Cuisine of Mexico City facts for kids
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The cuisine of Mexico City is super diverse and exciting! This big city is a food paradise. You can find restaurants specializing in foods from all over Mexico. There are also many famous international restaurants here. Get ready to explore the yummy history and traditions of Mexico City's food!
Contents
A Taste of History: How Mexico City's Food Evolved
Ancient Aztec Foods and Farming
Long ago, in 1325, the Aztecs settled near Lake Texcoco. This area is in the highlands of Central Mexico. They were very clever farmers. They used the lake's rich resources for food.
The Aztecs built amazing canals for watering their crops. They also created special "floating gardens" called chinampas. These helped them grow lots of food in the marshy lands around the lake.
Colonial Era Delights
By the late 1500s, sweet chocolate drinks were very popular. These drinks were often spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon. During the colonial era, fancy multi-course meals became common. Rich families in Mexico City enjoyed these meals.
A typical fancy meal might start with a soup, like albondigas (meatballs). Then came fried Spanish rice with hard-boiled egg slices. Main dishes included stewed or roasted meats. These could be mutton stew with chili or roast chicken. After the meat, frijoles refritos (refried beans) were served. For dessert, people enjoyed custard, sweet pastry, or fresh fruits.
Tacos and Street Food Become Popular
In the 1800s, cookbooks mostly showed European-style recipes. They rarely included corn-based dishes like atole (a warm corn drink), tamales, quesadillas, or enchiladas. If these were mentioned, they were called "light brunches."
At first, tacos were seen as simple food for everyday people. But by the 1800s, tacos became a standard part of Mexico City's food scene. Many workers moved to the city from the countryside. They brought their delicious food traditions with them.
Street vendors started selling corn-based dishes everywhere. City officials tried to tax these taquerias (taco stands). They recorded what foods were sold. Tacos de barbacoa were mentioned most often. Other popular items included enchiladas, tacos de minero, and gorditas. There were also oyster shops and fried fish stands. Some places even served pozole, a stew popular in Guadalajara.
Meal Times and New Foods in the 1940s
In the 1940s, the first meal of the day was desayuno. This was a light meal like coffee or hot chocolate. People also had atole (corn porridge) and sweet bread. A few hours later came almuerzo, a bigger meal. It included chilaquiles, eggs, or meat.
The main meal of the day was comida, eaten at midday. It was a hearty, multi-course meal. It usually had soup, rice, meat, vegetables, and dessert. Later in the evening, people might have bread and coffee. For special events, a bigger dinner was served. Mole sauces were often made for big celebrations.
After World War II, the food industry grew a lot. This happened after the Pan-American Highway was built. Pre-sliced sandwich bread became common. Beer also started to become more popular than pulque (a traditional drink).
More chicken became available after the war. Processed meats like ham, sausage, and other cold cuts also appeared. This was helped by European immigrants who knew how to process meat in factories. Local butcher shops sold cecina, chicharron, and chorizo. Before this, families usually prepared most of their own meat at home.
Mexico City's Food Specialties
Barbacoa de borrego is a very popular traditional dish. It's a lamb dish that is slow-cooked. This dish is often made in areas just outside Mexico City, like Texcoco. Texcoco has a very old barbacoa tradition.
The lamb is wrapped in maguey cactus leaves. Then it's cooked overnight in an earthen oven. This cooking method comes from traditional Maya cuisine. Many families from Mexico City travel to these places, often on Sundays, just to eat this delicious dish. It's common for people to go to the same barbacoa places their parents or grandparents went to!
Busy Food Markets
In the 1940s, there were not many roads in and out of Mexico City. Major food markets like La Merced and Mercado Jamaica mostly got their supplies by canal. There were few restaurants back then. Most food was prepared at home. People used corn, squash, beans, chiles, and other local crops. These were bought from the markets and often eaten with pork or beef.
Mexico City is famous for having some of the freshest fish and seafood. This is surprising because it's not near the ocean! The La Nueva Viga Market is the second-largest seafood market in the world. Only the Tsukiji fish market in Japan is bigger!
Restaurants and Dining
Some dishes you find in Mexico City's restaurants have very old roots. They go back to before the Spanish conquest. For example, lobster in red chili sauce and cactus fruit tortillas are based on historic dishes. These were described in a 16th-century book called the Florentine Codex.
In the 1850s, fancy restaurants started opening. They had great views of Chapultepec Castle. These places served wealthy customers. In 1891, a Parisian chef named Sylvain Daumont opened a restaurant in the city. Old menus show that these feasts served European-inspired food. There were no Mexican dishes on these fancy menus. At Mexican president Porfirio Diaz's birthday party, only men were seated for the meal. The wives of the guests watched from a balcony!
See also
In Spanish: Gastronomía de la Ciudad de México para niños
