It is the herbs and spices used in Mexican cooking that truly make the meal. If these ingredients were not added, a Mexican dish would not differ greatly from many others. The herbs and spices used in Mexico help make the cuisine special. It is good to learn all you can about them.
Chile powder is used in almost every Mexican dish. This common spice is usually a mixture of many different chilies. Chipotle is one kind of seasoning you may find. It is made from dried smoked jalapeno peppers. Ancho peppers, on the other hand, give food a more sweet, fruity flavor. Many commercial chile powders that you find at the market are actually a combination of oregano, coriander, cumin, garlic, salt, and chilies.
Epazote is a green herb that grows fairly tall. Also known as, Mexican tea, this herb is used in bean dishes to add flavor and relieve digestive problems that beans may cause. Epazote is potent and should only be used in small quantities. Large quantities can be toxic. Just add a couple of leaves to your bean dish as it cooks.
If you need a distinctive flavor or a yellow coloring to a dish, use annatto seeds. They are often added to sauces and rice dishes. The seeds are soaked for at least an hour in water before use. The water can also be used in cooking. The crushed seeds are often used in marinades.
You see cilantro at a lot of Mexican restaurants used as garnish or added to tacos and salads. It looks a lot like flat leaf parsley. Cilantro is what they call the leaves of the coriander plant. It should always be used when fresh. Cilantro has a tangy, pungent flavor that it imparts easily to salsa, rice, moles, beans, soups, and stews. It has a way of brightening up a dish.
Cumin is a spice made from the seeds of the cumin plant. They can be used whole or ground into a powder. Cumin is often used in conjunction with chile powder to create a balance in flavor. It is often used in soups, stews and other common dishes. Azafran is known as Mexican saffron, or safflower. This spice is used in very small amounts because it can be bitter. It causes the dish to develop a beautiful saffron like color and is often used in rice and seafood dishes.
If you are looking for free traditional Mexican recipes you will find that you need many of these spices as well as thyme and oregano. Mexican oregano is very different from Italian oregano. It has an earthy quality that really adds a lot to the food. Unless you live in an area with a large Mexican population, it may be difficult to find. You can sometimes find it in the grocery store or in specialty herb catalogs.
Understanding how to develop the flavors of Mexico will involve learning about the spices and herbs they use in cooking. That authentic Mexican flavor you want cannot be developed without them. Use these spices the right way and you will find your recipes turn out better than ever. Learning how to use these spices will change your cooking for the better.
Authentic Mexican food recipe ideas might be hard to think of but if you have a look at MexicanFoodRecipes.org you will be able to find plenty of tasty recipe inspiration to try out on your family. Most authentic Mexican food is healthy and low in fat as well as delicious.
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