Common Ingredients
Spices
History
The link provided above gives some very insightful information pertaining to the history of Mexican cuisine. Below are excerpts from the provided link:
You could say that corn and beans are the two main foods of indiginous Mexicans, and much of Mexican cuisine is based on these two ingredients. There's something interestings to think about here. That is, corn and beans have "complimentary amino acids."...
Quesadillas are one of the mainstays of Mexico's street-side stands, and are considered quintessential Mexican. It turns out that they, like Mexicans themselves, are hybrid creations, half indigenous and half Spanish. The corn tortilla on which quesadillas are...
Between 1864 and 1867, Mexico was ruled by the former Austrian archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who was kept in power by French troops. Though Maximilian's reign was brief and tragic, French cooking left its mark on many Mexican-restaurant...
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Listed below are common ingredients used in Mexican dishes
- Array of seafood as a source of meat for dishes
- Beans
- Vegetables (Ground Corn)
- Cheese
- Peanuts/Peanut Butter
- Cactus
- Lard as opposed to begatable oils
- Plantains
The plantain (or platanos) is a banana, musa paradisiaca, which is eaten cooked rather than raw. Plantain are eaten in most tropical countries of the world. The largest exporters of bananas are the northern portions of South America as well as Central America. Reference Link
- Pomolo
This giant citrus (citrus grandus) fruit is native to Malaysia (where it still grows abundantly). It is also cultivated in California and Israel. Most of the varieties found today have been bred and grown. A large pomelo is the largest of all citrus. Reference Link
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Listed below are spices commonly used in Mexican dishes
- Onions
- Garlic (used in salsa, spanish rice)
- Oregano
- Chile Powder (Provides an earthy flavor; Used to season mets and vegetables)
- Cumin
Cumin seed, commonly used in Mexican cooking (comino) as well as a comon ingredient in Indian and Malaysian cooking. It is best lightly toasted then ground in a molcajete or other mortar and pestle. Reference Link
- Epazote (Used to flavor beans; Poisonous in large quanities)
Epazote leaves - pronounced [eh-paw-ZOH-teh]An herb well-known to Mexican and Caribbean cooking. The name comes from the Aztec (Nahuatl) epazotl.ÿ It is also known as pigweed or Mexican tea and is frequently regarded as a garden pest. It is most commonly used in black bean recipes to ward off some of the "negative" side affects of eating beans. Reference Link
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Raisins
- Cilantro
This member of the carrot family is also referred to as Chinese Parsley and Coriander. It is actually the leaves (and stems) of the Coriander plant. Cilantro has a very pungent odor and is widely used in Mexican, Caribbean and Asian cooking. Reference Link
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