3 Crops For Which Mexico Deserves a ‘Thank you!’
Mexico’s juxtapose,lush tradition, coastal allure and snow-crowned peaks is what we fascinate about. But, there is more which the country has gifted the world.
5th June 2018
T
he country’s cuisine is known for its rich ingredients and authentic flavors. Cooking of nosh is a celebration of tang in Mexico. Long before the country received its rejuvenated name, it was known as Mesoamerica or ‘Natural Eden’. With a highly cultivable land and preciously rare plant species, the industrious Mesoamericans started altering their assets into delicious produce.
1.Corn
Though, ‘Corn’ or ‘Maize’ has an ambivalent birthplace, but historic research claims its origin in Western Hemisphere of Mesoamerican region. History agreeing that being a domestic crop to the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico, corn is around 10,000 years old. Moreover, The ancient Colombian civilization also cited themselves as “People of the Corn”. Till today, maize is an integral part of Mexican recognition and serves as a staple ingredient in the local diet of the country.
2.Cocoa Beans
Chocolate is often called the ‘food of gods’. Countries like South America mention themselves as the birthplace of succulent chocolates but a major question still remains unanswered. One of the crucial ingredients of chocolates is cocoa. Where did cocoa originated? Well, the answer of the question is uncertain. No one knows the province where cocoa emerged first, but definitely, have an idea of Mexicans efforts in highlighting it in front of the world. In the early 15th Century BC, Olmecs of Mexico crushed the tempting cocoa beans in a drink and introduced the world to a taste that soon became a culinary jewel.
3.Vanilla
Not only art of consuming cocoa beans but Mexico has also gifted us a flavor that has now become a celebration worldwide. Vanilla is an exotic part of the family plant orchid. Mexico’s Totonac people were the very first to cultivate the plant and produce the crop. According to the Totonac mythology, this seductively romantic ingredient first appeared in a wild form when Mexican princess Xanat eloped with her lover into the jungle because of her father’s disagreement. However, soon they both were captivated and killed. The place where the blood of the two lovers mingled with the surface of the jungle, is the point where the tropical vanilla orchid sprouted.
