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History of Mexican Cuisine
By Margaret Parker Sophomore
October 12 2006
The variety of natural environment in
Mexican food is a style of food that is created in
When the Spanish conquistadors came to The combination of cultures that mark Mexican history influenced the nature of Mexican food. Corn, which has been a basic ingredient in Mexican food for 4000 years, is the fundamental ingredient in the diet (Mexican Food Pages 1-17). Corn kernels are first soften in water and lime, then ground, and finally fashioned (most typically) into tortillas (Mexican Food Pages 1-17) Beans, rich in protein, plus a seemingly endlessly variety of chilies, provide the final ingredients in this “holy trinity of Mexican cookery” (Mexican Food Pages 1-17). From this basic beginning, Mexican cuisine provides a broad variety of dishes. High-quality ingredients surely counts for a lot, but the Mexicans are also talented cooks and seem to know how to give a dish that extra energy that makes it special. An easy salsa Mexican is taken to new heights with a touch of cilantro and lime, while a complex mole sauce is always heavenly thanks to over thirty carefully-chosen herbs and spices which are added in and left to slowly simmer in the pot.
Enchiladas
The ideal of tortillas being “wrapped, filled and eaten in
various forms” is a custom that originated with the Aztecs
(Enchiladas Pages 1-2). However, referring to this dish as an
“enchilada” dates in the
Easy Enchiladas
Ingredients: Twelve (12) corn tortillas One (1) 28oz can of red enchilada sauce 2 cups (16oz) mozzarella or queso blanco 11/2 cups meat (optional) shredded beef or chicken 2-3 tablespoons oil
Preparation Coat each tortilla with oil using your hands or a brush. Spread out on a cookie sheet or baking dish and bake in a500 degree oven for about 7 minutes. Take out to cool until they are warm to the touch. The cheese can be shredded, or just cut into slices 3-4 inches long and ¼ inch thick. (Or thicker if you like them cheesy.) Pour just enough sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 glass-baking dish to cover it. Pour the rest of the sauce into a large bowl. Lay the tortilla in a baking dish and if you are using the meat, put in about 2-3 tablespoons. Place the cheese on top of the meat. Fold one edge over the cheese, then the other one, and then turn the whole things over, fold side down, in baking dish. Repeat for each tortilla. Sprinkle any leftover sauce and/or cheese on top of enchiladas. Place in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Chicken Enchiladas Suiza
Ingredients:
Twelve (12) corn tortillas 2 cups shredded chicken 6 oz. chopped, roasted and skinned green chilies (fresh is best, but you can use canned in a pinch) 3 cups of fresh spinach ½ cup chopped onion 1-cup cream or sour cream 4 oz. cotija, crumbled 5 oz. evaporated milk
15 oz. green Warm oil to dip tortillas in
Preparation: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the onions for about 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook it for about 5 minutes until leaves are wilted. Fold in the chicken and green chilies. Set aside.
In a saucepan, heat cream, evaporated milk, cotija and chili sauce over heat until sauce is smooth.
Prepare a 9x13 inch-baking dish by coating the bottom with a thin layer of
sauce. Dip a tortilla into the warm oil to soften it and place
it into the pan. Place about ¼ cup filling down the center of
the tortilla and sprinkle with a tablespoon of Asadero or Queso
Quesadilla cheese.
Roll the tortilla up and place seam side down in dish. Repeat until all
tortillas are used.
Pour remaining sauce over the top, Sprinkle with the crumbled cotija. Bake
dish for 15 minutes to melt the cheese.
Tacos
A taco is a “tortilla with something wrapped inside” (Avernin
Pages 1-5). Again, as with enchiladas, the central ingredient is
the tortilla, which is made from corn and should not be mistaken
for a Spanish version of the same name that is made of eggs and
potato (Avernin Pages 1-5). Dating from the time of the Spanish
conquest, Bernardino de Sahagun provides a list of the various
types of tortillas that the Spanish encountered in tlaxcalpacholi – a color corn flour tortilla. ueitlaxcalli - which translates as a very thin, large, white tortilla. Quauhtlaxqualli – a large, white, thick, coarse tortilla made with nixtamal, and totonqui.
