Featured Image courtesy of Luis Cordova 2010 Often referred to as the “Mexican sauce with chocolate in it” this dish is poorly understood outside of Mexico. Even referring to mole simply as a sauce is somewhat a misnomer as it is so much more than that. A mole is no less than a culinary work of art. Each ingredient is individually cooked and prepared according … Continue reading What is Mole?
also called : smooth sowthistle, milk thistle (1), rauriki, pūhā, pūwhā, pororua, lechuguilla, cerraja, cola de zorra (foxtail), colewort, hares lettuce, hares thistle, rabbit thistle, kŭcài (苦菜)(bitter vegetable) Another plant introduced into Mexico that can be considered a quelite is sowthistle. Sowthistle is an annual herb native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa. It is a common urban plant, which in many places is considered … Continue reading Quelite : Sowthistle : Sonchus oleraceus
Mesoamericans ate a wide range of insects. The Aztecs (and modern “in the know” locals) ate ahuautli. Ahuautli is the name for the edible eggs of an aquatic fly in the Corixidae or Notonectidae families. They are found in the lakes of the México basin. The eggs (like michihuautli)(1) look (and supposedly taste – although this is subjective) like fish roe. Cakes of it were (and still … Continue reading Edible Insects : Axayácatl (Ahuautli)
also called romerillo, seepweed, seablite, quelite salado (salty quelite), inkweed, Mojave seablite, shrubby seepweed Romeritos – “little rosemary” (Suaeda torreyana), is so named due to its superficial resemblance to Rosemary. It is an example of a wild plant that, due to its popularity, is now required in commercial quantities. Surveys performed by INEGI (1) have found that gardens in and around Mexico City are responsible for the … Continue reading Quelites : Romeritos
Chenopodium nuttalliae (syn : C.berlandieri) “hairy amaranth” – from the Nahuatl huauhtli ‘amaranth’ and tzontli ‘hair’ According to a Mexican government website (1) the cultivation of huauzontle was prohibited by the Spanish, along with amaranth (2), due to its use in religious rites linked to human sacrifice. Huauzontles are a highly nutritious plant from the Chenopodium or “Goosefoot” family. Other plants in this family include … Continue reading Quelite : Huauzontle
The word “Xochimilco” is Nahuatl for “where the flowers grow”. It is an area of lakes and canals that was a major agricultural centre in Mesoamerica and remains as the only reminder of traditional Pre-Hispanic land-use in the waterways of the Mexico City basin. This compound glyph for the place name Xochimilco features two colourful, detailed flowers [xochi(tl)], and a rectangular, segmented, textured parcel of land [mil(li)]. … Continue reading Xochimilco and the Axolotl
Octli (or pulque) from the maguey and tepache from pineapple are well known; but the knowledge of one drink, Sende (or sendechó/sende choo) is in danger of being lost. Only a few still know the traditional production methods of this drink. It is a labour intensive product and in this day and age of speed and convenience fewer still are prepared to learn the ancient methods of production. When made … Continue reading Sende : Sendecho
Tepache is a traditional drink of prehispanic origin and although it was once produced from the juice extracted from the cooked agave piñas it was soon made from the fruit we now call pineapples. It is believed that pineapples (Ananas comosus) originated in South America in the area around Brazil and Paraguay. The fruit was traded throught the Americas and it was cultivated by both Maya and Aztec … Continue reading Tepache
Chenopod – from Ancient Greek χήν (khḗn, “goose”) + πούς (poús, “foot”) One of the most tenacious, hardy and useful species of wild herb is the Chenopodium. The use of this family of plants has a long history. Archaeological finds suggest that some chenopods, such as fat hen, were not only collected from the wild but may in fact have been cultivated as far back … Continue reading Chenopodiums
The porophyllum species continues to surprise. I have recently come across an organic seed seller in Florida who is selling a plant they call Yerba porosa. Yerba porosa is a common name that frequently refers to P.ruderale and translates to “porous herb” (grass) in reference to the oil filled glands (or pores) that give this herb its distinctive flavour profile. The variety of this plant … Continue reading Yerba Porosa : (Unknown Porophyllum)
Masa Americana 