As its name suggests, Mexican cuisine is a style of food that originated in Mexico, with a few dishes with Spanish and the influence of Middle Eastern cuisine. Mexican cuisine uses a variety of spices and other ingredients and is known for its various flavors and colors of decoration.
Mexican food has a long and interesting history, their culture, their way of cooking and the diversity of all mixed in it. It goes back as early as 320 AD, a date that is inscribed on a plaque of jade found in the north of Tikal, Guatemala. The museum of Leiden in the Netherlands houses this board that gives us an idea of the principles of the Mayan culture. The India of the Maya empire includes the regions of Guatemala, Belize, Veracruz, Yucatán and the entire southeastern Mexico to Mexico City.
The period 700 AD-1000 AD saw fierce battles between the Toltecs from the north of Mexico and the Maya Indians, which the Toltecs become the dominant force in the region. However, for the next 200 years, fought with the Aztecs and Mayans and Toltecs took control over the region. They brought avocado, honey, pumpkin, guava and raised ducks, pigs and turkeys. However, rice, beans and maize is still the staple of the Maya.
The early Maya were primarily hunters and gatherers and where followed by food. Could eat well when food was abundant, but it had to be frugal when it was a food shortage. While raising its own food in the form of maize, beans and spices, also barter for food with people from neighboring regions. In fact, barter and trade were part of the economic rules.
Maize was the staple food of the Mayans to be used in fresh salsas, and then to dry to preserve it. As the corn was not easy to dry grinding by hand, women who cooked in lime water for a while and soak overnight. The skin of the corn kernels that burst and expand as a result of water absorption. The women then removed the skin and washed repeatedly to remove the lime. The set of nuclei (now known as corn) could then be used in cold weather or just to make stewed dried corn. This was nixtamal metate and grinding in a hand to make dough or dough for tortillas and tamales. The Mayans used the same method Molcajete tejolote and grinding spices and other ingredients for the guacamole and salsa.
The Mayan culture discouraged the wastage of food, therefore, people are fine cornmeal from the mill to mix with water to make a cold drink. In fact, only drank water mixed with fruit juices or cornmeal.
Curiously, the Mayan lifestyle changed with the location. Those living on the coast there were a lot of seafood in their diet, gathering berries and fruits and vegetables, chile and pumpkin. Fresh foods are eaten raw, either / or lightly grilled in sauces. Therefore, had a healthy, balanced diet. Moreover, people living in lowland and upland game hunting wild berries and fruits grown and harvested vegetables and some fresh food as their meals.
Mexican cuisine india Several historians claim that the Aztecs were the first to introduce the chocolate. However, some believe that the Mayans used chocolate for hundreds of years before the Aztecs and the Aztecs, only increased its importance as an exclusive beverage of nobles, warriors and occasions. They believed that chocolate or cocoa was the ’food of the gods "and any person who violates this practice was condemned to death. As Aztecs, Toltecs also cree their warriors and kings were descendants of the gods, and therefore the drink just for them.
The chocolate was a gift for the new world of the old world when Fernando Cortez took some chocolate to Spain in 1519. 2 years later, invaded Spain and Mexico that several new foods, such as pigs, cows, dairy products and spices that has a large influence on Mexican food.
Tropical forests near the equator had a climate ideal for growing cocoa beans, as there were only two seasons, dry and wet. Beans after they are harvested from the fruit of the cacao tree is dried and either used as currency for trade with neighboring tribes or ground to make chocolate for special occasions. This led people to be aware of the value of the cocoa plant. The Toltec, Mixtec, Aztec and Spaniards were desperate for the cacao plant landless and Mayans fought for them.
The influence of the invading forces made major changes in the traditional Maya, but even then, they were healthy foods. Mexican food began with the freshest ingredients. Today, with our latest food processing and storage techniques, we have exchanged healthy and fresh Mexican food for harmful calories, minerals and preservatives. It is no wonder that Mexican food has changed drastically.
Mexican diet
A typical table of Mexico has a variety of foods. Stews, soups and sauces are common and food is prepared from the fry quickly to slow roasting.
Here are some of the important ingredients in a Mexican diet:
Corn: It is the most commonly used for tortillas, the warm and drawings that accompany several rounds of dishes. They are also used for the tacos (tortillas stuffed with chicken, meat or fish) and tamales (steamed and stuffed with vegetables and meat).
Chiles: We used both fresh and dried. The white veins and seed pods are the hottest peppers and really pack a punch. Mexicans love to distinguish between heat and flavor, something that not many people can do. Some of the popular varieties of peppers are jalapeno, poblano, guajillo, ancho, chipotle, mulato, pasilla and bell.
Beans: They range from the lentils and kidney beans and can be found in many soups and stews. Small grains are used often rehash (refried in lard, tasty but heavy) or pot (boiled and served in a light broth).
Tomatoes: These are essential ingredients for a mouth watering Mexican sauce and is also used in sauces for fish dishes and beef. Tomatillos are small green tomatoes in a rigid shell. They are more tart and are often used to claw tomatillo sauce laced with spicy chiles.
Fruits: mangoes, papayas, coconuts and pineapples are eaten fresh or used in sauces and desserts. Nopales (prickly pear cactus paddles) are saut ed and eaten as a vegetable, but are also as sweeteners in desserts.
Special Ingredients: Flor de calabaza (squash flowers) are used in almost everything, from soups to sauces. Huitlacoche is a small, dark fungus that grows on a stalk of corn and is creamy and delicious. Crepes of huitlacoche (huitlacoche crepes covered in a dreamy cheese sauce) is a beautiful treat. Romerito and epazote are two spicy herbs that add a special flavor to the fish, meat dishes and chicken. Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) are used in sauces (such as pipi) and used up many chicken dishes.
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