Food and Beverages of Mexico

Mexican cuisine is much more than tacos, refried beans, guacamole and quesadillas. Due to its geographical diversity, Mexico has countless varieties of vegetables, fruits, animals and fish to choose from. Mexico?s cuisine is also intimately linked with its history, representing an eclectic blend of prehispanic, colonial and modern-day influences.

Although this section provides just a taste of traditional Mexico, it is our intention to awaken your senses and inspire you to discover a cuisine so richly diverse, complex and awe-inspiring, that it makes you wonder why it?s so hard to get past the burrito.

A ? Atole: a traditional beverage dating back to prehispanic times either made sweet or bitter. Traditional ingredients include cornmeal, brown sugar, molasses, water or milk, vanilla bean and a cinnamon stick. The chocolate version is called champurrado. Atole is especially enjoyed when it?s cold outside as it?s often served hot.

B ? Buñuelos: puffed fritters made with flour, milk, eggs and lard, and deep-fried. Warm buñuelos are delicious when served with honey or sprinkled with cinnamon. This treat is traditionally served during the holidays but is also enjoyed year-round.

C ? Chiles: an important Mexican staple with several varieties ranging from mild with complex flavors to blazing hot. More than 200 chiles are available in Mexican cooking. They are most often smoked, stuffed, stewed or pickled.

Chiles en nogada: Mexico?s signature dish available August through October. The poblano chile, Mexico?s spicy sister to the bell pepper, plays the key role in this culinary masterpiece, which is stuffed with meat, served with a white cream sauce and topped with red pomegranate seeds, resembling the colors of the Mexican flag and symbolizing Mexican independence. First created in Puebla, a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to what many Mexicans consider their country?s most refined dishes, chiles en nogada coincides with the time of Mexican national independence.

D ? Dos Equis-XX: one of Mexico?s most popular beers or cervezas. Mexico has been producing beer for generations, a tradition brought over by the Spaniards in the mid sixteenth century. Beer is divided into three varieties in Mexico: light (clara), medium (campechana) and dark (oscura). Other top beer brands include: Negra Modelo (dark), Corona (light), Indio (dark) and Montejo (medium). Beer often accompanies tequila and is normally consumed by alternating sips.

E ? Escamoles: referred to as Mexican caviar, these eggs come from a special ant found in the state of Hidalgo. Often served sautéed in butter and onions and eaten in tortillas with guacamole, this expensive delicacy is in high demand at chic restaurants throughout Mexico. Escamoles were normally only available in spring, but given the recent high demand, top restaurants have started freezing supplies to ensure that the larvae are available year-round.

F ? Frijoles: ah, the musical fruit! Beans are of course a standard in Mexico and several varieties exist. Frijoles are commonly boiled and served with just about everything. Refritos are mashed beans and fried in oil or lard. A popular dish is frijoles negros a la veracruzana or Veracruz-style black beans, cooked with onion, garlic and a traditional herb called epazote.

G ? Guacamole: an ubiquitous dip, guacamole is made of mashed avocado and mixed with onions, tomatoes, lemon juice and chiles, served as a side dish or as a dip for tortilla chips. The avocado, or aguacate as it?s called in Spanish, is produced in abundance in the southwestern Mexican state of Michoacán.

H ? Huitlacoche: also known as "corn smut" is a popular fungus that grows inside corn kernels whose taste is a blend of sweet corn and mushroom. Huitlacoche can be used in anything calling for mushrooms and is a popular ingredient in quesadillas, crepes, soups and has even been included in desserts such as flan. Although the fresh fungus is a seasonal delight, it can be purchased year-round in Mexico, either frozen or canned. It is also called "maize mushroom" or "Mexican truffle."

I - Iguana: a principal dish in some regions of Mexico, served roasted, baked with peanut or chile sauce in tamales, and also found in stews. If it?s any consolation, iguana tastes something like frog legs ? which everybody knows tastes like chicken.

J ? Jumiles: high-protein, grasshopper-like insects, served in a variety of ways and most commonly found in the states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Morelos and Veracruz. Served raw or roasted, jumiles are often found in traditional tacos. Crushed jumiles are also used in sauces as their flavor has been described by aficionados as aromatic and deep similar to mint or cinnamon.

K ? Kahlua: a top brand of coffee liqueur from Mexico, famous the world over. Coffee liqueur is smooth and sweet, served on ice, straight or poured over vanilla ice cream.

L ? Lengua (tongue): cow or pork tongue is a favorite dish in several regions in Mexico, served stuffed or in tacos.

M ? Mole: a dark, rich sauce made with chocolate and a variety of spices and chiles, often served over poultry or rolled tortillas, stuffed with cheese, chicken or other ingredients. Don?t miss the mole poblano, a specialty from the state of Puebla, as this dark spicy sauce has more than 20 ingredients, including chiles, peanuts, chocolate and tomatoes. In Oaxaca, try the mole negro.

N ? Nopal: a cactus which grows everywhere in Mexico and whose use dates back to prehispanic times. The word "nopal" comes from the Nahuatl word, nopalli. Several dishes are made with nopales. A common dish is sautéed nopal with cheese melted over. The nopal also bears a fruit, "prickly pear" (called tuna in Spanish). Nopal has also been used for medicinal purposes for centuries.

