Cooking Technique : Acitronar (and by default the Biznaga and Acitrón)
acitronar (first-person singular present acitrono, first-person singular preterite acitroné, past participle acitronado) This technique is not solely a phenomenon of México. In French cuisine the technique known as “sweating” is very similar in nature to acitronar Sweating is the process of releasing flavours with moisture and low temperatures. It is a technique that uses a gentle heat to soften vegetables and gently draw out their … Continue reading Cooking Technique : Acitronar (and by default the Biznaga and Acitrón)
Cooking Technique : Martajar (and the Molcajete)
Martajar : TRANSITIVE VERB : (Centroamérica) (México) [+maíz] to pound; grind “Es la acción de machacar alimentos, ya sea en molcajete o metate, con antiguos utensilios de la época prehispánica, obteniendo una mezcla con aspecto rústico al que se le denomina molcajeteado, martajado o “no bien molido”. It is the action of crushing food, either in a molcajete or metate, with old utensils from pre-Hispanic … Continue reading Cooking Technique : Martajar (and the Molcajete)
Quelite : Chivatitos
(also called) : chivatitos , chivitos , chivatos, lengua de pájaro (birds tongue), lengüitas, Hierba de San Nicolas, barbas de San Nicolas, berros, excacahue, señorita, barba de chivo, tsikuarini, quelite poblano, xubatoti (Matlatzinca), Rock purslane, Red maids, Fringed Red maids Variously identified as Calandrinia ciliata (Linares etal 2017) (syn Calandrinia caulescens) (Yanovsky 1936) Calandrinia micrantha (Castillo-Juárez etal 2009) Calandrinia is a large genus of flowering … Continue reading Quelite : Chivatitos
Cilantro (1). Have your genetics failed you?? (2)
I dedicated this Post to my cilantro loving friend (heh heh) NS Continue reading Cilantro (1). Have your genetics failed you?? (2)
Vitamina T : Totopos and the Chilaquil
What constitutes “real” Mexican food? Is it the ingredients? Is it the technique? My first introduction to Mexican food (in Australia) as a child (so we’re talking the late 1970’s here) was through the Old El Paso brand. Now, although certainly not from the heart of México, this range of products was created in its northern reaches in land that (politically speaking) was once Mexican … Continue reading Vitamina T : Totopos and the Chilaquil
Vitamina T : The Tlapique. Cousin of the Tamal.
Cover image via the Dalia Mercado Cultural in Xochimilco. (more on these guys at the bottom of the Post) The Tlapique. Cousin of the Tamal. I have mentioned the tlapique (or mextlapique) briefly in previous Posts (1) but it has come up a few times for me recently and this dish offers insight into Prehispanic culinary arts that warrants further attention. This dish, which at … Continue reading Vitamina T : The Tlapique. Cousin of the Tamal.
Quelite : Tequelite
Also known as Peperomia maculosa : tequelite, tequelite macho (1), najashuio macho, juksasan, cunsasan grande, oreja de burro “donkey ear” (Coatepec, Altotonga, Coscomatepec.), cuantepeneni (Altotonga), cilantro de monte and cilantro macho (Coatepec, Xico) P.peltilimba : Nacastequilit, tequelite, tequelite hembra (1),Tequelite de panixkaka (Cuetzalan, Zoquiapan, Tuzamapan, Huehuetla and Tlalauquitepec, in the northern highlands of Puebla (Rodríguez & al., 2010) tepoquelite, cilantro de monte, cilantro cimarrón, cilantro … Continue reading Quelite : Tequelite
Quelite Agrio : Other Sour Quelites
In my Post Xocoyoli : The Sour Quelite I mention one of my first plant memories involving what we colloquially know as sourgrass. This plant was a variety of Oxalis (Oxalis pes-caprae). This particular plant is indigenous to Southern Africa but has spread around the World. It is considered to be a weed of agricultural crops and the species can be quite difficult to control … Continue reading Quelite Agrio : Other Sour Quelites
Quelite : Mafafa
Xanthosoma robustum Also called Paxnikak (1), Lok, barbaron, pitzoquilit This plant is a “tolerated” quelite when found growing in coffee plantations or the milpa, in that I mean it will be left to grow if it sprouts up as a weed in commercial or other agricultural crops. This is often the case with quelites which are generally considered to be weed plants. There are some … Continue reading Quelite : Mafafa
Xocoyoli : The Sour Quelite
As a child one of my first plant memories involves what we called “sour grass”. This is a plant in the Oxalis family (Oxalis pres-carpae) that has four leaf clover like leaves, bright yellow flowers and long juicy stems. The stems (or peduncles) would be chewed like a farmer chews a haystalk as we walked or played. It was often a challenge to see who … Continue reading Xocoyoli : The Sour Quelite
Masa Americana 