Cooking Pots

Mexican Traditional Cooking Techniques

Mexican foods, like many other foods, can be boiled, grilled, or fried. These are modern Mexican cooking styles but Mexican traditional cooking techniques were rather different.

In ancient times, Mexicans did not have ovens. Instead, they would cook Mexican food over an open fire, which was the most common out of all the Mexican traditional cooking techniques.

The food would be placed in iron pots before cooking. This Mexican cooking method is similar to how we cook food on the grill these days. The Aztecs steamed and boiled their food in two handled clay pots before the Spanish introduced iron cooking pots. These two handled clay pots were called xoctli. The pot would be filled with food and then heated over an open fire. A lot of foods were fried and Mexican cooking features frying to this day.

Today in the present, it is a lot easier to cook Mexican dishes. It takes less time to prepare the foods. If someone wants to make homemade tortillas, there are iron pans that make it easy. Flans are made simply using spring form type pans. Long ago, it was a long process to make masa, which is a dish that includes a certain type of corn that has to be ground. Nowadays you can purchase a metal grinder that helps grind the masa.

When you are making Mexican cooking recipes, the oven is perfect for many of them. You can bake meat, fish, and vegetables easily. You can also cook foods in a pot of water with added spices. A lot of Mexican recipes can even be made in a crock pot or slow cooker. Large steaming pots simplify the tamale cooking process. They take a long time to cook so a large pot means you can cook more at once, instead of in smaller batches.

Grilling Mexican food is another way to enjoy it. Foods used to be cooked this way many years ago and it was called “barbacoa.” With this Mexican cookery method, meat was wrapped in banana leaves and cactus leaves and steamed over boiling water in a large pit. If you want to learn how to cook Mexican food, this is not the easiest technique for a novice! Food cooked in this way would have tasted similar to our grilled food of today. Fajitas are a good example of a perfect Mexican food to grill.

Mexicans many years ago used “metate y mano,” which was a large tool with a concave surface, made from stone or lava rock. This utensil was used to mash the ingredients together. A “molcajete” is another ancient Mexican cooking tool, which translates as a mortar and pestle. You would learn about these ancient cooking tools in a Mexican cooking class, although we use different utensils today.

Cooking almost always requires stirring somewhere in the preparation. Wooden spoons have been around for many hundreds of years and are still widely used. There are different types of spoons today, depending on whether you are moving meat around in hot oil or stirring a thick sauce.

There is a rich history behind Mexican food and Mexican traditional cooking techniques. The methods might have changed through the ages but the food is still traditional. Food tastes different when cooked in different ways and there are plenty of Mexican recipes to try out and enjoy.

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About the Author

a student

What kind of cooking pots and pans should I buy?

I have heard that teflon is bad for you, are all non stick pans teflon? What about stainless steel? Which one cooks the best food, and is the healthiest? Thanks

Teflon is just one kind of non-stick coating. The problem with it is that it degrades with high temperature cooking and can cause flu-like symptoms. It also flakes off with use and can get in your food. It is a stable chemical at lower temperatures but you need to replace the pan often. I recommend you buy one smallish non-stick pan though for stuff like eggs and fish. A 6-8″ inch non-stick should be perfect.

But for the larger pan, which will probably get used the most, get a stainless steel. It’s great for sauteing and stir-fries. What you should look for is a. slightly flared sides and a heavy bottom. The rounded sides will help food to move around a bit better. The heavy bottom is due to several layers of metal that will help even out the heat so you don’t end up with “pockets” of high heat. This will help to prevent burning. You’ll also need less oil to prevent sticking since the heat is so even so it’ll end up healthier too!

So two decent pans is a good way to start if you’re buying your first set. Don’t get the cooking sets that come with 8 pots and pans. No need for that at all. You’ll only end up using two. Might as well save your money and buy a couple of decent ones.

A few more hints:
1. Don’t go for the cheapest pans. I’d say spend at least $30 per pan, ideally more than $50. Good pans really make cooking easier with less burning and more consistency. Unless you can buy them second hand. And there’s nothing wrong with second hand pans.
2. Wash your pans by hand.
3. Heat oils before adding the food to be cooked. There will be less sticking.

Fire prevention tips for Thanksgiving offered
You’re up at the crack of dawn, stuffing the turkey and getting ready for the family feast. The turkey is ready for the oven, you put it in as per directions, setting the timer and beginning other meal preparations. The doorbell rings. It’s Aunt Martha, who you see rarely, but is the life of the party.

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