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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Mexican Dishes

It might surprise you to know that Mexican food is considered to be the most varied in the world after Chinese food. Every region of the country has its own food style and Mexican cuisine in vast. The Mexican food eaten in the Yucatan is especially exciting, since it is a unique mixture of Mexican, Mayan, Caribbean and Lebanese influences.

Some Mexican dishes are spicy but not everything is. Chili peppers are widely used in Mexican cookery and there are lots of variations of them, including pasilla, habanero, serrano, poblano, and jalapeo. Mexicans like to vary their diets by eating meat, fish, poultry, seafood, fruit, vegetables and grains, or at least the ones who can afford to. Stews, soups, and sauces are common Mexican foods and cooking methods include baking, deep-frying and slow roasting.

Mexicans like to eat fresh fruit and vegetables and anything older than two days is not considered fresh. Costly pesticides and herbicides are hardly used and produce is picked when ripe or very nearly ripe. Imported food is usually shunned in favor of locally grown produce and everything is grown nearby. The exception would be Mexico City, where produce that is not likely to be sold is exported.

What is a Mexican Typical Meal?

Tortillas are eaten daily in a lot of households, making them a real staple, much like bread is to us. Tortillas are balls of corn dough, or masa, which are flatted to a disc the size of a CD. The government maintains tortilla prices at five pesos per kilo because they are so much of a Mexican staple! Traditional tortillas are made from corn and supermarkets bake them fresh all day. Tortillas are used to make tacos because authentic tacos are soft, not hard like the Taco Bell interpretation.

Tortillas, tacos, and tamales are made from corn. Many stews and soups use beans such as lentils, fava beans, and kidney beans. Tomatoes are used in a lot of recipes, especially salsa recipes.

Fruit is either eaten fresh or used in sauce and dessert recipes. Coconut, mango, pineapple, and papaya are all very popular and nopales are prickly pear cactus paddles, which are sauted and eaten like vegetables. You can also get sweetened nopales, which are used, in desserts.

Salsas and Condiments

Many people add lime, sour cream, or salsa to their Mexican food. You will also get little bowl of condiments served to you in a traditional Mexican restaurant. These will include chopped onion, fresh cilantro, lime, a hot chili salsa, a mild chili salsa and salsa Mexicana. Salsa Mexicana is made with chopped fresh tomatoes, chopped onion, habanero chili, and cilantro. You might also see a charred green onion, Worcestershire sauce (known in Mexico as salsa ingles) and limejuice dip. Guacamole is often served as well.

Mexican food is rich in color and flavor and fresh produce is very important. There are probably more myths about Mexican food than any other cuisine, with people confusing Tex Mex and Mexican style fast food for the real thing but real Mexican cuisine is a real joy.

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