Tlaxcalli – which refers to the common white tortilla (Avernin Pages 1-5)?
According
to Avernin, a “taco” is “definitely not: A canary yellow
tortilla with black sports” (Avernin Pages 1-5). Therefore, the
hard, curled up holders typically called “tacos” in the
Tamales The history of the tamales is ancient. There is evidence that this is a Mexican dish that dates as early as 5000 BC, possibly 7000 BC in Pre-Columbian history. In Pre-Columbian history, women follow armies of warriors and served as cooks. The warring tribes of the “Aztec, Maya and Incan cultures” created a need for a ready portable, but sustaining, food and the tamale were born. Tamales can be ready ahead of time planned for their consumption and warmed as required. They can be “steamed, grilled, or over the fire, or put directly on top of coals to warm,” or even eaten cold. There is no record of which Mexican culture that actually invented the tamale, but the evidence suggests that one culture did and the others followed this example.
The use of tamales caught on fast in Pre- Columbian culture and
there was a variety of dishes that is unknown today. There were:
plain tamales, tamales with red, green, yellow and black “Cornhusks, banana leaves, fabric, avocado leaves, soft tree bark and other not poisonous, non-toxic leaves” were used:
The most typically used wrappings were cornhusk, banana or
avocado leaves. Over the centuries, the variety of tamales has
decreased. Now the most common are “red and green
Salsa “Salsa” is the Spanish word for “sauce”. The common conception of salsa today are “salsa frescos” or salsa crude,” that is fresh sauces served as a condiment with a Mexican meal. These uncooked sauces are pureed until smooth or semi-chunky. Evidently, from the accounts of Spanish-born Bernadino de Sahagun, vegetable sauces were a stable of Mexican cuisine since the time of the Aztecs.
De Sahagun’s accounts describe the products sold by food vendors
in large Aztec markets in great detail. He says that Aztec
merchants sold “foods, sauces, hot sauces, fried food,
olla-cooked, juices, sauces of juices, and shredded food with “Salsa as a culinary sauce takes a variety of spices and vegetables in there combination creates a plate that is attractive, tasty and unique” (Falcon, Rafael Pages 105-112). For me, the Hispanic Culture is a lot like salsa. Everything is altogether in one dish with a lot of favor.
The Most Basic of Ingredients
As this brief history of Mexican cuisine shows, at the heart of
virtually all-Mexican dishes is corn, which was regarded by the
native people of
Blue corn This is simply a variety of corn that has a dark bluish to red color, which has a coarser texture and nuttier flavor than other varieties of corn. It has been a stable food of Pueblo Indians.
Masa
“Masa” is the Mexican word for “dough,” and it refers to the dough produced to make tortillas, tamales, and other traditional Mexican dishes.
Nixtamal This term, which is frequently encountered in Mexican cooking, refers to dried maize (corn) that has been treated with lime and partially cooked.
Corn Husks
The outside leaves that cover the corn that is still on the cob. Husks have many uses and can be used fresh or dried. Typically, dried corn husks are soaked and used to wrap foods, such as tamales.
A trip at the Mexican Restaurant
My family and I went to a Mexican restaurant. We all order a number of items from the menu an al carte and passed the plates around sampling as much as we could. We tried the Chile relleno, the tamales, a couple different kinds of enchiladas, and a taco al carbon with shredded jicama, carrots and mango on the side, the excellent carnitas (loved by all), the queso fundido (loved especially by my daughter who was much spoken about her approval of it), the nopalitos, cilantro lime rice, epazote- flavored black beans, and frijoles charros. At the end of the meal we ordered one of each dessert and shared all around. Their special dessert, the flan, made fresh everyday, is the creamiest I’ve ever experienced. The chocolate cake is more like a soufflé, light and moist, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice creamed and strawberry slices. With the three milks, there were some varying opinions, but I gobbled up whatever others didn’t eat. My first experience with the three milks was at the restaurant where the server told me I might not like it because usually only Mexicans like it so I guess it is one of those things where you are born to like it or you are not. Overall, we had a good time and great food. I would go back to a Mexican restaurant.
