Esquites are a “ Mexican snack ” composed mainly of seasoned, boiled corn kernels served in a cup. They are a well known and loved snack throughout all of México. Vendors can be found on street corners, bus stations, train stations and in mercados pumping out the most fundamental (and probably the most original) street food of all Mesoamerica. Now do you want it on … Continue reading Esquites, Tequesquite and a Witches Curse.
Papalo is a herb that falls under the designation of “quelite” (1). Quelites are (usually) wild herbs that are allowed to grow if they spontaneously sprout within the milpa or are collected from the wild. The term quelite is not limited to leafy herbs but also encompasses the flowers (2), roots (3), vines, stems (4) and seeds (5) of various plants (including trees)(6). Some quelites … Continue reading Papalo, Guerrero, and the Cemita Poblana.
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.
Cover Image via Sensi Seeds (this Post does not cover cannabis at all. In English, ‘skunk’ has become slang for any potent, high-THC strain of cannabis. The media often uses ‘skunk’ to define ‘street weed’, usually in a derogatory fashion. In fact, Skunk #1 is the official name of one of the oldest and most popular strains of cannabis, and there is a ‘Skunk family’ … Continue reading Skunkweed and the Skunk
Poblano chiles are not commonly found in my part of Australia and I was lucky enough to find some in a large chain supermarket. Previously the only way I could access them is through the canned product. The San Miguel brand (see cover picture) was the only I had seen and it wasn’t until I visited México that I actually ate a fresh chile (chiles … Continue reading Rajas. Poblanos (por supuesto)
Erythrina americana, E.flabelliformis, E.coralloides (Tzompanquahuitl) Also called : Alcaparra, chacmolcé, cuchillitos (little knives), chiil, chocolín, chumpancle, colorín, ccolorin grande, oral bean, equimite, espadita, flor de pita, flor de pitillo, flor de pito, gallitos, gasparita, gasparito, gásparo, lalhni, machetito, machetitos (little machetes), Michoacán (parensuri, puregue) patol, pemuche, pemuchi, permuche, pichocho, pichoco, pichojo, pinñón espinoso, pispirique, pito, poró, quemique, tenek, tlalhne, tsentse tsentse, tzonpantli, tzompantli, Whistle tree, … Continue reading Las Flores Comestibles : Edible Flowers : Colorin
Mexico (and the Americas in general) has given much to the worlds food larder. We are familiar with many of these foods even though we might not know where exactly the came from (1). We can thank the Americas for staple foods such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, beans (2), squashes, chiles, avocados, the turkey, vanilla and cacao (3) as well as the highly nutritious seeds … Continue reading 31 Alimentos que México dio al mundo : 31 foods that Mexico gave to the World
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
Chenopodium ambrosiodes (Synonyms: Teloxys ambrosioides, Dysphania ambrosioides) Epazōtl : from Nahuatl, epatl – skunk and tzotl – sweat (1). I have seen this translation noted as being “epatli = skunk; zotli = grass”. There’s no confusion re skunk but I think there may have been over “zotli = grass”. The Nahuatl word for grass is zacatl (zacate en Español). There is a Nahuatl word “tzontli” … Continue reading Quelite : Epazote
Masa Americana 