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Mexican pantry staples and info.

Source of Recipe

Old cookbook


List of Ingredients




Recipe

Achiote, (Bixo orellano tree) Mixed with other seeds and garlic, cumin and oregano.
Acitron, candied cactus
Aguas frescas, Refreshing sweetened water, cold or iced. Ruby red=hibiscus flower. Medium brown=Tamarind pod. Yellow=pineapple. Pale green=honeydew melon. Bright pink=watermelon. Peach=cantaloupe. Orange=oranges. Pale green=limes. Neon chartreuse=zest of small, unripe, key limes. Neon magenta=Special bouganvilla petals. Almost white=cucumber. Gray=chia seed.
Almurzo, heavier breakfast
Antojito, Little whim. Snack usually made with masa or tortillas
Avocado leaves, flavoring herb,(anise flavor) U.S. avocados are anise/bay leaf flavor, add fennel tops.
Bijol, corn, cumin, annatto, yellow and red dye. A bright orange coloring agent.
Canela, cinnamon.
Cena, Light supper in late evening.
Chile peppers, Anaheim, mild. Ancho, mulato or pasilla, fairly mild. Jalapeno, very hot. Serrano, super hot. Pequin or tepin, very hot. Pimiento, sweet.
Comida corrida, quick, fixed menu, 2:PM lunch. (soup, rice or noodles and beans).
Desayano, Light, early breakfast.
Hierba buena, spearmint.
Hierba de olor, bouquet of bay leaf, thyme,and mexican oregano.
Hoja santa ( piper auritum) or acuyo, or momo. 8 inch heart shaped leaf, velvety, anise flavor. Aromatic.
Horchata, cold white, milky drink made from chufa or rice, cinnamon and sugar.
Huitlacoche, or ustilago maydis, mushroom like fungus on fresh corn in summer rainy season. Velvety pale gray. Charcoal black when cooked.
Jamaica. Dried flower of a variety of hibiscus (roselle).
Limon, yellow-green key limes.
Maguey, Agave ( more than 100 species).
Merienda, afternoon snack.
Nance, chokecherries preserved in simple syrup, and sometimes alcohol.
Nixtamal, Calcium hydroxide soaked corn, skins removed and ground into masa.
Pibil,banana leaves stuffed with vegetables, recado paste and roasted in an underground pit.
Queso, cheese
Rojas, chile stips, usually poblano, cook with onion and eat in tacos, quesadillas, scrambled eggs or as a side dish, often mixed with crema.
Squash blossoms, (calabacitos criollas) cook in any way.
Tequesquite, limestone or calcium hydroxide.
Tomatillo, called a green tomato, but is a member of the cape gooseberry family.
Tuna, prickly pear cactus fruit.
Verdolagas, purselane.