Plants and Foods of Mexico
A guide to the origins of modern Mexican cuisine
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Mexico is a living culinary and ethno botanical museum, with many of the
traditions of ancient Mesoamerican cuisine still present today in modern
Mexico.
Because Mexican cuisine is such a unique blend of pre-Hispanic and
European traditions, the Mexican government recently asked UNESCO (The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) that it
declare the culinary traditions of Mexico a world cultural patrimony and a
"Masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity."
See this article from Pop Matters for more information about Mexico's
request to grant "Masterpiece Status" to their culinary traditions.
From the dozens of chile varieties grown and enjoyed throughout the
country, to the sweet and delicious delights of chocolate, ancient Mexico
has given much to the world.
There is a vast variety of pre-Hispanic foods and traditions from
Mesoamerica to explore. Amaranth, chocolate, tomatoes, tequila, corn, and
squash, all have their history in the ancient cultures of Mesoamerica. Click
here for our list of the pre-Hispanic foods of Mexico.
Additionally, the Aztecs used some of the most unusual and advanced
systems of agriculture found at that time.
The Aztecs used an unusual system of gardening called Chinampas, which
are “floating” gardens which they constructed throughout the series of lakes
that once formed the ancient city of Tenochtitlan.
Chinampa is a compound Nauhatl word meaning “upon a reed basket," and
refers to the fact that the Aztecs built up the soil on reeds and stabilized
their gardens with various kinds of trees (including a kind of willow tree
(ahuejotes)) to create a firm piece of ground upon which to grow their
crops.
This ancient agricultural system using Chinampas is said to have produced
a great abundance of vegetables, fruits and flowers, including corn (maize),
squash, chiles, and tomatoes, all typically foods of Mexico and the Valley of
Mexico. These typical foods of the Chinampa agricultural system are now
widely consumed in Mexico and throughout the world.
You can see the remnants of this agricultural system today in the southern
part of Mexico City, in the suburb of Xochimilco.
For more information about the Chinampa system of gardening, see
here.
This website is intended to promote this important cultural heritage so that
the culture and traditions of Pre-Hispanic Mexico and Mesoamerica live on.
Check out our other sites as well:
