THE 10 MOST POPULAR FOODS FROM MEXICO - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Some of the most popular foods from Mexico are corn, chili, avocado, nopal, tomato or amaranth. Divine land of grace and ancestral enigmas, Mexico stands as one of the gastronomic bastions of the world.

In the world there is nothing more traditional from the land of the Mayans and Aztecs than tacos, burritos, chili and tequila, but these dishes, drinks and foods have an ancient origin.

Mexican chili peppers

Since the pre-Hispanic era, dishes were made, some more sophisticated than others, with the foods that the “gods” provided them, but the uses of these original foods were not only for human consumption, such as corn and cocoa, which also served of currency.

Featured food products originating in Mexico

1.- Corn (Zea mays)

Mexicans were the first to domesticate this plant whose origin dates back more than 10,000 years, and which was not only used as food, but also as currency.

Corn is the main food for the preparation of, among other dishes, tacos and burritos. Without it, it would not be possible to prepare the traditional dough for tortillas and other traditional elements of Mexican and international cuisine.

2.- Chile (Capsicum)

The spiciest food in the world has its origins in Aztec lands for more than six thousand years. This food was brought to Europe by the colonizers and from there it spread to different regions of the world.

This fruit is found in nature in red, yellow and green colors, the latter being the one that produces the most heat.

Its uses are not limited to food, they can also be used for the manufacture of oleoresins and in the medicinal field, it can be used as an analgesic for external use.

3.- Avocado (Persea americana)

It is difficult to imagine Mexican gastronomy without its respective dose of avocado. The millennial fruit with a delicate texture provides soft flavors in traditional dishes in the North American country and around the world.

This fruit can be used in the preparation of sauces, such as guacamole or guasacaca, in salads and, in other cases, as a garnish.

Going beyond the kitchen, the so-called "avocado" can be used as a beauty product that can be used on the skin and hair for its oily properties.

4.- Nopal (Opuntia)

Green and spiny, the nopal is a type of cactus edible by man. Low in carbohydrates and with medicinal properties, its stem is also used to make the nopalito or nopal salad in Mexican cuisine.

Its fruits, round and red in shape, tend to have a sweet flavor, although depending on the species they can be found with sour or acid flavors.

As a curative, the nopal is used as a regulator of glucose in the blood, making it ideal for the treatment of diabetes.

The nopal is also one of the symbols that appears on the coat of arms of Mexico, in the eagle it carries it on its hooves.

5.- Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)

The tomato is one of the foods that is owed to Mexico, not so much because of its origin, but because of the domestication of the fruit, which happened 500 years before Christ.

With acidic flavors, tomatoes are widely used in salads, especially in the preparation of picadillo that accompanies different Mexican dishes.

Tomato juice can be used in drinks in cocktails or alone. Tomato sauces are also used in international gastronomy, while concentrates are used in the preparation of some Italian pasta dishes.

6.- Amaranth (Amaranthus)

With more than four thousand years old, the seed of amaranth can be used to make cereals and flours.

Because it is resistant to droughts, this plant became sacred to the Aztecs, to the point that the kings were fed with this ingredient.

7.- Chia (Hispanic sage)

Chia, a kind of sage, is characterized by being oily and low in carbohydrates. Currently it is widely used in food supplements such as smoothies, oats, soups and salads.

Among the nutritional values ​​of chia is that it is a concentrated source of fatty acids of vegetable origin rich in Omega 6, and especially Omega 3.

8.- Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)

Beans are one of the most loved and consumed foods by Mexicans. These seeds, dating back more than five thousand years, can be eaten cooked or fried.

In the land of the Aztecs they are usually accompanied with corn tortillas and in other parts of the world they are prepared in a mixture with rice.

9.- Chayotes (Sechium edule)

Chayotes were consumed by the indigenous people of Mexico and Central America and their sweet roots can also be ingested by humans as purees, although they are also used as food for domesticated animals.

10.- Huitlacoche (Ustiligo maydis)

This food is nothing more than the fungus, Ustiligo maydis, of corn. Although its parasitic origin invites us to think suspiciously about its consumption, in Mexico it is considered a delicacy due to its smoky and sweet flavors.

References

1. ENRÍQUEZ, Elizeth Ortega. Corn: A Pre-Hispanic Contribution to Contemporary Mexican Cuisine. To the rescue of traditional Mexican gastronomy through recipes., 2014, vol. 2, no 3, p. 25.
2. FERNÁNDEZ-TRUJILLO, Juan Pablo. Conventional extraction of sweet and hot paprika oleoresin II. Critical points and commercial requirements., 2007, p. 327-333.
3. Torres-Ponce, Reyna Lizeth, Morales-Corral, Dayanira, Ballinas-Casarrubias, María de Lourdes, & Nevárez-Moorillón, Guadalupe Virginia. (2015). The nopal: semi-desert plant with applications in pharmacy, food and animal nutrition. Mexican Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 6 (5), 1129-1142. Retrieved on December 19, 2017, from scielo.org.mx.
4. Saavedra, Tarsicio Medina, Figueroa, Gabriela Arroyo, & Cauih, Jorge Gustavo Dzul. (2017). Origin and evolution of tomato production Lycopersicon esculentum in México. Ciência Rural, 47 (3), 20160526. Epub December 12, 2016. Taken from dx.doi.org.
5. ORTIZ PÉREZ, EV (2015). ANALYSIS OF THE PRODUCTION OF AMARANTH (Amaranthusspp) IN MEXICO, IN FIVE MAIN PRODUCING STATES. Taken from repository.uaaan.mx.
6. Hernández-López, Víctor M., Vargas-Vázquez, Ma. Luisa P., Muruaga-Martínez, José S., Hernández-Delgado, Sanjuana, & Mayek-Pérez, Netzahualcóyotl. (2013). Origin, domestication and diversification of the common bean: Advances and perspectives. Mexican Fitotecnia Magazine, 36 (2), 95-104. Retrieved on December 19, 2017, from scielo.org.mx