2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
Provincial cuisine in Mexico has been using techniques and tools since the conquest of the country in 1521, although few grind corn and spices with volcanic stones because the food processor is faster. But beans, for example, are cooked every day in beautiful colored clay pots.
Basic foods
Corn is important in Mexico because it is the basis of many recipes. It has been grown since about 5000 BC and has always been used to make harina mass - corn flour used for tortilla dough, the daily bread of Mexicans.
Corn dough is also the basis for the drink atoll (from boiled dough). Each region flavors it in its own way - cinnamon, sugar, fresh fruits or nuts are added. In the state of Chiapas, however, hot peppers are added to it and the drink is served for breakfast.
Snacks are one of the main pastimes of Mexicans. Depending on the place of residence and the climate, they eat 3-4 times a day, and between meals they find time for small snacks.
Products
Bob
Mexicans cook an astonishing number of types of beans. The most popular is the fried frihol negro (black beans), followed by the colorful pinto and red beans. They put them in fillings for tacos, tortillas and enchiladas, they also use them for the delicious beans "Veracruz".
Chilies
Hot peppers are an integral part of Mexican cuisine. Used fresh, dried, whole, powdered or canned. Light reddish-brown dried ancho peppers are added to soups, stews and sauces. Mutato peppers are similar to them, but are a little sweeter. The brown-black passion fruit is not very spicy when fresh and has a spicy aroma.
Serrano peppers are one of the most used - small, green, sold fresh or canned. Jalapeno is another popular hot pepper. More fleshy than serrano, they are sold fresh or canned.
Vanilla
A local product, vanilla is the seed of a species of orchid. The green pods have no smell or taste when they are torn off, but they are dried in the sun and after 6 months the aroma appears.
Avocado
Avocados grow wild in Mexico and are used in guacamole recipes. Green and black-purple cultivars are imported immature, so they must be purchased two days before use.
Tomato
They are great in authentic Mexican sauces, sold fresh and canned. They call them green tomatoes, but they are not tomatoes at all. The most popular sauce based on tomato is salza de tomato verde - a mixture of tomato, coriander, hot peppers, onions and garlic.
Green spices
Silantro, ie coriander, is mostly used. Next in popularity, especially in the state of Yucatan, is espasote (also called Mexican tea), with a sharp, strong aroma.
Techniques and tips
Sauces
Mexicans combine tomatoes, hot peppers and avocados with greens and other spices and make a variety of quite interesting sauces, some of which are raw. The most unusual cooked sauce is mole poblano - with hot peppers and natural chocolate. It is served with turkey on holidays. Cooked sauces are made from fried onions and garlic, adding a slightly spicy mixture of crushed hot peppers, also fried, and finally add broth. The sauce boils over low heat until thickened and reduced.
Uncooked sauces, such as salsa de molkachete, are placed on the table along with salt and pepper. People like this smooth mixture of garlic, hot peppers, tomatoes, tomato and coriander and generously add it to their dishes for extra flavor.
Preparation of hot peppers
The first thing to remember is not to touch your face or mouth when preparing a dish with hot peppers, because the pulp and seeds can make you angry. If you have sensitive skin, it is good to wear rubber gloves. Fresh and canned hot peppers are cut in half and the seeds and white threads are removed; then the peppers are chopped.
Whole hot peppers can be added to soups or rice during cooking, but be careful not to tear them because the pulp is very hot. Dried hot peppers are dried on the ground, so wash them from soil and dust. Remove the stalk and cut the pepper lengthwise to remove the seeds. These peppers are fried without fat or with a little oil to release flavor, and then can be soaked in hot water for about 20 minutes.
If you need to fill them, leave the stalks and cut the pepper just to remove the seeds and veins. You can then scald them or bake them on a strong grill. When the skin cracks, peel them.
The stuffing for hot peppers is prepared from meat, rice or cheese, and finally the dish is covered with sour cream or covered with tomatoes. Sometimes the peppers are rolled in flour and beaten egg and fried in a lot of oil.
Tamali
Tamals are made from corn dough mixed with lard and baking powder, which is spread on corn or banana leaves (parchment also works). They are filled and wrapped in a roll, and then steamed. Each region in Mexico has its own style of cooking tamali. The sweets are filled with canned or dried fruits. Salty fillings include meat, shrimp or cheese.
Tortillas
In every Mexican town or village, you can see street vendors making thin flatbreads called tortillas. They tear off a small piece of corn dough and flatten it between their palms to the thickness of a sheet of paper, an art perfected for centuries. The Spaniards found this difficult, and they invented a useful device, the tortilla press.
Once the tortilla is shaped, it is baked on a very hot ceramic or iron pan - komal. There are different types of tortillas in Mexico, their size and color vary by region. They can be small, about 5 cm in diameter, or large - up to 25 cm. Although they are made from corn, in the northern states of Mexico you will find tortillas made of ordinary flour. Unlike corn, wheat tortillas contain fat and are rolled, not flattened, by hand.
Tequila
Mexico produces various alcoholic beverages, but the most famous is tequila - a product of the agave tequilana cactus, which is legally grown only in the states of Jalisco, Michoacan and Nayarit. The juice is fermented and distilled to obtain silver or white tequila, which is stored in oak barrels for about a year to obtain golden tequila.
Mexicans drink natural tequila with salt and green lemon - first they lick salt with the tip of their tongue, then they drink tequila and finally they suck some juice from the edge of a slice of green lemon.
Tequila is also used to make a wonderful summer drink - Tequila Sunrise. Put two measures of tequila in a tall glass, add a lot of ice and top with fresh orange juice. Add about 2 tablespoons of grenadine and let it fall to the bottom. Shake gently before drinking to make the sun rise. Another Mexican cocktail is Margarita.
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