Mexican cuisine
Mexican cuisine blends Mesoamerican and Spanish traditions with regional diversity.
Mexican cuisine consists of the food traditions of Mexico, with its earliest roots in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods arise from the area's first agricultural communities, such as those of the Olmec and Maya, who domesticated maize, created the standard process of nixtamalization, and established foodways. Successive waves of other Mesoamerican groups, including the Teotihuacanos, Toltec, Huastec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomi, Purépecha, Totonac, Mazatec, Mazahua, and Nahua, brought their cooking methods, and with the Mexica formation of the Triple Alliance (Aztec Empire), culinary foodways became infused. After the Spanish Conquest, Spaniards introduced meats from domesticated animals, dairy products, rice, sugar, olive oil, and various fruits and vegetables, as well as cooking styles from Spain. African influence was also introduced during this era through the Atlantic slave trade and the Manila-Acapulco Galleons.
- field
- Culinary tradition
- nationality
- Mexico
- key_ingredients
- Corn, turkey, beans, squash, amaranth, chia, avocados, tomatoes, tomatillos, cacao, vanilla, agave, chili pepper
Lore & Background
Mexican cuisine's earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine, with the Olmec and Maya domesticating maize and creating nixtamalization. Later groups such as the Teotihuacanos, Toltec, and Nahua contributed cooking methods, and the Aztec Empire infused culinary foodways. Today's staples native to the land include corn, turkey, beans, squash, amaranth, chia, avocados, tomatoes, tomatillos, cacao, vanilla, agave, spirulina, sweet potato, cactus, and chili pepper. After the Spanish Conquest, Spaniards introduced meats (beef, pork, chicken, goat, sheep), dairy products, rice, sugar, olive oil, and various fruits and vegetables, along with cooking styles from Spain. African influence arrived through the Atlantic slave trade and the Manila-Acapulco Galleons.
Reader's Guide
Mexican cuisine is a complex and ancient cuisine with techniques developed over thousands of years. It is created mostly with ingredients native to Mexico, as well as those brought by Spanish conquistadors, with some new influences since then. Maize is the most commonly consumed grain, used in tortillas, atole, pozole, menudo, and tamales. Chile peppers are another basic ingredient, used for their flavors and heat, and are considered as much a staple as corn and beans. Beans, particularly common beans such as pinto and black turtle, complement corn to provide a complete protein source. Spanish contributions include Old World staples like sugar, wheat, rice, onions, garlic, limes, dairy products, pork, and beef, as well as culinary traditions from the Iberian peninsula. The technique of frying in pork fat was also introduced. Cheesemaking has evolved its specialties, with main cheese-making areas including Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Querétaro, and Chiapas.
Did You Know?
- Maize was domesticated by the Olmec and Maya, who also created the standard process of nixtamalization.
- Chocolate originated in Mexico and was prized by the Aztecs.
- Edible insects such as chapulines (grasshoppers), escamoles (ant larvae), and ahuatle (water bug eggs) have been enjoyed in Mexico for millennia.
More in World Cuisines 1-24
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