By admin on August 21, 2024
For most of us, Mexican cuisine begins and ends at our favorite Mexican restaurant, or perhaps in our own kitchen. We eat one of our favorite dishes and walk away satisfied by the delicious flavors we experienced.
What you may not know is that many of your favorite dishes get their roots on the streets of Mexico. Up to 75% of Mexicans get their food from street vendors at least once a week. Foods like the classic quesadilla, tacos and tamales all got their start as street foods.
There’s an enormous number of delicious foods we think of as common Mexican cuisine that got its start as a way to get piping hot food to factory workers quickly.
Although here in the US how we get our street food has changed, Mexico still maintains a vigorous street food culture. Women often make food and take it to the streets to sell. Street food can be purchased at all times of day, and include breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
Street food culture likely got its start during the industrialization era, when the abundance of work in the city attracted men from far and wide. They needed a way to get food during their lunch break that was quick and easy to consume.
Women started selling them hot, easy to prepare foods, and the street food tradition was born. Today, families go out to eat together frequently. They walk down streets and let their nose decide what food to eat that day.
With so many different options, even picky eaters can find something delicious, and everyone eating from the same vendor is a choice.
Although some foods, like the taco, are relatively recent additions to street food, others have been used as a form of ancient ‘Take away’ since 8,000BC. The Toltecs and other ancient mesoamericans would take tamales with them on hunting trips. Women would also make them for festivals.
Although there were no written accounts of tamales in their civilizations, scientists know that these were a big part of the food culture because of artwork showing tamales being made and taken places.
Tacos, tamales and other street foods are more than just ordinary dishes. Street food is about community and coming together to share a common love. This is why street food is still popular today.
These delicious foods foster a sense of community, and help families learn about other foods and cultures that pop up as they walk along.
Although you’re unlikely to see a row of vendors serving piping hot taquitos on a side street here in the US, you can still get a taste of some of these wonderful foods. Bring your family to a Mexican restaurant and sit down with them to enjoy these same foods in your local restaurant. Centuries of love, community and family went into these recipes, and they’re still just as delicious today.
