By admin on November 30, 2023
Mexican food has a rich history behind it. Nearly every bite of food on your plate at a Mexican Restaurant has a story behind it. We’ve collected our 5 favorite facts about Mexican food that you may not already know.
The Tamali is a popular item in Mexican Cuisine, but it’s been delighting people for longer than you may know. The word Tamali derives from the ancient word “Tamalii” or wrapped food. It’s been around for about 8,000 years.
Ancient Azteks used to wrap their meat and fillings in masa flour, and then again in corn husks or banana leaves for millennia, and were often taken on hunting trips because they were easy to pack.
Before tomatoes were made into delicious Italian sauces, they were growing wild in the Andes and in Mexico. Tomatoes are now popular in every single cuisine due to their delicious flavor, but they got their start in South America and Mexico.
Tomatoes have been a part of Mexican food since ancient times, originally cultivated in Mexico around 500BC.
While the stuff you find at Taco Bell may not be the healthiest food on the planet, authentic Mexican food is well balanced and healthy. Most authentic Mexican dishes contain an even balance of vegetables, carbs and protein, making them well balanced and fresh choices.
Mexican food also lends itself well to many specialized diets, with a variety of options for those who are vegetarian or require gluten free foods.
Although Mexican food sometimes gets a bad rap due to the fast food available out there, it’s actually very healthy.
We’re accustomed to finding bags of tortillas in the Mexican food aisle, or sometimes in the bread aisle. The plastic bag they come in is almost ubiquitous. It didn’t used to be that way however. If you wanted tortillas in the 1940s through about the 1970s, you would have looked in the canned goods section!
After the 1970s canning tortillas fell out of favor, and now there aren’t any tortillas in cans.
Tortillas are one of the most important parts of Mexican cuisine. It is so important that the average Mexican family eat as much as 2 pounds of tortillas every day. Tortillas are often used at every meal, with them wrapping up breakfast burritos, enclosing fish tacos for lunch, and adding a crunchy texture to tortilla soup at night. Since many common Mexican dishes include a tortilla or two, it makes sense that it adds up to a lot of tortillas for people who eat Mexican style food every day.
Tortillas make almost any filling taste better and are a practical way to store that filling and keep hands clean as well.
Mexican food has a well-developed history, and there are many amazing facts surrounding them. No matter what you’ve ordered off your Mexican menu at your favorite restaurant, chances are the history of that item goes back hundreds or even thousands of years.
