It’s embarrassing how little Americans know about their southern neighbor. Most of us would be hard-pressed to locate Mexico City on a map, let alone distinguish among the country’s regional foods. But Mexican cooking is nothing if not regional. So distinct are its local traditions that we should speak less of Mexican cuisine than of many Mexican cuisines. “The cuisines differ quite a bit depending on where you are and on the local ingredients that are available,” says Joe Bavone, R&D manager, savory group, Kerry Ingredients & Flavors, Beloit, WI. “The cooking methods are different; even the presentations are different.”
One need only consider Mexico’s landscape to understand why. It’s vast—almost three times as large as Texas—and its climate ranges from tropical to bone-dry. To the west is the Pacific Ocean; to the east, the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. In between, two mountain ranges split the central plateau from the coastal plains like jagged saws. With so many natural boundaries separating Mexico’s indigenous peoples—Olmecs, Aztecs, Mixtecs and more—their years of isolation bred unique cultures and cuisines.
One constant among these cuisines, and one that remains a running thread in Mexico today, is corn. The New World’s foundational grain, corn and its agriculture were born in Mexico, and whether in solid or liquid form—in tamales, tortillas, atole or pozole—it appears in nearly all meals. Along with beans and squash, it formed a trio of foods that, thanks to its complete protein, sustained Mexico’s peoples for 3,000-odd years. Other elements of the native diet included turkey and quail, chiles, herbs, fungi, peanuts, potatoes, tomatoes, amaranth, pineapple, guava, avocado, vanilla, and chocolate.
Mestizo memories
“The long and fascinating history of Mexico has been shaped by many ethnicities, especially the indigenous Indian population,” says Sean Craig, senior executive chef, Gilroy Foods & Flavors, Gilroy, CA. “Many of the staple regional ingredients and techniques are pre-Columbian in origin. But there’s also the influence of enslaved people brought from West Africa to the coastal areas, and, of course, the Spanish.”
The arrival of the Spanish in the early 1500s sparked the cultural stirring of the Columbian Exchange, blending New World foods with Old World sheep, cattle, pigs, domesticated poultry, garlic, onions, wheat, rice, citrus, sugarcane, and more gave rise to a mestizo cuisine as vibrant and varied as the Mexican people themselves, and staple dishes like mole poblano surfaced.
