Mexican

Cuisine
An Entire Cultural
System
Sol Rubín de la Borbolla*

M
any people ask why, beyond the ritual or festive Natural Diversity
aspects of certain customs, a historian or an an­
thropologist would be interested in the way food Mexico is one of the world’s regions richest in plant and
is prepared and served. This interest is born of a broader de­f­ animal diversity. Several biological inventories rank it fourth
inition of what culture is and how different peoples have dealt worldwide in terms of the number of species it is home to: this
with the effects of globalization. The definition includes the is a mega-diverse country, a category only open to countries that
way in which inhabitants in a given region resolve their day- are home to between 60 and 70 percent of the world’s entire bio­
to-day problems, how they procure the food they need to eat, logical diversity. Indonesia, India, Australia, the De­­m­ocratic
how they build their homes, use the environment, dress, and Republic of the Congo, and Brazil are the other nations that
communicate among each other. And, of course, it involves share this description. This natural diversity has made it pos­
their inner world, the spiritual world: the way they celebrate ­sible for these peoples to have a rich, varied diet. It is sufficient
important events like birth and death, the way they explain to look at current recipe books, which mention the pro­­ducts
the origin of the world and humankind, their relationship needed to prepare a dish from the states of Chi­­huahua, Jalis­
with nature, and also their art. co, Chiapas, or Campeche, to see our great variety of flora and
The culture of a people, region, or country also includes fauna: cultivated and gathered plants, seasonal or peren­
the way the inhabitants recognize each other as part of a group. nial; animals that are fished for, hunted, collected, or raised.
To give just a couple of examples, the shrimp from Sinaloa
* Director of the Daniel Rubín de la Borbolla Documentation and do not taste the same as those from Campeche or the little
In­for­ma­tion Center, solrubin@gmail.com. ones from Oaxaca; Mexican pepperleaf lends a special flavor
Photos by Adalberto Ríos Szalay and Adalberto Ríos Lanz. to food in a large part of the country’s South but is practically

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 Mexico is one of the world’s
regions richest in plant and
animal diversity. Several biological
inventories rank it fourth world-
wide in terms of the number of
species it is home to.

unknown in the North and Central Highlands. This immense

biologi­cal variety is due, among other reasons, to the topog­
raphy, the va­­­­riety of climes, and a long, long geological, bio­
logical, and cul­­­­tural history —we human beings have also
contributed to changing the landscape and therefore, also the
natural resources.
Mesoamerica is a concept cultural and archaeological
scholars use to define a geographical space in which, down
through the history of pre-Hispanic times, different soci­
eties shared cultural expressions and established a communi­
cations network. That space is bounded on the north by the
states of Sinaloa, Jalisco, and Veracruz, and to the south by
parts of Central America, including the northern part of Cos­
ta Rica. Corn is the best example of this shared history; for
more than 10 000 years the inhabitants of Mesoamerica have
improved and diversified its cultivation. Today there are more
than 400 varieties, which, from the natural point of view, re­p­
resent great biological wealth. But, in addition, from the gas­
tronomical-cultural perspective, each of these varieties has its
own specific use: for making tortillas, tamales, roughly mil­led

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 fresh corn pancakes called toqueras, the thick beverage atole,
and for preparing ritual, holiday, or medicinal foods.

A Concert of Ethnic Groups and Cultures

The different groups that have inhabited for thousands of

years what is now Mexico have left a very important mark.
When the Spaniards arrived to these lands in the sixteenth
century, a large number of peoples lived beyond what is known
as Mesoamerica; to the north, south, and east there were hu­­
man settlements with different degrees of economic and social
development. Some oral versions of pre-Hispanic cultures
were set down in the colonial codices, books the first evange­
lizing missionaries contracted indigenous chroniclers and
painters, or tlacuilos, to write, and have also been rendered in
writing at ceremonial centers and burial sites. However, little
recovery work and study have been done of family and residen­
tial spaces. Nevertheless, ceramics, painting, and a few tex­­tiles
and pieces of basketwork or woodwork found in archaeolo­g­
ical explorations help explain their use. Some of these pieces
are comparable to certain objects that are still to be found in
the markets of rural and indigenous towns.
en.
Settlements dating from after the conquest, above all those
od-burning ov
baked in a wo linked to mining, raw materials, and animal husbandry, at­
Pulque bread,
tracted immigrants who came with their own cultural tradition:

From the mix of cultures also

arose an infinite number of
utensils adapted to the uses and
fashions of each era; many of
them have even lasted for
hundreds of years because of
their usefulness and beauty.

