Traditional Mexican cuisine is an integrated cultural model that includes farming, ritual practices, traditional skills, culinary techniques, and ancestral community customs.
Mexico's cuisine is composed of the cooking cuisines and traditions of modern Mexico. Mexican cuisine has its origins in Mesoamerica. Historically, it has been based on the ingredients and methods developed by the Maya. Later waves of Mesoamerican groups also developed their own cooking techniques. A land's diversity of food staples has evolved over centuries, resulting in regional cuisines based on conditions unique to the area, such as Baja Med, Chiapas, Veracruz, Oaxacan, and U.S. cuisines such as New Mexican and Tex-Mex.
Traditional food chains are made sustainable by collective participation in every element of the process: from planting to harvesting to cooking and eating. Based on corn, beans, and chili, the system is built with unique farming methods that include milpas and chinampas (man-made farming islets in lakes). The cooking process is known as nixtamalization, which is the process of lime-hulling maize to increase its nutritional value; and the system includes unique utensils, including grinding stones and stone mortars. Tomatoes, squashes, avocados, cocoa, and vanilla are some of the native ingredients that supplement basic staples.
The Mexican cuisine is elaborate and adorned with symbols, with everyday tortillas and tamales, both made of corn, playing an important part in the Day of the Dead celebrations. In the State of Michoacán and throughout Mexico, female cookers and other practitioners are dedicated to raising crops and preparing traditional cuisine. In addition to expressing community identity, their tools and techniques strengthen local, regional, and national identity. One example of this connection is mole, which is served on special occasions and holidays in the south and central regions of the country. Furthermore, these efforts in Michoacán highlight the importance of traditional cuisine as a source of sustainable development.
Mexican professional cookery is growing and includes an emphasis on traditional methods and ingredients. In Mexico City, there is an interest in preserving what is authentic Mexican food. This movement is traceable to 1982, and in 1982 the Mexican Culinary Circle of Mexico City was formed. These women chefs, along with other culinary experts, created the Mexican Culinary Circle in reaction to concerns that traditions could be lost with the increased introduction of foreign techniques and foods. As of today, Mexican fusion cuisine is the result of various world cuisines becoming popular across the country.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/traditional-mexican-cuisine-ancestral-ongoing-community-culture-the-michoacn-paradigm-00400) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_cuisine#cite_note-adapon11-8) |Subject=Food |Country=Mexico |SDG=(03) Good Health and Well-being, (08) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (09) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production }}