Mexican herbs and spices truly make the meal. Without these ingredients, a Mexican recipe would be no different than many others. These herbs and spices give their all to make Mexican food the culinary delight that it is. It pays to learn a bit about them.

Probably the most well known seasoning in Mexico is chile powder. This is made by mixing many different chilies that have been dried and ground. Chilies are also used fresh or roasted. Chipotle is made from jalapeno peppers that have been smoked and dried. Ancho is made from a chile with a sweet, fruity flavor. Many commercial chile powders that are found at the store are made of a combination of chilies, salt, oregano, garlic, coriander, and cumin.

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.

Annatto seeds give food a distinctive flavor and a yellow coloring. It is often used in rice dishes and sauces. The seeds should be soaked in water for at least an hour. After soaking, they are crushed. Sometimes recipes call for the water that the seeds were soaked in; others call for the seeds themselves. They are often used in marinades along with other spices.

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 often used in Mexican food. This is a spice made from the seeds of the cumin plant. These seeds can be used whole or powdered. It is often added to chile powder to create a nice balance. Cumin can be added to stews, soups and many other dishes. Azafran is also known as Mexican saffron. It is also called safflower. Azafran is used very sparingly because it can be bitter. It gives dishes a beautiful yellow color and is most frequently used in rice or seafood.

If you study authentic Mexican food recipes you will see these spices used frequently, along with others such as thyme and oregano. In Mexico, they have a unique type of oregano that is earthier in flavor than Italian oregano. You can find this Mexican oregano in some herb catalogs. Unless you live in an area with a large Mexican population, it may be difficult to find it in local nurseries or grocery stores.

Take time to learn the familiar flavors of Mexico by paying attention to the spices and herbs they use every day. An authentic Mexican taste is impossible without them. Make the most out of your Mexican cooking by learning the correct way to use these spices. Your meals will be amazingly good once you learn the secrets of these seasonings.

If you are going to try making some delicious enchiladas, tamales, tacos or another kind of Mexican food, it is always useful to have some handy cooking tips under your belt. Good cooking tips save you time and help to ensure that your homemade fare comes out cooked perfectly.

Tags: cooking, diet, eating, family, food, food and drink, gardening, home, home-and-garden, lifestyles, mexican food, mexican recipes, mexico, recipes

Print This Post

Rate this post:

Related Posts:

• No related posts

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 4:18 am and is filed under gardens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.