May 19, 2012. Bill Szydlowski
credit: SweetOnVegWhat Makes a Recipe Authentically Mexican
What makes a recipe authentically Mexican? Is it flavor, ingredients, cooking technique, love, or some other secret ingredient?
Take Your Time
One of the things that make Mexican food authentic is time. Many dishes are slow cooked and takes days to prepare. It’s not fast food. Mole is a good example. It’s a salsa that has more than 30 ingredients including chocolate, bananas, and a number of different chiles and takes about 3 days to assemble. The chiles have to be cleaned and deseeded. Ingredients need to be chopped and blended then the sauce is slowly simmered until the flavors blend. It is a labor of love.
More food is slow cooked from scratch. There isn’t the pressure to cook and serve the food quickly. The food is given the time it needs to cook and time is allotted to enjoy the food.
Is It the Seasoning?
Packets of taco seasoning are never used. Nor is a seasoning packet ever added to guacamole, which is a perfect dish in its traditional form. Adding extraneous flavorings ruins guacamole. Cumin is an ingredient use far less in authentic Mexican cooking than it is in Tex-Mex cooking. It can overpower a dish if it is not used sparingly.
Focus on the Food
In Mexico, people talk about food all the time, how to prepare it and how to enjoy it. Food is an important part of the culture. There is a food focus. Serving food to family and friends is an important way of showing love and affection for them. In the markets, vendors take great care in displaying the produce. It is stacked just so, in order show it off in the best light.
Learn how to prepare authentically Mexican recipes. You will be glad you did. Mexican cuisine is one of the world’s great cuisines. Prepare it with love and focus and it will be authentically Mexican.
Updated May 19, 2012. Published May 28, 2011. Bill Szydlowski