Conclusion
As this survey suggests, Mexican cuisine has a long and varied history and it represents a variety of foods that are varied and rich (Thumbnail History Pages 1-3). Presented with a slim variety of foods that are deemed “Mexican,” North Americans certainly come to the conclusion that Mexican food is uniform and boring, which is far from the truth of its diversity of “appealing tastes and textures,” as well as its imaginative use of ingredients. Furthermore, there is the interesting fact that the basic diet stables of Pre-Columbian Mexico, corn and beans, are incredibly practical from a survival standpoint. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, which are essential to health and life. However, if a diet is lacking in one of these essential amino acids, the production of protein is restricted, harming health, even producing fatalities. Neither corn nor beans possess a full set of amino acids; however, put these two foods together and they represent a complete protein source, which is so crucial to optimum health. Therefore, a corn tortilla smeared with bean paste has as much protein as a chicken, beef, or any other meat. This fact of the Mexican Pre-Columbian diet enabled even the poorest peasant to be adequately nourished and, of course, is still a factor in the diet of the Mexican people.
Annotated Bibliography
Falcon, Rafael. “Salsa” A Taste of Hispanic Culture Pages 105 – 112 The author explains specific food and Beverage items. Such as Bread, Chili Peppers, Flan, Coffee, Tea, Pińa Colada, and rum. Sahagun, Bernadino de. “History of Salsa” Different ways how to make salsas Pages 1 – 2. The author explains the making of a sauce by combining chilies, tomatoes, and other ingredients like squash seeds and even beans has been documented back to the Azlec culture. Averin, Sophie. “History of Tortillas and Tacos” Tortilla History Pages 1 – 5 The author explains Tackling the taco and a guide to the art of taco eating. Kennedy, Diana. “Enchiladas.” Art of Mexican Cooking Pages 1 – 2 the author explains that there are two basic methods of making enchiladas. The first method is where the tortilla is lightly fried then dipped in a warm chili sauce then filled and rolled. The second method dips the tortilla in raw sauce then lightly fried, filled and rolled.
Sosa, Elain. “
“A Thumbnail History” Mexican Food: A Short History Pages
1-3.
http://www.mexicanmercados.com/food/foodhist.htm. The
article talk about a vanilla substance was resulting from the
fruit pod of certain species of Mexican orchid and chocolate
come from the fruit of Mexican cacao tree. The two main foods of
the native country, are corn and beans. Quesadillas, which is
mainstays of “Corn, Maize, Masa, Nixtamal, Pozole”GourmetSleuth – Corn, Maize, Masa, Nixtamal Pages 1 – 4. http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/masanixtamal.htm. Corn is the essential ingredient for making tortillas, tamales, hominy, and pozole. Each of the above terms and food will be discussed in this article. “The History of Tamales” Eat Tamale at Tamara’s Tamales Pages 1 – 2. http://www.tamarastamales.com/his.tamale.html. The article talk about how they were recorded as early as 5000 BC possibly 7000 BC. Women were taken along on the battle to cook different kinds of Mexican Foods for the men. They talk about how they are steamed, grilled over the fire and talk about different kinds of tamales.
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valley to the tropical forests of the South, different climates
and soils have conditioned what and how people ate. Within the
large regions, hundreds of micro regions have had their own
environmental and dietary characteristics, and for millennia,
cultures have adapted these environments to suit their food
needs. Three especially deep events that have influenced
environment and diet are the appearance of agriculture, the
arrival of Europeans (1519), and the technical and governmental
changes that occurred in the twentieth century.