PART 2:

Nation Report

By Sophie Ludel

Cuisine

Mexican Food!• Corn and beans are staples of the Mexican cuisine, as is rice• Based on a pre-Columbian tradition, this delicious food is known for its flavor, color and variety of spices.•Mexican food varies by region due to local climate as well as geography.

•The north of Mexico is known for its beef, goat and ostrich•Southeastern Mexico is known for its spicy vegetable as well as chicken based dishes. Furthermore, there is a Caribean influence•Central Mexico cuisine has been influenced by the rest of the country, but it does however have its genuine dishes such as, baraboca, pozle, tamales, and carnitas•The most commonly identified dishes are: chocolate, tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos, tamales and mole

Chocolate

• Processed from the seed of the Cacao Tree, cacaco has been produced for at least three million years in Mexico (as well as other areas of the world)•The seeds of the cacaco tree are originally bitter. To get the delicious taste of chocolate, the seed has to be fermented, dried, cleaned and roasted. Once this is done, the shell is removed to make cacaco nibs. After a long process of grinding and pureeing, a chocolate liquor is made, to which makers can combine cacaco solids and cacaco butter to create the delicacy that is chocolate!•There are different types of chocolate:

•Dark Chocolate ~ made from sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquid and (sometimes) vanilla•Milk Chocolate ~ made from sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquid, milk or milk powder, and vanilla•White Chocolate ~ made from sugar, cocoa butter, milk or milk powder, and vanilla

•In popular culture•Chocolate is one of the most popular gifts•Chocolate has been the center of many successful books and movies such as “Charlie and the Chocolate factory”, “Like Water for Chocolate”, and “Chocolat”

TACOS

• Is a traditional dish Mexican Dish•It is often comprised of Corn or Wheat Tortillas that are folded or rolled around a filling

•Fillings include:•Beef, chicken, seafood, vegetables and cheese•Salsa, cilantro, tomatoes, onions and lettuce are also often included in this food

•Tacos have also become a popular dish in the United States and Canada

•Hard Shell Tacos: very popular type of taco, consists of a hard-shell; after the invention of devices to hold the U-shaped taco in a deep fryer, this dish started to become mass produced

•This dish is sold in a variety of types of restaurants, from fast food joints such as Taco Bell, to non-Mexican resturants such as Urth Café

• Puffy Tacos, Taco Kits and Breakfast Tacos•Puffy Tacos: is a very popular dish, made from uncooked corn tortillas (which is flattened balls of masa dough) that are fried in hot oil. The fillings are similar to what is used in a hard shell taco•Taco Kits: Tacos have become such a popular dish, that you can even purchase a kit in your local grocery store that contains the taco shell, fillings and seasonings to make a delicious taco•Breakfast Tacos: frequently found in Tex-Mex cuisine (an American Cuisine that blends Mexican and American foods together) it is often filled with meat, eggs or cheese

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_cuisine