 minutes or so.  Corn not only had a major dietary involvement in the Mexican culture, but it also had great religious significance. The Mayans built temples for the god of maize and also used it as medicine. When people were sick they would limit their diet to just corn to bring them back to health.

Mexican food is well known for its food being spicy, this brings us to the importance of chili peppers and other peppers they use in their food. The Mayans and Aztecs used chili peppers with most of their food, because it “was thought to cure colds, strengthen the body, and relieve depression” (sbnature.org).  Although chili peppers didn’t heal everything they are medically good for stimulating the cooling center of the hypothalamus which helps cool the body, helps you salivate, and provides vitamins. Since then chilies are now used around the world in many different foods just for the spicy taste. 

Mexican cheese, one of the most popular things Mexico has to eat, but also holds a great tradition. Although cheese wasn’t developed till the Spaniards came to Mexico and brought dairy animals. Cheese has now grown in Mexico, it’s not the shredded kind in the bag we imagine, but it comes in many shapes and forms and can sometimes take months to make.  Mexicans learned how to make the cheese from the Spaniards and developed their own way of make it based on the tastes they favored.  Now we have many different cheeses like Oaxacan, Queso blanco, panela, and the list goes on.

Although food is widely made for eating it was also used for religious purposes and holidays. Before the Spaniards came the indeginous groups built temples and offered up food offerings to the gods, but after the Spaniards came and forced Christianity upon them. This led most of the holidays to become more of a festival.  So during Christmas they tend to have big family meals and the week before Easter they tend to do the same, but avoid meat. Also the Three Kings Day and The Day of the Dead they have festivals were they only eat specific foods.

Mexican culture hasn’t changed much in the way they prepare the food. In rural areas, most of the food is made at home and uses local ingredients. Traditional Mexicans consider cooking to be a women’s job and consider a girl ready to marry when she is capable of cooking. Usually the main meal of the day “begins with soup, … or a “dry soup”, which is pasta or rice flavored with onions, garlic and/or vegetables. The main course is a meat served in a cooked sauce with salsa on the side, accompanied with beans and tortillas and often with a fruit drink” (en.wikipedia.org).  Most Mexican food we are used to in the states is considered Tex-Mex. The real Mexican food takes hours to make and usually has much more flavor.

While in Mexico you will also notice many street vendors selling tacos, quesadillas, tamales, and so on. Although the sanitary of these venders are questionable, they provide a quick and tasty meal for those on the go or just don’t want to deal with family. One of the most popular items street vendors have are tacos, mostly because taco are quick, easy, and you can just stuff the meat and other toppings into a tortilla and have them on their way. You don’t have to give them any utensils the tortilla does everything they need. The second popular dish is the torta, which is a roll type bread stuffed with a meat, beans, or other filling. After the French came they introduced a new type of bread and it became a roll.  Still convenient and easy for the street vendors to use because people didn’t need utensils to eat it and they could be other their way. Then during the 20^th century America brought its influence to the stands with hot dogs. Although the hot dogs made in Mexico have a different style consisting of hot dog wrapped in bacon and fried.

We can see the changes in food and the influences of other cultures on Mexico throughout its history. Starting from the indigenous tribes whose main source of food was plant based and hunting animals. Later on corn was discovered and the process to make corn tortillas, but still their main source of protein was from beans and other plants and animals from hunting.  When the Spaniards came they had a great influence from them and received many new animals and foods. Animals such as cows, pigs, goats, and others, and these animals provided a changed in their diets. Also along with the Spaniards influence came the Arab influences as well. Lastly, as mentioned before, the American influence on Mexico in the 20^th century, which brought pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs into the Mexican diet.

Bibliography

"Mexican Cuisine." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 08 Oct. 2014. Web. 14 Aug. 2014.

King, Sabina. "The Secret of Mayan Corn Tortillas." A Kings Life. N.p., 3 Feb. 2012. Web. 14 Aug. 2014.

Timbrook, Jan. "SBMNH: Collections & Research Anthropology Anthropology Research Ethnobiology - Reports & Articles The Natural History of Chile Peppers." SBMNH: Collections & Research Anthropology Anthropology Research Ethnobiology - Reports & Articles The Natural History of Chile Peppers. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2014.

"Food in Every Country." Food in Mexico. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2014. <http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Mexico.html#b>.