What Makes Good Mexican Food

Good Mexican food is created with both some common and some unique ingredients.  A few of the spices used in good Mexican food is also shared with other famous and popular cuisine.  This is also true of the vegetables and meats used in their mouth-watering dishes.

Cuisine such as chicken mole, enchiladas, tacos, refried beans, Spanish rice, cilantro soup, and a myriad of other delectable eats are popular in the United States and around the world.  They have a unique flavor that marks them as eateries coming from “south of the border”.  Despite this remarkable taste, many of the components of these dishes are found in many other cuisines from other parts of the globe.  Lard is a common component in many dishes.  It is also a mark of authentic cuisine from this Spanish speaking culture.  Oregano is one of the most commonly used herbs in good Mexican food.  It is used in Italian cooking with great frequency also.  However, the type of oregano is usually of a different variety.  Paprika is a spice that is used in other parts of the world, such as Hungary.  Like the oregano, a different variety is traditionally used.  The core aromatics also share a close resemblance to other cooking methods.  Onions, garlic, and peppers are often used as base flavor starters for dishes of this genre. This combination closely mimics the Italian and Spanish aromatic bases.  Chinese cooking also utilizes onions and garlic as the base for many of its recipes.  

So, with so much in common, what makes a person recognize it as good Mexican food?  In addition to flavors that many countries enjoy consuming, there are some very unique ingredients that go into this type of cooking as well.  One noticeable flavoring is cocoa.  It was discovered in Central America and its flavor has permeated the cuisine from there for hundreds of years.  Another distinguishing mark is the use of chilies.  This is probably the most notable of all of them. Large varieties are used in a plethora of recipes.  Some recipes call for jalapenos, a mild chili, while others use peppers with a stronger intensity, such as habaneras.  Chili peppers are used in many different forms.  Sometimes they are used fresh, or fried.  Other recipes call for smoking or roasting the pepper before integrating it in some way into the meal. Cactus is another of those unusual foods that are used in this style of cooking.  This is another unmistakable herb that rarely finds itself in dishes other than those from the modern world of the ancient Aztecs. Some other special ingredients that are perhaps not unique but are unusual in their combinations and in the amounts in which they are used are: cinnamon, cloves, honey, peanuts, and peanut butter.  No dish hailing from this country would be considered complete without corn or beans incorporated in some way.  These uncommon or unusually used ingredients help mark a dish as authentic.

The tastes and aromas of good Mexican food are unmistakable.  The ingredients that comprise these incredible and eagerly devoured dishes are both widely used and unique.  Some are shared with other cuisines, while others are unique to this Central American country.