Typical view of a tianguis, or open-air market.

44
 Traditional Michoacán wood-burning kitchen.

Spaniards with their Arabic heritage, Jews, and groups who

came as slaves from different parts of Africa. They all brought
with them new products, culinary customs, crafted items, and
other ways of explaining the world. To this was ad­ded the ex­
change through the Manila galleon trade with Asia, and the
trade with Spain and its other colonies through the royal fleet
during the entire viceroyalty. Later, starting in the nineteenth
century, the growing trade was enriched with the presence of
immigrants from countries like France, Germa­ny, Italy, Eng­
land, and Lebanon, among others, which gave rise to innova­
tions in the way of eating, preparing, serving, and storing food.
All these changes were less evident among the indigenous
peoples; but in urban and mestizo areas, the transformation
was much greater given that in Mexico, the mix of the dif­
ferent groups took place in all spheres of life. The Spanish
brought the lathe, enamel ceramics, colonial looms, new tex­
tile fibers like wool and fine silk, iron, glass, and numerous
techniques and tools for production and household use.

Popular Art and Gastronomy

From the mix of cultures also arose an infinite number of

utensils adapted to the uses and fashions of each era; many
of them have even lasted for hundreds of years because of
their usefulness and beauty and because they are part of the
Corn atole in clay mugs.

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identity of a region or a social group, whether indigenous or
mestizo, from the countryside or the city. Just like with gas­
tronomy, many of the transformations in folk art asso­ciated
with the cuisine came about because of regional differen­
ces. In Mexico’s South and Southeast, in indigenous areas,
pottery maintains some of its original forms: little boxes or
plates, large earthen jars for liquids, clay jugs and pots that
are smoothed and burnished until they are waterproof. Bas­
kets are used to store grain, placed above the hearth on lofts
to preserve it. In Central Mexico, the most common kind of
ceramics are enameled or glazed until they are vitreous, and
baskets are still used to transport food; spoons and kitchen fur­
­niture like dish-holders, spoon-holders, and chests are carved
from wood. Tablecloths are woven on colonial looms or em­
broidered in cotton in a wide variety of colors.
Knife sets are another of the important part of folk art
linked to gastronomy. Although produced in many places,
outs­­tanding examples of knives are made in Oaxaca and, par­
ticularly, Michoacán, where perfectly tempered steel is com­
bined with rare wood handles, and hammered copper pots
Grinding cacao on a metate.
are used to make caramel and fruit candy or to deep-fry the
famous pork carnitas.
Volcanic rock is used to make water filters; mortars and Volcanic rock is used to make water filters;
pestles for grinding seeds and spices and to prepare a wide mortars and pestles for grinding seeds
variety of salsas; mealing stones to grind nixtamal (corn cook­ed and spices and to prepare a wide variety
in a mixture of quicklime and water to make tortillas), cacao, of salsas; and mealing stones to grind nixtamal,
and other products. cacao, and other products.

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 Gastronomy is undoubtedly an element
for establishing identity in which the vast majority
of Mexicans recognize themselves, as are all Today, it is not unusual to find a volcanic rock mortar and
the tools and utensils used for cooking, pestle next to an Osterizer in a Mexican kitchen, whether in the
storing, transporting, or serving food. city or the countryside, or clay pots next to pewter or Teflon.
Hot chocolate continues to be hand-beaten with turn­ed wood­
en whisks, and millions of Mexicans drink coffee or other hot
beverages in clay mugs.
Mole sauce, in all its regional variations, continues to be
the most popular dish for family celebrations, which is why the
huge clay pots continue to be produced in different states
throughout the country like Puebla, Tlaxcala, Michoacán, and
the State of Mexico. In contrast, the blown and pressed glass
glasses typically used in the past to drink pulque, a fermented
drink made from cactus sap, have practically disappeared and
become collector’s items since the beverage itself is not con­
sumed as much today as before.
Gastronomy is undoubtedly an element for establishing
identity in which the vast majority of Mexicans recognize
themselves, as are all the tools and utensils used for cook­
ing, storing, transporting, or serving food. And these are all
intimately linked to the country’s different cultural regions.
This means that the different dishes that make up daily, ce­r­
e­monial, family celebratory, or religious meals correspond
to diverse artisanal pieces. This means it is not unusual to find
in most homes a clay pot used exclusively for making mole
for parties, even if it is only used twice or three times a year;
clay pots used for making rice are often reserved exclusively
for that; the pots for cooking beans are usually not used to cook
other foods; and it is often common to find other implements

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The appropriation
of products, techniques,
and ways of preparing and
serving food has made
Mexico’s cuisine a lively,
dynamic manifestation
of its culture.

