2. LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY
Mexico the country is long & narrow in shape, it looks
like a curved horn on the map.
To the north it borders to United states, whereas, to the
south it is bordered by Guatemala & Nicaragua.
It is also bordered by Pacific Ocean to west; whereas
Gulf of Mexico & Caribbean sea lie to the east.
It also includes the huge Sierra Madre mountain ranges
they lie parallel from northern Mexico to southern.
4. Between these mountains, there are many plateaus, northern
plateau is mostly dessert, while, the south & central is fertile.
Near the tip of the horn, the Yucatan peninsula joins into The
Atlantic Ocean.
As the country’s most of its borders are located on the coast,
Mexican cuisine is mostly based on seafood.
5. HISTORICAL INFLUENCES
Earliest people who settled in the country was ‘Mayan’ a
group of ancient Indians around 2500 years ago.
They had developed a very advanced civilization; they
built large cities out of stone, developed system of writing.
They were mostly farmers, they usually cultivated corn,
beans, pumpkins, chili peppers & tomato.
A sketch of Mayan Indian
6. Many centuries later in 1521 AD, they were defeated by
Spanish Invaders, that had most influence on Mexican cuisine.
They brought many animals & foods e.g. pig, cow, sheep; and
also cheese & fat from cow, which were unknown to Mayans.
Spanish themselves was invaded by Arabs many centuries
ago, so Arabic food influences are also seen in Mexican cuisine.
Heavily usage of spices such as cinnamon, clove & wheat as
one important cereal bear evidence of Arabic dominance.
Today almost 90% modern Mexicans are descendants of
ancient Mayans & Spanish inhabitants and are called Mestizo.
7. REGIONAL CUISINE
Areas along the ocean are famous for their seafood dishes.
Plain lands & Mountain areas are famous for their stews, spicy
sauces & corn based dishes.
Dessert areas have cultivated delicacies made from varieties
of cactus (Aloevera) plants.
The country can be divided into 6 regions
1. Northern Mexico 4. The Yucatan peninsula
2. Central Mexico 5. The Pacific coast
3. Southern Mexico & Gulf of Mexico 6. The Baja Peninsula
9. NORTHERN MEXICO
The region include states such as; Chihuahua, Coahuila,
Durango, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, Tamaulipas & Zacatecas.
The entire region has huge mountain ranges, plateaus & va
dessert.
When Spanish arrived, they found the area suitable for
grazing animals & slowly they started farming animals.
Thus the animal’s meat & dairy products is popular & found
all the dishes because it was easily available.
10. Hence due to having supply of plenty of animal, the area
boast for it’s meat dishes & dairy products.
The Spanish also introduced wheat, so wheat byproducts
e.g. flour tortilla is popular & found only in Northern Mexico.
Due to having mountain ranges, the area has low humidity
climate, that produce air dried sausages e.g. Mexican chorizo
The Baja California peninsula (another region is adjacent to
the Northern region) is also influenced by Northern Mexico.
Hence, the cooking of the Baja California is very similar to
the cooking of Northern Mexico.
11. Cabrito - is a dish of whole lamb roasted over open fire.
Queso Chihuahua – a soft cow’s milk cheese, a specialty of
Chihuahua state
Flour Tortilla - popular than corn tortilla in northern Mexico
Mexican Chorizo – air dried sausage introduced by Spanish.
12. CENTRAL MEXICO
The region includes states of Michoacán, Morelia, Puebla,
Queretaro & Tlaxcala.
The food of this region is heavily based on corn, the ancient
Indians used to eat this as a porridge, called atole.
They first made corn tortilla, which was a very lengthy metho
They softened corn kernels in lime water, dried & ground them into
cornmeal.
Then cornmeal was made into a dough & rolled into flat tortilla &
cooked on griddle.
13. Apart from corn tortilla, the region is also famous for making
many other corn by-products:
Tamale - corn & meat mixture wrapped in corn husks;
steamed or baked.
Elote –roasted corn on the cob.
Huitlacoche – a dark fungus that grows on a cornstalk is
widely eaten.
14. Another important ingredient of this region is Agave plant.
The region is also famous for producing Mole (relish), every home has its own style of making
mole.
Most of them are named based on chilies that have been used, though it also includes,
chocolate, herbs, nuts, seeds etc.
