Different Ways to Cook Mexican Food
Mexican foods, like many other foods, can be boiled, grilled, or fried. These are modern Mexican cooking styles but Mexican traditional cooking techniques were rather different.
Long ago, the natives of Mexico did not have ovens as we have today. They would have to cook foods by an open fire pit.
The food would be placed in pots and pans and cooked in a similar way to how we grill foods today. The Aztecs would steam and boil their food in two handled cooking pots called xoctli before the Spaniards introduced iron pots. They would fill the xoctli with food and heat it over an open fire. Frying was popular in ancient Mexican times and still is today.
Mexican cooking is much easier these days thanks to the variety of utensils, pots, pans, and ovens available. If you want to make flan, for example, any good Mexican cooking class will recommend that you use a spring form pan, although ancient Mexicans did not have such things. If you want to make homemade Mexican tortillas, you can use a flat-bottomed iron pan. These modern items make what was once time consuming Mexican cooking into easy Mexican cooking. The Mexicans used to have to grind corn by hand to make masa. Now you can get metal grinders to make the task quick and easy.
When you are making Mexican cooking recipes, the oven is perfect for many of them. You can bake meat, fish, and vegetables easily. You can also cook foods in a pot of water with added spices. A lot of Mexican recipes can even be made in a crock pot or slow cooker. Large steaming pots simplify the tamale cooking process. They take a long time to cook so a large pot means you can cook more at once, instead of in smaller batches.
Another cooking method for Mexican cooking recipes is the grill. This is an excellent way to cook Mexican food. A similar cooking method was used many years ago and it was called “barbacoa.” This consisted of steaming meat, which was hung over boiling water in a deep pit. Cactus leaves and banana leaves were wrapped around the meat before steaming it. Today, grilling allows the sauces and spices to mingle well and flavor the whole dish. Fajitas are an easy Mexican cooking recipe and turn out wonderfully on the grill. The taste of grilled food is similar to the flavor of authentic Mexican food cooked on a barbacoa.
Mexicans many years ago used “metate y mano,” which was a large tool with a concave surface, made from stone or lava rock. This utensil was used to mash the ingredients together. A “molcajete” is another ancient Mexican cooking tool, which translates as a mortar and pestle. You would learn about these ancient cooking tools in a Mexican cooking class, although we use different utensils today.
When you are cooking Mexican food, you need to stir. Wooden spoons have been around for hundreds of years and are still found in almost every kitchen today. There are many different types available, depending on the type of Mexican cooking recipes you are making. Some spoons are better for stirring thick sauces and others are better for moving sauting onions and garlic around in the pan.
Mexican food has a rich history behind it. The methods might have been modernized, but the food is still traditional. Depending on how the foods are cooked, you will taste different flavors and textures. There are many Mexican dishes to cook and enjoy.
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July 30 2008 08:04 am | Gourmet