O - Oregano: oregano is a popular spice in Mexico. Mexican oregano is most often used dry and is an essential ingredient in many traditional dishes such as pozole (a hominy pork soup) as well to several tomato-based dishes, such as huachinango a la veracruzana (a Veracruz-style red snapper).

P ? Pozole: a hearty soup made of hominy, pork, garlic, chiles and several spices and most popular in Guerrero State.

Q - Quesadilla: a flour or corn tortilla folded in half and stuffed with whatever your heart desires, but most often cheese, meat, and mushrooms, then fried.

R ? Rosca de Reyes: traditional fruit cake made with candied orange and served on January 6, the Day of the Epiphany. The cake always contains a tiny figurine of Baby Jesus baked inside, and according to tradition, whoever gets lucky enough to find the figurine in his/her slice of bread is the "winner" and must invite everyone over for tamales on February 2, Candlemas Day.

S ? Sopa: Mexican cuisine is famous for its delicious soups. A favorite is chicken soup, or sopa azteca, and made with chicken chunks, broth, rice, vegetables and avocado. Other popular soups are the sopa de tortilla (tortilla soup) and the sopa de frijol (black bean soup), but if you?re looking for a spicy variety, try the sopa de camaron (shrimp soup).

T ? Tequila: there?s nothing more Mexican than tequila. Made from the blue agave plant, tequila is currently enjoying the international spotlight with pricier high-quality varieties being produced in Mexico and enjoyed the world over. Contrary to popular belief, tequila should be savored and slowly sipped, often accompanied by beer.

Travelers to Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco State and Mexico's second-largest city, should take the ride on the Tequila Express, a four-car train ferrying passengers northwest 55 miles to the town of Tequila and back the same day. For about US$40 round-trip, passengers learn from guides how tequila is made, and are served all the tequila drinks they desire. www.tequilaexpress.com.mx.

U ? Uvas: or "grapes," and where would wine-making be without them? Wine-making was started by missionaries centuries ago in the Baja California Peninsula and then abandoned. Later, at the turn of the 20th century, Russian immigrants actually revived the practice to what is now today a flourishing tradition. Mexico?s largest wineries can be found near the town of Ensenada in Baja California, just 70 miles south of the U.S. border, with Guadalupe Valley being one of the more popular destinations. The varieties of red wine produced in the Baja California region are Cabernet Sauvignon, Ruby Cabernet, Zinfandel Grenache and Mission. The white wines are Chenin Blanc, Palomino, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Saint Emilion and Malaga.

Others states such as Zacatecas, Sonora and Coahila also boast boutique wineries producing high-quality wines: Coahila is home to the aforementioned Casa Madero, and grapes produced near Sonora?s capital city of Hermosillo are often used in the production of wine from Baja wineries.

V ? Vanilla: first introduced to the Spaniards in the sixteenth century in Mexico who recorded the Aztec leader Montezuma drinking a special concoction called chocolatl which was accentuated by a special ingredient called tlilxochitl. Spaniards later called the special ingredient vainilla, meaning "little pod." The vanilla plant has thrived for centuries in the region of Veracruz State, cultivated by the Totonac civilization whose curing methods were a carefully guarded secret. Today, vanilla is used in a variety of dishes, from desserts to main courses.

Mexican vanilla is still considered the most fragrant by food connoisseurs the world over and many believe it is an aphrodisiac. Visitors to El Tajin archeological site should stop in the quaint town of Papantla, Veracruz, to learn more about and purchase Mexican vanilla.

W ? Whiskey: a universal vice with no translation, so should you hanker for a whiskey in Mexico, just say, ?Un whiskey, por favor." Although not produced in Mexico, imported whiskey is widely available at major hotels and fine restaurants. But may we suggest tequila?

X ? Xtabentun: an anise-flavored, honey-based liqueur from the Yucatan. Liqueurs are popular after-dinner drinks among Mexicans. Liqueurs made from native fruit such as guanabana (sweetsop) or platano (bananas) are also common.

Y- Yuca: a popular vegetable, similar to the potato, and consumed in the Mexican Caribbean. Yuca is often sliced, fried and served up like French fries. It is also served stuffed with cheese or minced meat.

Z ? Zapote: a generic term for a variety of fruit native to Mexico, about the size of a small orange and dating back to prehispanic times. Many different varieties exist but its flesh has a creamy texture and a sweet flavor, similar to a peach-vanilla-avocado blend. Among its many uses, zapote can be found in smoothies (licuados), as flavoring in sweets and in chewing gum.

Need recipes? For a list of interesting recipes online, visit the following websites:

www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx provides a variety of interesting recipes in Spanish. On the home page, click on "culture and society" then "gastronomia."

www.mexonline.com offers recipes by region in English along with a glossary of terms. Click on "food and beverage."

www.mexconnect.com also offers recipes by region in English among other features. Click on "Mexican Food."

http://mexico.udg.mx/cocina/ is sponsored by the University of Guadalajara and provides an extensive list of recipes in both Spanish and English, organized by type of food.