Snacking in Mexico

Snacks are a very important part of the meal structure in Mexican cuisine, it’s that meal time when the entire family gets together and spend time. The taste of Mexican Snacks is quite well-known all over the world. Here are a few snacks from the Mexican cuisine snacks menu.

1)Margaritas


Margarita’s another very famous appetizer from the cuisine of Mexico, for making a perfect margarita there is no individual recipe, connoingsseurs around the world agree to the fact that there are 3 key ingredients which belong in every frosty salt-rimmed glass: they are
a)Tequila
b)orange liqueur
c)lime juice.

The tequila is taken up first, and a moderately-priced bottle is chosen for. Premium brands are not lucked up to because the superior flavor will be covered up by other ingredients. Orange liqueur is the next to go and there are various kinds you can use, from the more straightforward sweetness of triple sec or curacao to the rich complexity of Cointreau or Grand Marnier. The sweetness in a margarita comes from the orange liqueur. Now it’s the time for the lime juice, adding limes creates difference in taste. Time can be saved and mess at your fiesta, mix up your tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice in a big pitcher beforehand. When you're ready to make a batch of margaritas, just pour some of your magical mix over ice and blend or shake!

2)Salsas


It’s a famous appetizer and at the same time its quite easy to make your own salsa. It's not difficult to do so, it becomes much fun if one has tasted the homemade salsa, you may never want store-bought again! Fresh home made salsa contains tomatoes, chilies, onions, garlic, cilantro, lime juice or vinegar, and salt. Tomatoes can be chopped; cored or cut. Core them and cut them into quarters, use a food processor in order to puree the tomatoes to the desired consistency. Roma tomatoes are generally used for a drier chunkier salsa whereas round tomatoes are taken up for a juicier salsa

Types of tomatoes to be used for making different salsas

Roma tomatoes for a drier, chunkier salsa and round tomatoes for a juicier salsa.
White onions; they taste better than yellow ones for eating raw.
Try some variations: replace the tomatoes with diced mangoes, cucumbers or tomatillos.
Try adding fresh, raw corn or a can of drained and rinsed black beans to your salsa.
Adjust the heat in your salsa by switching the kind of peppers you use. Anaheims are
Mild poblanos are a bit hotter, jalapenos a bit hotter still; serranos are even hotter, and habaneros will set your mouth on fire!


3) Fajitas


Fajitas have a mixed Mexican-American heritage. They were first made by Mexican and Texan cowboys, who developed this signature method for grilling the rations of skirt steak they received for the trail, although nowadays it's just as common to make fajitas with chicken, seafood or even tofu. There are two factors that give fajitas their distinctive flavor: the marinade and the cooking method. Fajita marinade always contains lime juice and garlic, and often onion, cilantro, oregano cumin, chiles and sometimes tequila. When it comes to cooking fajita meat, there's just no substitute for grilling. If you are using skirt steak, pound it thin, cook it no more than medium-rare and slice it across the grain for maximum tenderness. And don't forget -- no fajita feast is complete without sauteed onions and green peppers, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream and a big pile of soft, warm flour tortillas.

4) Flan


It’s a traditional Mexican dessert of creamy custard crowned with rich, toasty caramel looks complicated but is really uncomplex to make. In Many recipes call for individual custard cups, but if you don't have any you can just as easily use a pie pan and slice the flan into wedges for serving. Customize your flan recipe by replacing 1/4 cup of the milk with rum or your favorite liqueur, or try mixing in orange zest or shredded coconut. To provide gentle, even heat, flan recipes will ask you to bake the custard in a water bath -- a roasting pan full of water, in which you set the flan dishes. Bring the water to a boil before you pour it into the pan or it will take a very long time for the oven to heat it up. When it's done, the flan will be firm around the edges, but it will still be wobbly in the middle; the texture will even out as it cools.

Veggie Quesadillas is a very loveable snack in Mexico.

