ana There are several famous Mexican dishes such as tacos, guacamole and enchiladas. They are also very popular in Mexico, but it’s just a piece of this great cuisine
There are many dishes and ingredients that it is almost impossible to know them. In fact, authentic Mexican cuisine is very different from all those inspired by Mexican dishes in different parts of the globe
For this reason, I present 10 surprising facts
1. Mexican cuisine is full of colors
Mexican dishes are a mixture of ingredients and flavors of native European inhabitants with notes of African and Middle Eastern influences. Thanks to this we get a surprising explosion of flavors. So if you want to cook like a Mexican, you need more than chilli powder and cheese.
2. Infinitely diverse Mexican cuisine
There is not only tacos in Mexico. Mexico is a large country, so it is also diverse in terms of food, and each region presents a completely different cuisine.
An example of this is the chocolate sauce mole and tlayudas (tortilla broiled on a comal, usually served with beans, meat, vegetables and other additions), which are typical of the southeastern province of Oaxaca. On the Yucatan Peninsula you will find traditional dishes such as Cochinita Pibil (slow-roasted pork) and Panuchos (grilled tortilla, which is stuffed with grilled black beans and covered with chopped cabbage, chicken or turkey, tomato, red onion, avocado and jalapeno).
So, just like in Poland, we have Kwaśnica at the highlanders, and in getting to know Pyry, we have a great variety here. Which food is the most Mexican? It depends on where you are in Mexico!
3. Immigrants and their impact on the kitchen
Many traditional dishes and ingredients that were adopted in Mexico arose after each wave of immigration.
For example, confectionery and confectionery became popular after two French invasions in the 19th century. Later, the arrival of more immigrants from France and Italy brought other new ingredients, such as pasta and intensive cheese.
In the nineteenth century, Chinese immigrants made rice a popular food, and newcomers from Lebanon made a great contribution to the Yucatan cuisine. Have you tried rice in Mexican?
As you can see, Mexican food is really multinational.
4. There are a lot of vegetables
It’s not cheese and meat that govern Mexican cuisine, but vegetables. Ancient Mexican dishes were mostly based on vegetables, and this has not changed.
Many standard dishes requires corn, chili peppers or beans, as well as a wide range of commonly used vegetables that you probably never heard of, such as Quelite, quintonile, huauzontles, romeritos, vegetable pear , cactus and verdolagas (herb) and these are just a few.
Most are wild vegetables and are consumed in spicy soups and stews.
5. Mexican cuisine gave the world a gift
Mexico has made a significant contribution to all world cuisines thanks to ingredients such as corn, tomatoes, avocados, cocoa, beans, chili peppers and vanilla. Do you use these ingredients every day?
6. Mexican cuisine has strange ingredients
Some are surprised that Mexicans eat flowers, which also happens with us.
For example, flores de calabaza (pumpkin flowers) are great for soups and quesadillas. Flor de izote (yucca flowers) and gasparitos are cooked in soups, stews and even tamales.
Other strange ingredients are native mushrooms, such as huitlacoche (corn head), which is used as a filling for quesadillas.
But the most terrifying ingredients are insects. Mexican snacks include roasted grasshoppers, worm tacos , escamoles (ants) or ahuautle . Are you hungry?
7. You need special accessories
Several important tools are needed to prepare authentic Mexican dishes.
For example, molcajete is not food. This is a small mortar that is used to grind spices or salsa ingredients. Another is molinillo , a whisk that is good for making foam chocolate. There is also a comal , flat pan, special for tortillas
These dishes have been used in Mexican cuisine for centuries. Other traditional tools are displaced by modern, i.e. metat , used for grinding corn into flour.
8. Represents the whole culture
Food is an important issue in life in Mexico. People and families define themselves based on the dishes they prepare and eat. Food is present in movies, books and songs.
9. Mexican cuisine is a global treasure.
In 2010, Mexican cuisine was on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. Only French and Mexican cuisine is on this list.
10. Mexican food is the best on the street
Until recently, there was no such thing as exclusive Mexican cuisine. Great and authentic Mexican cuisine is served all over the country, but there is no Mexican restaurant in the world that can compete with homemade dishes made by Mexican mother or grandmother.
The best and most authentic dishes are prepared by ordinary people in small eateries, on the streets or in modest homes. Recipes are passed down from generation to generation as part of the family heritage, and dishes are gradually transformed.
And that’s why Mexican cuisine is unique.
