Not just chiles: ‘Very Mexican’ ingredients to have on hand for cooking

Contrary to fashionable content (though we’re not saying it’s wholly wrong), being much Mexican successful the room is not conscionable astir utilizing spicy sauces and adding chiles to everything. 

Being intentionally Mexican successful the room involves knowing the complexity and diverseness of flavors and freshness that underscore Mexican cooking. It besides involves a definite cognition and a batch of love.

If you privation to larn to navigator “very Mexican,” instrumentality an abuelita’s advice. (Monica Belot)

Since I grew up with Russian-Ukrainian babushkas and not a Mexican abuela (grandmother), I acceptable retired to capable my accepted Mexican cooking cognition gaps by going consecutive to the root — Mexican grandmas. The aged successful Mexican culture are carriers of the essence of the country’s heritage, rituals and traditions — and that precise overmuch includes astatine the array and successful the kitchen.

I started with a publication I snagged from a utilized bookstore called “Las Recetas de Abuelita Linda” (Dear Grandma’s Recipes) by tv big Verónica Zumalacárregui, who assembled the stories, cooking secrets and signature recipes of dozens of abuelitas from astir Mexico. These fabulous women uncover the roots of determination Mexican cooking, with immoderate delightful twists (like carnal cracker crumbs successful a chickenhearted mole crockery from Puebla oregon brew successful the beans from Sonora). 

Regional identity

Mexican cuisine fragments into dozens of chiseled determination identities, each with its ain pantry, its ain techniques and its ain stories. To navigator Mexican nutrient authentically means archetypal knowing that determination is nary azygous “Mexican cuisine”: There are many, and they talk antithetic dialects.

But definite ingredients appeared again and again successful my research, forming thing similar a shared vocabulary crossed these determination variations. What follows is little a buying database than a representation of Mexican cooking’s foundational terrain — the pantry essentials that volition let you to navigator with genuine Mexican flavor.

Corn successful each its forms

Unsurprisingly, astir everything starts with corn. Tortillas de maíz are nonnegotiable successful astir of Mexico, though tortillas de harina predominate the bluish states. But corn’s beingness extends acold beyond the tortilla. Stock your pantry with maíz pozolero for soups, harina de maíz for making masa (the dough utilized to marque tortillas) from scratch, and hojas de maíz (corn husks) for wrapping tamales oregon presenting definite dishes. Corn plays aggregate roles connected the room stage.

The chile archive

If you’re superior astir cooking Mexican food, you request to physique a chile collection. This is wherever astir location cooks spell wrong, reasoning that 1 oregon 2 types volition suffice. They won’t.

There’s thing captivating astir these small devils that turn successful a wide scope of colors, sizes and pungency. (El Mono Español/Wikimedia Commons)

Start with the essentials: Guajillos supply the backbone for reddish salsas with their tannic, berry-like notes. Chiles de árbol bring pure, cleanable heat. Anchos (dried poblanos) connection sweet, astir raisin-like depth. Chiles pasilla adhd earthiness to moles. You’ll request caller serranos for mundane salsas, jalapeños for pickling and stuffing, and poblanos for dishes similar rajas and chiles rellenos.

As you advance, adhd habaneros for Yucatecan dishes, chipotles (smoked jalapeños) for adobos, positive mirasol, chilacates, chiltepin and, if you tin find them, Yucatecan xcatic peppers. Each brings not conscionable vigor but a chiseled spirit profile, from smoky to sweet, fruity to bitter. The abuelas dainty chiles arsenic individuals with personalities, not interchangeable units of spice, and you should too.

Fresh vegetables

White oregon reddish onions, and occasionally cebolla de rabo (scallions) look successful astir each recipe. Tomatoes and tomatillos (both reddish and greenish varieties) signifier the basal of countless salsas. Cherry tomatoes are typically not a portion of accepted Mexican cooking.

Nopales (cactus paddles) mightiness look intimidating, but they’re worthy learning to handle. Rábanos (radishes) are essential, not lone arsenic a garnish but for their peppery crunch and vibrant color. Calabaza (zucchini) is simply a nourishing portion of galore dishes, portion ajo (garlic) appears constantly, often roasted whole. Meanwhile, squash blossoms (flores de calabaza) are a versatile delicacy utilized successful quesadillas, soups oregon stuffed with a mild, brushed food and fried.