MEXICO’S CUISINE – AZTEC

Maize (corn) was the utmost vital staple in Aztec cuisine, a crop that was so important to Aztec society that it played a central part in their mythology. As in similar to wheat in Europe and rice in most of East Asia, it was such an important part of the meal that without which a meal was not regarded as a meal. It was available in an exquisite number of varieties dissentient in color, texture, size and prestige and was eaten like tortillas, tamales or atolli, maize gruel. Salt and chili, peppers were the other constants of Aztec food whereas the fundamental definition of Aztec fasting was to abstain from these two favorers. The other giant chunk were beans and New World varieties of the grains such as Amaranth (or pigweed), and chia. The unification of maize and these essential foods would have provided the average Aztec with a very well-rounded diet without any significant deficiencies in vitamins or minerals. The processing of maize called nixtamalization, the cooking of maize grains in alkaline solutions, also drastically increased the nutritional value of the common staple.

the most common drinks were water, maize gruels and pulque, the fermented juice of the century plant and there exited many different fermented alcoholic beverages made from honey, cacti and various fruits. The white collared took pride in not drinking pulque, a drink of commoners, and preferred drinks made from cacao. It was one of the most divine luxuries available, it was the drink of rulers, warriors and nobles and was flavored with chili peppers, honey and a seemingly endless list of spices and herbs.

The diet of Aztec included an impressive variety of animals; turkeys and various game, fowl, pocket gophers, Green iguanas, axolotls (a type of water salamander), shrimp, fish and a great variety of insects, larvae and insect eggs. They ate various mushrooms and fungi, including the parasitic corn smut, which grows on ears of corn. Squash was very popular and came in many different varieties. Squash seed, fresh, dried or roasted, were especially popular. Tomatoes, though different from the varieties common today, was often mixed with chili in sauces or as filling for tamales.

Scoop of Mexican food facts

Food from Mexico has always been taken up to be very hot & spicy. Well, that is partially true, Mexican food history is one such that depicts, that Mexico has given chocolate to the world, as well as several other specialities, including peanuts, vanilla, beans, coconuts and tomatoes.The ancestral and authentic cuisine of Mexico makes use of these indigence elements to produce delightful meals and with the arrival of specialities like pork, lamb, beef, wine, vinegar and cheese from Spain (brought by the conquerors), the Mexican cuisine evolved, by amalgamating these European elements into their own traditional meals.


Bottom line – Mexican food

1)Corn, is a very vital ingredient in Mexican food

2)The process of evolution of Mexican food continued as new products and techniques kept coming in time and again into Mexico from different places. It can be found that some recipes and ingredients have come originally from South America, the Caribbean and even Africa.

3)The Mexican cuisine finally met the cuisine from the north, and Tex-Mex food was created. Tex-Mex food is a blend of flavors and recipes from the Mexican, Texan and American culture. In present time’s different kinds of foods that Mexicans eat, from enchiladas, tacos and burritos to award-winning gourmet creations.


4)Aside from the foreign elements existing in Mexico’s nouvelle cuisine, the key ingredients remain the same, recipe after recipe. The most commonly used ingredient in Mexican food is corn. Like the ancient civilizations that dwelled in the region, Mexicans have learned how to cook almost every meal with corn. Corn flour is the main component involved in the preparation of the Mexican food, and corn is also used in many forms for a wide variety of meals, including candy.


5)Another typical ingredient is the chili, which has a strong, hot flavor. It is used to condiment various meals, and is the primary component of the Tabasco Hot Sauce. “Chili con Carne”, or Chilli and Meat, is a typical preparation involving Chili. It’s a sort of stew, with small pieces of meat and some vegetables all mixed together with hot Chili sauce.


6)Although the most famous products of the Mexican cuisine are the desserts. Mexican desserts combine hot elements and sweet elements to produce unique sensations on the mouth, because of both flavour and texture, and the combination of smells is also one of a kind.


