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Cuisine

Mexican Cuisine

Latin American and Caribbean Cuisines

The cooking traditions of Mexico, rooted in Mesoamerican staples domesticated over several thousand years, maize, beans and chili pepper chief among them, and reshaped from the 16th century onward by Spanish colonial ingredients including wheat, pork, dairy and citrus. Regional cuisines are pronounced: Oaxaca is known for its complex mole sauces, Yucatan for achiote-based marinades reflecting Maya foodways, and the north for wheat-flour tortillas and grilled beef in place of the maize-based south. Traditional Mexican cuisine, focused on the state of Michoacan, was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2010.

Facts
Signature Technique
Nixtamalization of maize for masa, dried chile sauce making for moles and adobos, and open flame grilling are hallmark techniques. 1
Origin Region
Mesoamerica and modern Mexico, rooted in indigenous Aztec and Maya foodways blended with Spanish colonial influence after 1521. 2
Mexican Cuisine
Filter Results1 entry
Connections

Associated With

Expresses Tradition

Source On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the KitchenHarold McGee
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

Features Dish

Caesar Salad, Dishes
Source Chili con Carne (Wikipedia)
Guacamole, Dishes
Mole Poblano, Dishes
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Pozole, Dishes
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson

Used By

Coriander, Ingredients
Source Coriander, Wikipedia
Cumin, Ingredients
Source Cumin (Wikipedia)

Uses Ingredient

Cacao, Ingredients

Cacao is a Mesoamerican staple carried into Mexican cuisine, most visibly in mole sauces.

Source Theobroma Cacao (Wikipedia)
Source Larousse Gastronomique
Chorizo, Ingredients
Maize, Ingredients
Source Larousse Gastronomique
Salsa, Ingredients
Sources
1. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee, Scribner, 2004
  • technique discussion: nixtamalization
  • Expresses Tradition: Cacao Fermentation and Chocolate Making, ch. on chocolate
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
  • entry: Mexican cuisine
  • Expresses Tradition: Nixtamalization, s.v. Mexican Cuisine
View the Source
The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014entry: Mexico
Larousse Gastronomique
Hamlyn, 2009
  • Uses Ingredient: Maize, entry: Maize
  • Uses Ingredient: Chili Pepper, entry: Chilli
Theobroma Cacao (Wikipedia)
WikipediaUses Ingredient: CacaoView the Source
Chili con Carne (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Chili con Carne, Lead section
Quote, Features Dish: Chili con Carne, Lead section
is a spicy stew of Mexican origin containing chili peppers (sometimes in the form of chili powder), meat (usually beef), tomatoes, and beans.
View the Source
Cumin (Wikipedia)
WikipediaUsed By: Cumin, Uses
Quote, Used By: Cumin, Uses
Cumin can be an ingredient in chili powder (often Tex-Mex or Mexican-style)
View the Source
Coriander, Wikipedia
Used By: Coriander, Origin and distribution, cuisines sentence
Quote, Used By: Coriander, Origin and distribution, cuisines sentence
It is included in Peruvian, Mexican, Indian and Southeast Asian cuisines.
View the Source

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