Transcript Mexican Cuisine - Ms. Perez-Family and Consumer Sciences

Mexican Cuisine
Miss Perez
Write down your favorite
Mexican meal, meal if you
have one.
What does it includes?
Beans and Corn
Staple in most Mexican meals
 Do you think these are healthy
ingredients, why or why not?

Beans and Corn

They are complementing amino acids
 Amino
acids are the building blocks of
protein
 Protein helps build and repair body
tissues.
Corn
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Originated from the Aztec
Most important use is the tortilla
What Mexican dishes include a tortilla?
- Mexican cooks hate to waste corn
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Who can think of a dish that is made with
corn husks?
Beans
Local farmers grow many types of
beans.
 They are boiled, or refried.

What is the difference
between a pepper and a
chili?
Wilbur Scoville
Developed a heat index for peppers
 A green bell pepper is 0, a halbanero
can rank between 200,000-300,000

Jalapeno peppers
Ranges from mild to hot
 Typically green, about 3 inches long
with oval shape
 Ranks between 2,500- 8,000 Scoville
units on the heat index

Poblano Chiles
Mild
 Heart shaped, thick walls, green
 When dried it is called an ancho chili
 Rank between 1,000- 2,000 Scoville
Units

Chilies de Arbol
Very hot
 Related to cayenne pepper
 Narrow, start green but mature to red
 Rank between 15,000-30,000 Scoville
units

Habanero peppers

VERY HOT! 200,000-300,000 Scoville units
The oil can be painful if it gets in your eye
Unripe habaneros are green, and are typically
orange & red when matured. However write and
brown and pink are also seen

1-2 inches long
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Identifying peppers
Today you will identify four different
types of peppers
 Go back to your lab and put on gloves
 Use the rulers to measure the peppers
 There will be four hot peppers ordered
1-4.
 Please answer the questions on the
worksheet!

Regional Cuisine
Occur mainly because of climate
 Many food are common through out
Mexico

Northern Mexico
Grow wheat and raise cattle
 Tortillas in this area are made in wheat
over corn
 Chihuahua cheese is popular

Coastal Mexico
Seafood is popular
 Finfish and shellfish are a good source
of protein
 Use seafood in appetizers, soups, and
main courses

Southern Mexico

Banana trees are abundant
 Because
of this, tamales are wrapped in
fresh banana leaves over corn husks

Squash blossoms and sea chestnuts
are popular
Based on what you just learned about
regional Mexican cuisine what do you
think the biggest influence on Mexican
cuisine is? Why?
Do you think people that live in Mexico
are resourceful? Why?
Mexican meals
Desayuno
 This is the first meal of the day
 It is a large breakfast
 Includes fruit, tortillas, bread, sweet
rolls, eggs, meat, coffee, and
sometimes chocolate

Comida
Main meal of the day
 Happens between one and three
o’clock
 Six courses are not unusual
 Could consist of appetizer, soup, small
stew dish, main course, beans,
dessert, and coffee
 Sometimes a siesta follows

Merienda
This is served around five and six
o’clock
 It is a light snack
 It could include chocolate, coffee, fruit,
and pan de dulce

Cena
Supper/dinner
 It is typically eaten between six and
eight o’clock
 Similar to comida, but lighter
 Some families combine merienda and
cena to have one meal that happens in
the early evening

Activity

Get a laptop from the cart and go to
http://www.teachnology.com/web_tools/materials/timelines/
Make a timeline of a typical day in Mexico, make
sure you include at least 3 out of the 4 Mexican
meals with what would be eaten during each meal!
You are free to the internet, just make sure you cite
each source in MLA.