It is no wonder why millions of people from around the world enjoy authentic Mexican dishes for breakfast, lunch or dinner. There are variations of traditional as well, such as TexMex, a version of found along the Mexico border and Southwestern states like Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.

How did traditional Mexican and TexMex come to be? What makes a Mexican dish authentic? To know how to create a truly authentic dish, one must first know the history of food from this fascinating North American country. Many of the recipes and foods that we now associate with Mexico were imports that were blended into preexisting diets over the course of hundreds of years.

The various meat dishes made of beef, pork, and lamb did not exist in Mexico until the 1500s, when the Spanish conquistadors arrived on Mexico’s shores. As was the case with all countries at the time and even today, what you ate depended on the region of Mexico where you lived. In general, most Mexicans thrived on diets consisting of various types of corn, beans, chiles such as jalapeno or Serrano, spices, tomatillo, salsa, and fish if they lived near the coastlines. The Spaniards brought not only these meats but also foods such as wheat, cheese, garlic, cumin, coriander, onions and more. People from other regions, most notably Asia and Africa, also infused Mexican cuisine with their native flavors. Read the rest of this entry »