The fresh-herb trinity

Stock up connected cilantro arsenic a superior ingredient, and usage it generously. Epazote (a fragrant herb) is nonnegotiable for authentic legume dishes. It has a pungent spirit that mightiness look off-putting astatine first, but mixed into fashionable plates similar beans, it rounds retired the dish.

Beyond these basics, determination variations matter: Hojas de chilpilin for Chiapan tamales, pitiona (verbena) for Oaxacan dishes, avocado leaves for definite legume preparations and moles. These aren’t ever casual to find, but erstwhile you’re cooking a circumstantial determination dish, they’re what marque it authentic.

Dried spices and aromatics

Mexican spices bring piquancy and spirit to immoderate dish. (Calum Lewis/Unsplash)

I was amazed to spot the fig of times oregano was mentioned successful accepted recipes. I had associated the spice much with Italian cuisine. Yet Mexican oregano is not Mediterranean oregano. It’s much citrusy, much resinous and indispensable to pozole and to different Mexican dish, birria. 

Build your spice furniture with the following: cumin (comino), mejorana (marjoram), laurel (bay leaves), tomillo (thyme), full canela (Mexican cinnamon) sticks and clavo (cloves). But here’s the captious part: freshness matters intensely. Many recipes specify pimienta recién molida (recently crushed pepper) due to the fact that the quality betwixt fresh-ground and pre-ground is the quality betwixt a crockery that sings and 1 that whispers.

Legumes and staples

Frijoles (beans) are a versatile dish, whether flavored with epazote, enriched with manteca oregon simmered with avocado leaves. Stock some pinto beans and frijoles negros (black beans), depending connected what region’s cooking you’re exploring. Meanwhile, arroz rojo (requiring medium-grain achromatic rice, herb and patience) is often featured arsenic much conscionable than a broadside dish.

Fats and spirit bases

Manteca de cerdo (pork lard) is simply a staple successful authentic Mexican cooking. Its spirit coats the rima successful a mode that carries spices much effectively, giving dishes similar refried beans their buttery taste.

Achiote defines Yucatecan cooking. Keep semillas de achiote (annatto seeds) for making your ain paste, oregon bargain prepared pasta de achiote and recado rojo y blanco (red and achromatic seasoning pastes). These crook chickenhearted oregon pork an orangey-red and springiness disconnected an earthy, somewhat peppery flavor.

Mole paste successful antithetic flavors tin beryllium purchased successful blocks from your section marketplace and edited with your preferred flavors. And beryllium definite to banal assorted salsas: My favourite is simply a crunchy salsa macha with its chiles and nuts.

Fruits, nuts, and sweeteners

Limes are a ubiquitous constituent successful Mexican nutrient and its preparation. (ProtoplasmaKid/Wikimedia Commons)

Limones (limes) look astatine astir each meal. Aguacate (avocado) is simply a regular staple arsenic well.

The supporting players successful savory dishes tin beryllium surprising: pasas (raisins) adhd sweetness and texture. Cacahuates (peanuts) supply assemblage and richness. Plátano macho (plantains) appears successful coastal and confederate cooking, adding starchy sweetness.

For sweetening, usage piloncillo (cone-shaped blocks of unrefined cane sugar). And support bully Mexican cocoa (Ibarra oregon Abuelita brands enactment well) connected manus for chocolate caliente oregon moles, wherever it adds extent and silky body.

The Attitude: What recipes can’t teach

What you besides request is simply a definite playfulness successful the kitchen. Many of the abuelitas had a peculiar concealed constituent added — singing and dancing successful the kitchen. While Mexican cooking asks that you wage attraction to smell, to taste, to interaction and to the appearance, it’s not rigid. The abuelitas cooked with playfulness, with improvisation and with assurance calved from repetition.

Being Mexican successful the room means knowing that recipes are guides, not laws. It means knowing erstwhile a crockery needs much lime, much salt, much heat. It means tasting your salsa and deciding it needs different infinitesimal connected the comal (griddle) oregon different clove of ail oregon a pinch much cumin. It means cooking with generosity: making much than you request due to the fact that idiosyncratic mightiness halt by, and due to the fact that nutrient is meant to beryllium shared.

Monica Belot is simply a writer, researcher, strategist and adjunct prof astatine Parsons School of Design successful New York City, wherever she teaches successful the Strategic Design & Management Program. Splitting her clip betwixt NYC and Mexico City, wherever she resides with her naughty metallic labrador puppy Atlas, Monica writes astir topics spanning everything from the quality acquisition to question and plan research. Follow her varied scribbles connected Medium astatine medium.com/@monicabelot.