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Some of the primordial ingredients of the pre-hispanic cuisine like insects, crustaceans and edible reptiles, are still essential elements in the creation of modern and traditional Mexican food. Here’s a sampling of some lesser traveled culinary experiences:
In the states of Mexico, Hidalgo and Oaxaca and in Mexico City you can experience maguey worms which are wrapped in a mixiote (a fleshy maguey leaf) and then barbequed or just roasted directly on a hot pan until they become slightly golden and crispy. The chimicuil is another type of worm -easily recognizable for its pink color- which also grows up inside the maguey leaf and which is used to make delicious sauces after being fried. In Oaxaca these small animals are also known as chilocuiles or "salt worms" and in Veracruz they are recognized by the name belatobe. The "worm salt" that accompanies the famous mezcall, is elaborated precisely with those worms.
In the central regions of Mexico you will be able find the unusual fly eggs, locally known as ahuautli. It is said that their flavor is very similar to that of caviar. They are served crushed and cooked with eggs in a form of small cakes which are seasoned with chili stock and served with tortillas.
Chapulines, or grasshoppers, are another delicacy that can be found in Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, Morelos and Guerrero. They can be found served inside tacos, seasoned with lime and salt, inside quesadillas, or as a simple snack. The same preparation method is used with jumiles (small beetles), which are particularly common in Taxco (where every year in the beginning of November they have a local celebration called the Day of Jumil. These insects can also be found in Morelos, Oaxaca and Tlaxcala where it is very common to prepare them in mouth-watering tomato and chili sauces or toast them with lime and salt.
The escamoles, more commonly known as ant eggs, are another highly valued delicacy. These small eggs are normally fried in butter to enhance their delicate savor. To find the tastiest ant eggs in the country, go to Mexico City, to the state of Mexico, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Nuevo Leon or Michoacan. The big and red chicatana ants are ground in molcajates with chilies, salt and water to make a sauce called "tlatonile". This sauce is very commonly consumed in Oaxaca too and especially in the month of June when San Juan (Saint John) is celebrated.
Other exotic species revered in Mexican cuisine include the acocil, a shrimp-like crustacean that abounds the waters in the central region of the country and is eaten in tacos, with avocado and coriander. Iguanas, too, are sometimes cooked in stock with tomatoes and chilies in the southern parts of Mexico. Armadillo, on the other hand, is a mammal whose marinated meat is highly appreciated in the southeastern region. In Yucatan armadillo meat is known as huech-luum and it is elaborated with achiote (a red-colored condiment), wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in pibil, a Yucatecan pit barbeque. Armadillos are also eaten in Guerrero and in Santiago Tuxtla in Veracruz seasoned with an herb called "holy leaf". If armadillo does not suite your taste, in some of the regions in the north you can find roasted rattlesnake accompanied by chilies and spicy sauces.
BEBIDAS!
An important part of the Mexican experience are the unique beverages, cold or hot, famous and lesser known.
One of the oldest Mexican beverages- and very famous in the state of Tlaxcala— is called pulque, a fermented sap that is extracted from the heart of the maguey plant’s leaf, which is a type of agave plant with broad, flat leaves. It can be enjoyed alone combined with fruit, for example: tuna (a seedy cactus fruit), pineapple, guanábana (durian, with black seeds), celery or lemon.
Mezcal, the drink born during the colonial period, is produced by distilling the agave juice from which pulque, mezcal and tequila are made. The variety of mezcal that you taste will depend on the climate and the agave from which it is extracted. There exist many types of agave: minero, a mezcal from the tips; the corriente or chaparro, the pechuga and the famous mezcal de gusano, which is traditionally served with salt prepared with a powder made from the maguey plant worm. This distilled drink is typical in the states of Oaxaca, Morelos, San Luis Potosí, Michoacán, Nuevo León, Jalisco, Durango, Zacatecas and Tamaulipas.
Another of the traditional beverages in Mexico is tequila, which was just declared a "Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO. It is made with agave azul or the famous "blue agave", a type of agave that only grows in the Tequila region in the state of Jalisco. This area also produces tesgüino, a drink prepared from a base of corn sprouts, ground and fermented, with contents similar to beer.
Other popular Mexican beverages include the traditional aguas frescas ("waters" made with fresh fruit, sugar and water), chocolate espumoso a frothy, hot chocolate with vanilla beans and many flavors of atoles- a warm drink made with brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, corn or rice to thicken, and of course, the traditional café de olla – Mexican coffee prepared with cinnamon, anis and brown sugar.
In Quintana Roo, Yucatán and Tabasco, a Mayan liquor known as balché is produced from the fermentation of a tree bark found in the southeast region and sweetened with honey or anis. Also well-known are the aguardientes (literally "burning waters") made from stems, fruit or grains. Numerous versions of sugarcane liquors can be found throughout fruit-producing regions with different names and ingredient variations.
Other artisinal fruit liquors include the orange and cherry liquors in Campeche, peach liquors in Durango, and in Puebla, the region’s mountain range fruits produce liquors of wild cherries and passion fruit.
Some may be surprised to learn that Mexicans are the oldest wine producers of the Americas. In the pre-Columbian age, before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, the Indians used the vine to produce a drink to which they added other fruits and honey. Today, red and white varietals from Baja California, Sonora, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes and Queretaro wineries are gaining wider distribution in the global market.
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