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Art in the
Mexican Food
The
Mexican Cuisine goes beyond being a cuisine to an Art! The prehispanic people that inhabited in Mexico did not concern only about creating a nutritious and tasty meal. They went beyond those boarders to create
a food that would also delight the view.
The Ancient Mexican Civilizations were the first culture in the world to give a touch of art to their food. They knew that
the appetite for food is not only generated by the smell or by taste but also by the view. For this reason they became
food artists.
In order to incorporate art in their food the indigenous people filled the food with colors, thus becoming
food painters. The colors that were used ranged from the reds to greens, combined with black, yellow, white, orange and even blue.
– Now let’s see where this color palette was obtained from.
Chile | Huitlacoche | Jicama | Mamey | Nopal | Tamarind | Vanilla | Yellow Bell Pepper
Annatto
The annatto is an oval-shaped fruit that contains many seeds. When these seeds dried they were triturated with the
molcajete from where a
reddish tint was obtained. This tint was used
for the food and painting.
⇑Arriba!
Chile
The chile, that makes that makes the Mexican food so famous for it spiciness and flavor. It was incorporated into the Mexican cuisine for
its varied shapes, colors and because it whets the appetite. The chile adds a special seasoning that generates a cry of euphoria by stimulating the palate and the sight.
⇑Arriba!
Huitlacoche
The huitlacoche adds the
blue colors to this great color palette. It is a fungus that grows on the
corn cob. It is also used to make
tortillas which acquire a
turquoise hue.
⇑Arriba!
Jicama
When it was about mixing
white color there was no better option than the jicama. It is a root with a sweet fresh and juicy taste; that was mixed with
salads.
⇑Arriba!
Mamey
The mamey is a big oval fruit from which very intense
orange colors were obtained. It was also used to prepare “zapote” a black color
dessert. Within the mamey properties, its bone was used to make shampoo.
⇑Arriba!
Nopal
For the
green colors the nopal is considered one of the basic ingredients of the Mexican cuisine. It comes from a cactus with thick and fleshy leaves that are put on the fire to burn its thorns; then they are peeled and used for a wide variety of dishes.
⇑Arriba!
Tamarind
To add a
brown, color the tamarind provides a
fresh and bittersweet flavor, which was also used in medicine.
⇑Arriba!
Vanilla
Although the vanilla gives a
yellow touch, it was mainly employed as a perfume for food and
drinks. Not only color was added they also added
scents that delighted the smell.
⇑Arriba!
Yellow Bell Pepper
The yellow bell pepper
is not spicy but it gives a strong flavor to the food and it also paints it with a
bright yellow color.
⇑Arriba!
These were only some of the foods (pigments) that were used to decorate and paint the dishes... although many more foods were used you will get to know them as you prepare various Mexican dishes.
Use all your art and creativity to make your dishes look beautiful!
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Cook Mexican Food Full of Color
≙ Salsa Pico de Gallo
≙ Melted Cheese with Chorizo and Peppers
≙ Ranch Style Eggs
≙ Nopal Salad
≙ Seafood Soup