7)Mexican candy is not only a piece of Mexican food, but also a piece of Mexican art. The “Calaveras de Azúcar”, or sugar skulls, are specially prepared for the Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Corn-flavored candy is also a typical product.


“Every tourist will find Mexican cuisine to be an interesting choice. It is commonly said that visiting Mexico and not tasting Mexican food is like not visiting Mexico at all”.

Mexican cuisine outside of Mexico

Cuisine of Mexico is a type or style of food as they, originated in Mexico. Few dishes in this cuisine have a Spanish or Middle Eastern influence. This cuisine is known worldwide for its distinct and varied flavours, eye candy type decoration of the dishes, and variety of spices and ingredients used, many of which are native to the country.
This cuisine has generated its own fan following globally.
Authentic Mexican food was adapted and Americanized as "Tex Mex" (Texan-Mexican) cuisine.

Mexican cuisine also posed a strong influence over cuisine of the southwest United States and in California where their version of "Tex-Mex" is sometimes called Cal-Mex.

For example


A) “Nachos“ :- are rarely eaten in Mexico, whereas they are widely popular all over the world.
Cuisine-style is what differs the six regions of Mexico, it is like that almost each region has parted country with separate cuisines. .

1) In the Yucatan: - a unique, natural sweetness (instead of spiciness) exists in the widely used local produce along with an unusual love for achiote seasoning.

2) In contrast, the Oaxacan region is known for their savory tamales and celebratory moles, while the mountainous regions of the West (Jalisco, etc) are known for goat birria (goat in a spicy tomato-based sauce).


B) “Margaritas” :- They come in a variety of flavours and colors.


C) “Chimichanga” :- A deep-fried burrito with origins in Arizona, is a Mexican-inspired dish popular in the United States and in other countries outside of Mexico

Locating Mexican Restaurants

These restaurants can be found in almost any town throughout North America, and in many cities around the world,
Mexican restaurants in different regions of world have different menus such as:-

1)Restaurants outside the American Southwest often feature non-traditional ingredients, such as grated American-style cheese, "nacho" cheese or tomato-based sauce substitutes for Mexican chile-based sauces or mole.

2)Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, and parts of Florida and Illinois have large expatriate Mexican populations, and a variety of authentic Mexican restaurants can be found in these states.

3) In other areas of the United States and Canada, Mexican dishes and restaurants vary as much as Chinese restaurants and dishes do between China and many locations in the western Hemisphere.

New Mexico's long tradition of Mexican settlement and history and also the Native American influence as well, has given birth to a unique form of New Mexican cuisine. Even though many of the dishes vary from their Mexican counterparts, they are still considered "authentic" or "traditional" for New Mexican cuisine. Both Mexicans and New Mexicans typically find each other's cuisine somewhat similar, yet unfamiliar, and non-traditional, typically missing the true taste that they desire. Mexican restaurants rarely initiate for specializing in New Mexican cuisine found outside of New Mexico except in the state of Colorado.

Mexican Soups

Soups are the best means to increase the appetite and to warm ourself in the season of winter.


1.Chicken Soup - Sopa de Pollo
Chicken soup is one of the most demanded soup in Mexico.It is full of Vitamins, Minerals and has therapeutic benefits.If you add seasoning in this soup, it will taste wonderful.


2.Tortilla Dumpling Soup
This is a good appetizer.And Tortilla is favourate among the Mexican.Its a spicy soup and taste amazing.


3.Egg Soup - Sopa de Huevo
This soup is very easy and fast to make.This soup is most demanded by kids. Its not very spicy.Even this is not expensive soup ,if you get from restaurant.


4.Beef Soup - Caldo de Res
Mexican soup is called Caldo de Ras. Caldo de Res is a real authentic Mexican dish.Every week Mexican families prefer to eat, because beef is the good source of protein.


5.Oyster Soup - Sopa de Ostiones
This food is made up up of small Manrove oysters, raw with lemon. Many parts of mexico are situated near sea and you can get Oyster very easily.. That's why Oyster soup is very famous.


