Mexican Cuisine

Mexican cuisine is considered to be very varied because of its pre-Hispanic (Mesoamerican natives) and European (mainly Spanish) heritage, a consequence of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire during the sixteenth century. It has also been influenced by African, Caribbean, Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines. The traditional base of this cuisine is maize, as well as other indigenous foods such as beans, avocado and tomato and chilli, accompanied by rice, transported by the Spanish. Europeans brought with them a large number of foods among which the most important are domesticated meat (beef, pork, chicken, goat and mutton), dairy products (especially cheese), and various herbs and spices.

Although the Spaniards originally tried to impose their own eating habits on the country, food and cooking techniques eventually got mixed up, especially in convents of the colonial era. African and Asian influences were also brought during this period, the result of African slavery in New Spain and the transport of goods by the Manila galleons connecting Manila to Acapulco.