Mexican Cuisine is part of the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. The organization defines it as a “comprehensive cultural model comprising farming, ritual practices, age-old skills, culinary techniques and ancestral community customs and manners”. It is made possible by collective participation in the entire traditional food chain: from planting and harvesting to cooking and eating. The basis of mexican gastronomy is founded on corn, beans and chili, used in each state and province of the country. From North to South, from the hot climate regions to the coasts, and from mountains to arid areas, plates are very different in textures, flavors and fragrances, thanks to the wide range of cultures and communities existing in the country.
It is also important to mention that Mexican food have been characterized by the international diversification, being the result of the interaction of Spanish conquires and Azteca Culture. Actually the most of mexican plates are a delicious combination of Spanish-Aztecs or Spanish- Maya ancient traditions.
Between the most representatives there is the Yucatecan Cuisine, which incorporates many of the ingredients traditionally used in Mayan cooking, among which corn, chocolate, wild turkey, squash, chiles and tomatoes. From the European traditions, are very used ingredients as pork, oranges and Edam cheese. It is quite different from the rest of traditional Mexican cuisine due to the Yucatan region’s geographic isolation and its European, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and indigenous influences. There are such dishes that you will only find in the traditional local restaurants of the region, because of such ingredients only available in the area.
Two seasonings are frequently used in Mayan cooking:
Achiote: a sauce made from ground annatto seeds, used to prepare the popular famous “Cochinita Pibil” (roasted suckling pig)
Pipian: a sauce made from ground pumpkin, basic ingredient to prepare the “Pollo Pibil (chicken).
Other typical dishes of Yucatecan Cuisine are:
Pork marinated in sour orange juice
Chicken baked in banana leaves
Turkey in a black chile paste
Spice rubbed turkey with cloves and black peppercorn.
Take one of our tours in Yucatan!! and discover these flavors.