6.Red Whole Grain Rice Soup
Mexican people are always ready to enjoy rice dishes.This soup is spicy and if you add seasonal vegetables it taste really nice.


7.Vegetable Soup - Sopa de Verduras
It is very colourful and delicious soups.And you can get this soup in many restaurants around the world. And it is most loveable by kids.

Along with soup, you can serve Mini Mexican Pizza as a starters.

Famous Mexican Appetizers

Mexican food should always starts from appetizers like some chips or some salsa.Person who is looking for delicious food ,always ask for Mexican appetizers. Another reason why people prefer to eat Mexican food because it is good for health. Mexican appetizers have been the preference of many American because of its aroma and colourful food.

Some of the most demanded Mexican appetizers are:-


1.Caldo Camaron:-It is a soup which contain shrimps, onion, cilantro, tomatoes, avacado and our sauces.You can serve hot or cold as you wish.

2.Nachos Supreme:- A bowl filled with chips and boiled beans mixed in it.And many other ongredients like cheese, chicken of beef, cream. It is very taste to eat.and looks very colorful.

3.Quesadilla:- It is made up of tortilla with melted cheese on it an any mexican sausage.You may add chicken or seafood.

4.Quezo Fundido:-Hot melted Mexican cheese and your choice of chicken or chorizo served with sour cream and guacamole and with hot tortillas.

5.Mango de gallo:-It is made up of Sweet and Spicy diced Mango, onion, cilantro in fresh lime juice. You can serve this fresh dish wiyh tortillas.It taste really good.

Black Bean Tortilla Pie is also very famous appetizer of Mexico and you can serve Cherry Slush along with appetizers as a fruit drink.

Mexican salad

Whatever the salad is, it is good for health, refreshing and having low fats and calories.


1)Mexican bean salad
Mexican Bean Salad is a colourful, spicy and refreshing salad. The dressing is wounderful in this bean salad.You can make bean salad in many ways.You can make vegetarian bean salad also,if you don't prefer to eat non-veg.


2)Mexican Corn salad
Corn is the main ingredient of Mexican food.Corn salad is also famous in mexico. All Mexicans people love to eat smoked or barbecued flavour in their food. Corn salad is one of the best example.



3)Mexican taco salad
It is most demanded salad in Mexico. You can take it as a meal and its a good healthy.The kids love it. This spicy, flavourful dish contain cumin and oregano for fabulous Mexican aromas.



4)Mexican wilted cabbage salad
It is also called French cabbage salad. It is the best way to serve cabbage.



5)Mexican tomato salad
A simple tomato salad is so delicious.If you take tomato salad in your meal, you will get really healthful and delicious meal.

Mexican food festival in May and June 2009

Following is the list of Mexican food festival for the May and June 2009. Possibly no other country in the world has as many festivals, fairs and feast days as Mexico. People of mexico are found of eating.Mexican food is famous in all over the world. So if you will get a chance to eat Mexican food, then go ahead don't miss the chance.

Following are the date of food feast:-

May 1-10th
(Mayo)

Its a Rosario, Sinaloa, Regional Fruit, Vegetable and Salsa Fair.
This is the town which produce hot sauces, which is used in Mexican food.They are celebrating the food which are produce in that area and some variety of salsa food also.

Venue:-Resort town of Mazatlan


May 15-31st

Its a Escárcega, Campeche, Feria del Arroz- Rice Festival.

An authentic food festival really begins. If you come here you will really enjoy the food.

Venue:-Gateway to the Maya Route.


May 20-28th

It is Tequisquiapan, Queretaro, National Wine and Cheese Fair.

You will enjoy mexican wines and cheese in this feast. And some delicious local food of mexico.

Venue:- It is a little town, 12 miles from San Juan del Rio and easily accessible from the Mexico-Queretaro toll highway.


