Mexican Food History

Historical Facts about Mexican Foods

The longevity of Mexican food history, their blended cultural influences, cooking methods, food variety, and healthy food are overwhelming. They date from 320 AD; a date inscribed on a jade plate found in the Tikal region in northern Guatemala. The plate, housed in the Leiden Museum in the Netherlands, documents some of the earliest information about the Mayan culture. Many historians believe the culture existed for hundreds of years prior to the above date, particularly in Belize. The Mayan Indian Empire covered the region of Belize, Guatemala, the states of Yucatan and Veracruz, and all of southeast Mexico up to what is now Mexico City area..

From 700 AD to 1,000 AD, the extremely militaristic Toltecs from northern Mexico fought with the Mayan Indians and became the dominant cultural force their region. For the next 200 years, the Aztecs waged war with the Toltec/Mayan peoples and they gained control over the area around 1,200 AD. While the Aztecs brought squash, avocados, guava, honey and domesticated turkey, ducks and pigs to the Mayans healthy Mexican food choices, the basic staples of maize, beans and rice remained the same.

The first ancient Mayans were primarily hunter/gatherers. They were a semi-nomadic people who followed the available food supply for their daily meals. When supplies were plentiful, they ate well but when supplies were scarce, they had to stretch the food supplies in order to survive. They did remain in areas long enough to cultivate food crops such as corn, beans vegetables and spices. But when they could not grow the crops for themselves, they traded with indigenous or neighboring people to supplement their food supplies. Bartering and trading was the economic standard and you will be surprised to learn what asset they used for these trades.

Their basic staple was maize (corn) which they used fresh in salsas and then dried to preserve it for later use. Since dry corn was difficult to grind by hand, the women would cook the corn in limewater (calcium hydroxide) for a few hours and then let it soak overnight. As the corn absorbed the water, their skins would burst and the kernels would expand to three or four times size. After they removed the skins, they would wash the corn several times to remove the lime. Then they either used the whole kernels (posole, or what we call hominy) in a tasty cool weather stew or dried the kernels to be make nixtamal. They then ground the nixtamal on a metate and mano (grinding stone and rolling pin) to make masa (dough) for tortillas or tamales. They used a similar technique with a molcajete and tejolote (mortar and pestle) to grind spices and ingredients for salsa and guacamole.

Their culture did not allow them to waste any food, so they collected the fine corn flour from the grinding process and saved it to mix it with water for a refreshing drink. They only drank water mixed with fruit juices or the corn flour. Times have changed!

The Mayan lifestyle varied depending on their location. Those living near the coast caught fish and other seafood to add to their diet. They also gathered fresh fruits, collected berries, and grew squash, chili peppers, and other domesticated vegetables. This variety of fresh foods was eaten raw, lightly grilled or turned into sauces. As a result, their diet was well balanced and very healthy. The lowland and highland dwellers hunted wild game, gathered fruits, wild berries and grew some vegetables to give them a wonderful variety of fresh foods for their meals.

Many Mexican Indian food historians attribute the introduction of chocolate to the Aztecs. However, the Mayans had been using it for centuries prior to the Aztecs. The Aztecs just elevated it as a drink only for the nobility, warriors and for special occasions, as they believed cacao or chocolate was a “food of the gods,” the literal meaning of the plant’s botanical name, Theobroma cacao. Anyone who violated that practice was sentenced to death. Both the Toltecs and Aztecs believed their rulers and mighty warriors were descended from the gods so the drink was only for the gods.

This authentic Mexican food, chocolate, was a gift from the Old world to the New world when Ferdinand Cortez took some back to Spain in 1519. Two years later when Spain invaded Mexico, they brought many new foods like sheep, pigs, cows, dairy products, garlic and new spices which changed healthy Mexican food forever.

The climate for growing cacao bean plants was ideal in the tropical rain forests near the equator that have only two seasons, wet or dry. The cacao beans, harvested from the fruit of the pulpy fruit of the cacao tree, were dried and used as currency to trade with neighboring tribes or ground to make chocolate for drinks on special occasions. Consequently, people who became aware of the delicacy and its high esteem prized the valuable possession of cacao plants. The militaristic Toltecs, Aztecs, Mixtecs, and Spaniards all wanted to share in that wealth so much that they fought with the Mayans for possession of their land on which the cacao plants flourished.

The blended cultures caused by the infusion of outside invading forces also integrated their indigenous foods with the traditional Mayan foods. Even so, they were still healthy foods. Healthy, good tasting, Mexican started with FRESH ingredients! Contrasted to today, when we introduced our modern food processing and storage techniques, coupled with a move away from an agrarian society, we traded the healthy fresh Mexican food for unnecessary calories, preservatives, vitamin and mineral enrichment, along with convenience techniques and Mexican food has drastically changed. …And we call them good?

See the recipe pages for some healthier versions of our Mexican food.

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