In the United States, many people know about Cinco de Mayo. Huge crowds cannot wait to start the festivities every May. But few know the really history for this Mexican celebration. The average person in the States will say it has something to do with “the Mexican freedom thing,” that is not the truth. Independence Day for Mexico is the 16th of September.

During the 1950s, the United States had a program called The Good Neighbor Policy that encouraged Americans to reach out to our neighboring countries. Cinco de Mayo was first introduced to Americans at this time. In the 1960s, Chicano activists made the holiday more visible as a method to inspire cultural pride among Mexican-Americans.

By the time the 1980s rolled around, the holiday had been slowly growing in notoriety. Throughout this decade’s commercialism, Cinco de Mayo had been advertised as an excellent holiday to devote to drinking alcoholic beverages from American companies. It is because of these companies that Cinco do Mayo had become mainstream in American culture, although the true meaning of it, to celebrate Mexico’s victory against the French in 1862, was diluted.

Food has enjoyed a long and varied history in Mexico. This diverse history is rich in influences that are now enjoyed all over in many countries. True Mexican cuisine is a fabulous blending of fresh foods that are lovingly made from scratch. It is delicious and finds new followers everywhere.

Mexican cuisine is the result of Spanish, Mayan and Aztec influences. Add in a dash of French and you have today’s Mexican cuisine. Although it has a reputation for being spicy, not all Mexican dishes are hot. Some are creamy and sweet. Depending on the area of Mexico a recipe is from, the food could be based more on beans, fruit, or seafood.

When Cortez and his Conquistadors arrived in Mexico in 1521 from Spain, they found many different foods that they had never heard of before. Avocados, squash, chocolate, peanuts, beans, corn, vanilla, coconuts, and tomatoes were all new taste sensations to them. They also shared their bounty from Spain. Pork, lamb, beef, garlic, cheese, milk, wine, vinegar, and citrus fruits were all new to the native Mexicans. They lost no time in assimilating these new foods into their cuisine, blending them seamlessly with their staples into new recipes.

Rice is among the most heavily cultivated of all grains and is the cultivated crop, which is eaten by more people around the world than any other is. In much of Asia, Africa and South and Central America as well as Mexico. It is hard to imagine Mexican cuisine without rice; after corn, it is the most important staple of the Mexican diet, with a large number of Mexican rice recipes being classic examples of Mexican cooking.

This grain is an immigrant to the Americas, having first been cultivated in Asia and brought to Mexico by Spanish and Portuguese explorers and colonists, who began growing the crop in the new world. Rice quickly became an important ingredient in Mexican cooking, with many a traditional Mexican rice recipe having its origin shortly after its introduction to the continent.

Classic Mexican Rice Recipes

One of the best known and most popular of all Mexican rice dishes is arroz con pollo, which is also among the most popular Mexican chicken recipes. The name means “rice with chicken” and is the Mexican version of a classic comfort food combination.

Most of us in the US have not had much, if any exposure to Mexican cheeses. When we see cheese in Mexican dishes, it is usually familiar types like cheddar or Monterey Jack rather than a queso fresco or cotija. While these common cheeses may indeed pair well with some dishes, they are by no means the only options out there for cooks looking to add a little something to their Mexican recipes.

However, Mexico has many cheeses to try for yourself and thankfully; many of these products are becoming increasingly available here as well. Ever since Mexican farmers began making cheese, it has been an important part of the country’s culinary heritage, just as it is in the US; but of course, with its own unique spin.

Cheese arrived in what is now Mexico with the Spanish, who brought cows and sheep with them as livestock. Before long, the country had its own styles of cheese and these new foods were incorporated into traditional Mexican recipes as well as in adaptations of dishes introduced by the Spanish colonists. Different types of cheeses were made to complement different dishes and some cheeses from Spain also became popular in the new world, particularly queso fresco and manchego.

Perhaps you have eaten Mexican food in a top quality Mexican restaurant or even in a Mexican home. If you have, maybe some authentic Mexican cookware or utensils were used to make the dishes. Mexicans use a range of different cooking methods, including baking, slow roasting and deep-frying and they have unique pots and pans for these methods. Mexicans like to use plenty of fresh produce in their cuisine, including spices and herbs, so you will find sharp knives and a mortar and pestle in any Mexican kitchen.

Some Common Mexican Cooking Pots

Ollas, also known as Barros, are deep clay cooking pots. They are perfect for simmering beans, stew or soup and clay is a great medium for cookware because it distributes the heat evenly to avoid burnt spots. Barro means clay or mud and olla means pot. These cooking pots are fine to put over a direct flame all day long.

Clay can be sensitive to temperature changes so you need to warm it gently before using it to prevent it from cracking. One excellent reason for cooking in clay pots is that it gives the food a slightly earthy flavor.

It is claimed that Mexico has the most vast and varied cuisine in the world, after Chinese, which might be something of a shock to Mexican fast food fiends who thought that burritos and tacos were the only kinds of food Mexicans eat. Every area of Mexico has its own recipes and the Yucatan fare is especially flavorsome, with its Caribbean, Mexican, Mayan and Lebanese recipe influences.

Not all Mexican dishes are spicy but some are. A lot of chili peppers are used in Mexican meals and there are many types of chilies, including serrano, habanero, poblano, jalapeo, pasilla and more. Mexicans enjoy eating meat, fish, poultry, seafood, cheese, vegetables, fruit, and grains. Sauces, soups, and stews are often made in Mexican households and cooking methods include deep-frying, slow roasting and baking.

Mexicans prefer fresh produce and anything more than two days old is no longer considered optimally fresh. Pesticides and herbicides are not used much because they are expensive and vegetables and fruit are picked when ripe or just about ripe. Seasonal produce is preferred to imported food and almost everything is grown locally. The exception to this is in Mexico City where the goods, which are not likely to be sold, are exported.