May 22-30th

It is Loma Bonita, Oaxaca, Feria de la Piña- Pineapple Festival.

This town is known for its very sweet and juicy pineapples, and is a center for processing the fruit for worldwide exportation.This town distributes the fruits in all over the Mexico.

Venue:- Located in an area of lush tropical vegetation 20 miles from Cosamaloapan, Veracruz.

JUNE
Junio)

June 18

It is Papantla, Veracruz, Festival de Vainilla, Vanilla Festival.

Here you will find both regional food and beverages, small animal figures and baskets woven from vanilla bean pods, sachets and vanilla essence.

Venue:-Only 6 miles from the prehispanic ruin site of El Tajin, with its famous pyramid of 365 windows.

Famous drinks of Mexico

Damiana liquor
It is light liquor made with the damiana herbs.This drink is very popular in the los Cabos area of mexico.The leaves of damiana originally used for medical purpose.Damiana is a small shrub with smooth, pale green, oval leaves and aromatic yellow flowers.


Margaritas
It contain an intoxicating agent.It is famous Mexican drink with the basic ingredients of tequila and fresh lime juice. Serve your classic Margaritas drink in unusually shaped drinking glasses. Although most of us think of summer when we think of having a margarita, the fire found in a traditional margaritas and its variations will add warmth on cool winter nights.




Tequila -
Tequila comes from the distillation of the blue agave cactus that grows in the town of Tequila in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.

Some brands and variety of tequila
Cabo Wabo

Casa Noble

Jose Cuervo Clasico

Margaritaville

Patrón Silver

Tarantula Azul


Mexican beer
Mexican beers are produced by the two beer giants, FEMSA and Grupo Modelo. The first lager beer brewery in Mexico was La Pila Seca, founded in 1845 by Swiss immigrant Bernhard Bolgard.Mexican beer would be complete without mentioning the lime.Mexican people used to drink beer with theri meals.


Waborita
Its a very strong drink. If you can find it, use premium Cabo Wabo tequila.Don't drink neat.

Guide of mexican cheese

Cheese is nutritious food made mostly from the milk of cows but also other mammals, including sheep, goats, buffalo, reindeer, camels and yaks. Around 4000 years ago people have started to breed animals and process their milk. That's when the cheese was born.

A Guide to mexican cheese

A)Fresh Cheeses:


Queso blanco:
This creamy, white cheese is made from skimmed cow's milk, and has been described as being a cross between cottage cheese and mozzarella.



Queso fresco:
A spongy white cheese, used to crumble over botanas - snacks - as well as on enchiladas and taquitos, this type of cheese was introduced to Mexico from Burgos, Spain.



Requeson:
A loose, ricotta-like cheese used to fill enchiladas and to make cheese spreads.




B)Soft Cheeses:


Queso anejo:
This is classified as a soft cheese, can actually become quite firm and salty. as it ages. It is used primarily as a garnish, crumbled or grated over a variety of dishes.



Queso oaxaca:
Also known as quesillo, this is by far the most popular cheese for making quesadillas. It is a stretched curd cheese, it is so much flexible ,you can fold into round balls also.



C)Firm Cheeses:



Queso anejo enchilado:
This is queso anejo, with a spicey red coating. A strong feta cheese could be substituted for it.



Queso cotija:
This is a sharp, crumbly goat cheese. It has been called "the Parmesan of Mexico" and is usually served over beans and salads.



Queso manchego viejo:
As its name indicates, this is manchego that has been aged to the point where it hardens and becomes more intense in flavor. It is quite often shaved over botanas.