It is used for making Tequila drink, vinegar & many syrups.
It was the most sacred plants in ancient Mexico, there are over 400 species of agave found in
Mexico.
15. The cities in this region all have their own Enchiladas (a rolled
tortilla with a filling, can be eaten fresh, fried or baked with sauce
Enchiladas suizas
(coated with white
sauce & baked)
Enchiladas Potosinas
(stuffed with cheese,
onion & chilly; fried)
Enchiladas Verde
(sauce made with green
chilies & tomatillos)
The most popular is Mole Poblano (made from Poblano chilly).
Other common moles are Mole verde (with green chilly), Mole
Rojo (use red chilly)
16. SOUTHERN & THE GULF OF MEXICO
The region includes states e.g. Veracruz, Chiapas & Tabasco.
This is the place where Spanish first settled, due to that reason,
people here use lot of Mediterranean ingredients in all dishes.
Tomatoes, olive, capers, basil leaves are few examples, it is also
the only place in Mexico where people cook food in olive oil.
Spanish also bought sugarcane along with them which needed
heavy labor to cultivate them.
Red snapper Veracruz is a dish it shows the dominance of
Mediterranean ingredients.
17. They brought slaves from West Africa, so many African foods
e.g. Peanut, banana plantain, sweet potatoes are widely used.
Chiapas state produces highest amount of coffee beans &
cacao beans which was first cultivated by Mayan Indians.
Initially they used them as currency, but as the time went on,
they learnt to use them as food ingredients.
The Cacao seeds are first fermented, dried, roasted & made
into fine powder
Then the powder is processed to make chocolate
18. THE YUCATAN PENINSULA
The Mayans first settled in this region, as farming & hunting was
their main job, so game meats & vegetables was their main diet.
So there are many ancient ingredients, which Mayans ate are
still eaten, thus the area is different from the rest of the country.
E.g. annatto seed, is used for making Recado
Rojo, a famous Mexican spice mixture.
Habanera chilly is another distinctive ingredient, for which the
region is known for.
20. THE PACIFIC COAST
The region includes states such as Jalisco, Oaxaca & Sinaloa
This Jalisco state in this region is famous for Mariachi music, Hat Dance, Sombrero hats &
Mexican rodeo.
The area has much plain land, which is suitable for cattle grazing, that makes the area famous
for its meat dishes.
Birria – a lamb stew prepared in rich tomato broth is a specialty of
Jalisco state.
21. The Oaxaca state is known for its 6 varieties mole, as the
state is famous for spiciest chilly & cacao beans
Mole Negro
(Use yellow chilly)
Mole Amarillo
(Use cacao beans)
Mole Coloradito (use red
chilly)
Mole Almendrado
(use almond)
Mole Verde
(use green chilly)
Mole Colorado
(use red chilly)
22. POPULARITY OF MEXICAN CUISINE
There are many food items which we call Mexican, originally
they are not originated in Mexico, few examples are:
Quesadilla
Tacos Burritos Nachos
Chili con carne
Fajitas
Chimichangas
23. These dishes originated in Texas state (a place in southern
America) which borders to Northern Mexico.
These dishes though are made in south America using local
foods, but cooking techniques & ideas were taken from Mexico.
Thus the cuisine got a new name i.e. Tex-Mex Cuisine, that
refers to cuisine from Texas as well as from Mexico.
Traditional Mexican dishes are very spicy due to usage of
spiciest chilies, but Tex-Mex dishes are very mild.
Hence they were appreciated much, thus the dishes moved
from south America to the rest of the world.
24. FESTIVALS
Most Mexican are Roman Catholics, so, Christmas is one
of the biggest festivals.
There is a tradition, that after eating buñuelos, they break
the container (in which it was served) throwing on the floor.
People believe, this custom indicates the ending of the
old year & beginning of new year.
Buñuelos i.e. round shaped fried sweet
pastries is a traditional Christmas food.
25. Finally they finish the day with Christmas dinner that must
include bacalao a la Vizcaino a dish made with salted cod fish.
Easter is next important festival after Christmas, during lent
(40 days period before Easter Sunday) people do not red meat.
Dried cod are soaked in water for few days, then cooked with
tomatoes, olives, chilies etc.
A traditional Lent dish is Revoltijo i.e. a mole served with vegetables &
fried shrimp cakes.
