Food of Mexico

Mexican cuisine began about 9000 years ago, 7000 BCE, when agricultural communities such as the Maya formed, domesticating maize, creating the standard process of corn nixtamalization, and establishing their foodways. Successive waves of other Mesoamerican groups, including the Olmec, Teotihuacanos, Toltec, Huastec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomi, and Purépecha, brought with them their own cooking methods.

The Mexica establishment of the Aztec Empire created a multi-ethnic society where many different foodways became infused. The staples are native foods, such as corn, beans, squash, amaranth, chia, avocados, tomatoes, tomatillos, chocolate, vanilla, agave, turkey, sweet potato, cactus, and chili pepper.

After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the 16th century, Europeans introduced a number of other foods, the most important of which were meats from domesticated animals (beef, pork, chicken, goat, and sheep), dairy products (especially cheese), and rice. While the Spanish initially tried to impose their own diet on the country, this was not possible.

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