Serving and Storage Tips
1. Unpasteurised cheese with a range of flavours should not be sliced until purchase otherwise it will start to lose its subtlety and aroma.
2. Keep the cheese in conditions in which it matures. Hard, semi-hard and semi-soft cheeses are stored in the temperatures from around 8 - 13 C.
3. Keep the cheese wrapped in the waxed paper and place it in a loose-fitting food-bag not to lose humidity and maintain the circulation of air.
4. Wrap blue cheeses all over as mould spores spread readily not only to other cheeses but also to everything near.
5. Chilled cheeses should be taken out of the refrigerator one and a half or two hours before serving.
6. Cheeses contain living organisms that must not be cut off from air, yet it is important not to let a cheese dry out.
7. Do not store cheese with other strong-smelling foods. As a cheese breathes it will absorb other aromas and may spoil.
8. Wrap soft cheeses loosely. Use waxed or greaseproof paper rather than cling film.
Let cold cheese warm up for about half an hour before eating to allow the flavour and aroma to develop


Some other great cheese of Mexico

* Anejo Enchilado
* Asadero
* Cotija
* Oaxaca
* Panela
* Queso Blanco
* Queso Fresco
* Queso Jalapeno
* Queso Quesadilla

1)Anejo Enchilado

It can be easily shredded or grated. It is commonly used as a topping or stuffing for enchiladas burritos and tacos.

2)Cotija

It is a Hispanic-style cheese, known as the "Parmesan of Mexico". It was originally made with goat's milk but today cow's milk is preferred. This cheese is strongly flavored, firm and perfect for grating.

3) Panela

The most popular fresh cheeses in Mexico, this cheese is mild, white and crumbly. Like Queso Blanco, it will get soft but not get melt when heated.

4)Queso Blanco

Traditional, creamery, fresh cheese made from cow's milk. The name simply means "white cheese". It resembles a cross between mozzarella and salty cottage cheese.


5) Queso Fresco

One of the most favorite Mexican cheeses, it is based on the Spanish cheese Burgos. It is fresh cheese of various sizes and shapes made from the mixture of cow's and goat's milk.


6) Queso Jalapeno

A smooth, soft cheese with bits of real Jalapeno pepper in it. Ideal for making quesadillas with a little, extra zesty flavor or for anytime snacking.

7) Queso Quesadilla

This cheese is smooth, soft, mild and white. It is a family favorite throughout Mexico, both for snacking and melting because it melts easily to make your favorite dishes rich and creamy.

History of mexican food

Mexican cuisine is a style of food that originated in Mexico. Some dishes have a Spanish or Middle Eastern influence. Mexican cuisine is known for its varied flavors, colorful decoration, and variety of spices and ingredients. The history of Mexican food is a long and diverse one. It is believed that authentic Mexican food might have been derived from the Mayan Indians. They were traditionally hunters and gatherers. Corn tortillas with bean paste were a common food item; but they also ate wild game, tropic fruits, and fish.You could say that corn and beans are the two main foods of Mexicans,but rice is equally important and Mexico's rice harvest is abundant. and much of Mexican cuisine is based on these ingredients.The Mexican cuisine is varied and rich.


In 1521 Spain invaded Mexico. Spanish foods had the most influence on the Mexican cuisine. They introduced new stuff to eat, such as sheep, pigs and cows. They brought with them dairy products, and garlic as well as many different herbs, wheat and spices. Mexican dishes varies from region to region, because of local climate and geography and differences among the inhabitants . The north of Mexican's love to eat beef, goat and ostrich production and meat dishes, in particular the well-known Arrachera cut.



Barbacoa, pozole, menudo and carnitas are famous in Central Mexico.

Southeastern Mexico, on the other hand, is known for its spicy vegetable and chicken-based dishes. Seafood is commonly prepared in the states that border the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico, the latter having a famous for its fish dishes.




In modern times, other cuisines of the world have become very popular in Mexico, thus adopting a Mexican fusion. For example, sushi in Mexico is often made with a variety of sauces based on mango or tamarind, and very often served with serrano-chili blended soy sauce, or complimented with habanero and chipotle peppers. mostly using hot spices in many dishes such as menudo and pozole.In Mexico, it is very unusual to put cheese in tacos or tostadas.