Traditional cuisines are considered the patrimony of a so­

ciety because they are made up of a series of original or im­
port­ed products that with the passage of time are naturalized
by the country that adopted them; a series of processes carried
out to transform and use the raw materials, like nixtama­liza­
ción or using the cacao bean in the case of Mexico;1 tech­­­­­­niques
for preparing food, like those used to make torti­llas, to wrap
In a collective cuisine, everyone takes part. tamales, to preserve certain meats, among others; rituals, like
the ceremonies to pray for a good crop; objects, utensils, tools,
and recipients that satisfy certain needs like the metate or
mealing stone, the molcajete or stone mortar and pestle, the mo­
like pots, tablecloths, mats, clay pots, cut tissue-paper decora­ ­­linillo or turned wooden whisk for beating chocolate, the river
tions, among other things, reserved for special use for festi­v­ nets and traps for fishing, the baskets for transporting and
ities and ceremonies. storing products, etc.; and oral histories through which know­l­
Of course, these variations are closely linked to the cul­ edge and wisdom are transmitted. Using these parameters,
tural practices that endure in Mexico, as well as other factors certain criteria have been developed that characterize tradi­
like buying power, ethnic and social groups, and geographi­ tional cuisines and Mexico’s fulfills all of them:
cal regions. Originality. Mexico’s cuisine emerged in its own territory.
Its strength was born of a long historical process of more than
10 centuries of experimentation and the development of culti­
From Mexico to the World vation, use, and domestication of the local wild flora and fau­
na, of preparation techniques, and of ways of serving and sharing
The concept of patrimony or heritage involves the value placed food. From pre-Hispanic times until today, it has been en­
on a series of inherited goods, knowledge, and histories that, riched by contributions from other cultures.
with the passage of time, are transformed by the generation Diversity. Natural diversity is measured by the variety of
that inherits them, which in turn, leaves them to those who species, and cultural diversity by the number of living lan­
come after. This is why, when the value of these goods is lost, guages in a specific territory; using the latter indicator, Mex­
their classification as patrimony is lost. ico takes third place worldwide, after China and India.

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 Historical continuity. The most recent archaeological finds but they also reproduce the forms of preparation and flavors
show that, since the humans inhabiting Mesoamerica began that are close to us and our surroundings. What family, civic,
domesticating corn, their basic foodstuff, 10 000 years have or religious fiesta does not bring to mind a certain dish or spe­
passed. Therefore, the development of the body of knowl­ cial way of preparing it? Suffice it to think of esquites (corn
edge and techniques for the use of local products has taken cut from the cob and flavored with the pungent epazote herb)
all that time. at a fair, or tamales on the Day of Our Lady of Candelaria. And
Authenticity. The appropriation of products, techniques, even, day-to-day, who can resist that delicacy, a tortilla with
and ways of preparing and serving food has made Mexico’s salt just off the griddle? We have food patrimony at hand every
cuisine a lively, dynamic manifestation of its culture. Since day: the originality, authenticity, historical continuity, diversity,
pre-Hispanic times, the trade routes and relations for con­ and identity of Mexico’s cuisines accompany us in all spheres
quest and tribute determined that products would travel from of life. It is our responsibility to preserve them.
one territory to another. Today, the contributions from other
cultures can still be traced without eliminating the basis for
indigenous nutrition: corn, squash, beans, and chili peppers. Notes
Identity. Food is present at all celebrations in Mexico: from
1
 he process of nixtamalización is used to prepare corn for making tortillas
T
birth until death, in civic and religious fiestas. In addition, it is
by slaking corn kernels with water and calcium oxide, or quicklime, to sof­ten
a factor for social cohesion because of the commu­nity signi­f­ them.
icance it embodies, from the cultivation of the products to the
way the table or altar is laid out.

* * *

Examples confirming why Mexican cuisine is part of the coun­

­try’s cultural patrimony are all around us: the recipes we in­
herit from our grandmothers have family value as a heritage,

Making a corunda, a kind of tamale.

Traditional cuisines are

considered the patrimony of
a society because they are
made up of a series of
original or im­port­ed products
that with the passage of
time are naturalized by the
country that adopted them.

Tortillas fresh off the griddle.

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