Cuisine of Mexico
cuisine is food originally from Mexico.
Mexican cuisine is also known as the mercado type of food due to its extensive flavors, colorful decoration, and the variety of spices that it has. Mexican gastronomy, in terms of diversity of appealing tastes and textures, is one of the richest in the world, rich in proteins, vitamins, and minerals, though some people characterize it as greasy and spicy.
When Spanish conquistadores arrived in the old Mexico City, Tenochtitlán, they found that the Aztec people's diet consisted of corn-based dishes with herbs, usually complemeneted with beans. Later on, the conquistadores added to the indigenous foods of pre-Columbian Mexico (including chocolate, maize, the tomato, and vanilla) the rice, beef, and wine that they brought with them from Spain. The corn-based tortilla chip may have been created as part of this cuisine.
Most of today's Mexican cuisine is based on Native American traditions, including the Aztecs and Maya, combined with culinary trends introduced by Spanish colonists. The famous quesadilla, for instance, is a corn-based tortilla with cheese that has beef, chicken, and/or pork. The indigenous part of this and many other traditional foods is the chili. Foods like these tend to be very colorful because of the rich variety of vegetables (among them red peppers, green peppers, chiles, broccoli, cauliflower, and radishes) and meats in Mexian food.
Mexican food varies by region, as different populations in Mexico were influenced by the Spaniards in varying degrees. The north of Mexico is known for its beef production and meat dishes; southeastern Mexico, on the other hand, is known for its spicy vegetable and chicken-based dishes.
Mexican cuisine has combined with the cuisine of the southwest United States to form Tex-Mex cuisine.
Traditional dishes
Foods that are part of the Mexican culinary tradition include:
See also: cooking, Jicama
