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CHILLIES
The word chilli comes from the Aztec language, Náhuatl. Together with corn and beans, it was an essential staple of the daily diet of ancient Mexican cultures. Archeological evidence has proven that the culture of chilli began before those of corn and tomato. Since then, Mexico has produced greater volumes and wider varieties of chillies than any other country.
The chilli is widely quoted in prehispanic mythologies and legends. The Mendocino Códex mentions the quantities that certain provinces had to pay as tributes to the Aztec empire. It is today the most used condiment all over the world.
By its taste, the chillies are classified as sweet or spicy, although the sweet are in reality just less spicy. Some, like the poblano, are considered soft, but certain can be as spicy as a jalapeño or serrano, that can also sometimes be not too spicy, making it impossible to dictate an emphatic rule on spiciness. It varies according to the climate and the amount of sun and water the plant receives while growing. In general terms, small chillies are spicier than big ones.
Among the fresh chillies, the spiciest of all are the habanero and manzano, followed by jalapeño, serrano, árbol, agua and chilaca. Moderataly spicy are the poblano and verde of the North, and the only fresh chilli that is really not spicy is the dulce (sweet) of the South East.
Among the dry chillies, the spiciest are the chipotle, mora, morita, árbol, Oaxaca pasilla, and piquín. Less spicy are the pasilla and cascabel. The chillies that contribute with great flavors to dishes that are not considered spicy, but can become so, are the ancho, mulatto, guajillo, seco form the Noth and the chilhuacles.
Most chillies are consumed fresh or dry, with an enormous variety of gastronomical uses. Their names are different if they are fresh or dry. The poblano becomes ancho, the jalapeño is called ancho, the chilaca is pasilla, and the bola is cascabel, for example.
Each region of Mexico is distinguished by certain chillies used in their cooking traditions. In the northern States, the chilli verde of the North is predominant, and in their dry forms the pasado and Colorado are the most common. In Jalisco, the typical chilli is the colorado, usually called chilacate. In the central regions, the most used chillies are poblano, ancho, chilaca, pasilla, jalapeño, chipotle, verde, árbol and guajillo, although these chillies can be cultivated in the North and the South and are very common all over the country. Oaxaca is probably the state that has more unique chillies, among them the black, red and yellow chilhuacles, the chilcostle, agua (water) and pasilla oaxaqueño. Chiapas has the simojovel, and pico de paloma (dove's peck). In Tabasco one can find the amaxito; in Yucatan the habanero, xcatic, seco yucateco and dulce (sweet).
For Mexicans chillies are not only an ingredient in their food, but also a symbol of national identity. They are intimately linked to popular traditions and beliefs, virility and humor.
Chillies are present in the most important and representative Mexican dishes. It is the base for all green, poblano, red, yellow and black moles, as in all meat adobos, raw and cooked sauces, pipianes, chilliatoles, broths, soups, stews and many other dishes.
Here is some more information on some of the varieties used in Sabores Aztecas products:
Chille Ancho
It is a dry chilli with a brownish-red colour, measuring around 12 cms long and 7 cms in its wider part. It has a triangular shape and its skin is bright, wrinkled and rough. The best are flexible to the touch and never stiff. When washed, it acquires reddish brick tones, giving its coloring to the dishes it is used for. It probably is the most used chilli and in the most varied ways. All kinds of moles, adobos and sauces use it, broths and soups are coloured with it, and widely prepared for stuffed chillies. When fresh it is the poblano chilli. It must not be confused with mulato chilli, that is darker and bigger. To distinguish them, they must be opened and seen against the light: the ancho will be bright red and the mulato brown. There are regional varieties of ancho with different names.
Chilli Mulato
The mulato chilli plant is essentially the same as that of the poblano but with slightly different genes that affect the color and taste. It has a mild, sweet, chocolate-like flavour, only rarely spicy. Rough and thick skin and fleshy body. It is made from a very dark fresh poblano almost never sold fresh, as it has a better value when dried and sold as mulato. It is an essential ingredient in the moles, specially the poblano. In Chiapas there is a very dark variety called chocolate. Even if it is similar to the ancho, its flavour is very different.
Chilli Pasilla
The pasilla chilli is the dried chilaca, sometimes referred to in Oaxaca as the pasilla de Mexico to distinguish it from the chilli pasilla de Oaxaca. It has a shiny, black, wrinkled surface with vertical ridges and a rich but sharp flavor-in contrast to the other black mulato chilli-and can range from fairly hot to hot. The pasilla chilli is used to garnish soups, for rustic table sauce, and for moles or other cooked sauces.
Chilli Jalapeño
Jalapeño chillis are perhaps the best-known chillies outside of Mexico since much of the crop is pickled and canned. There are a great many varieties of this chilli, but their shape is unmistakable: an elongated, blunt triangle varying from mid- to dark green, some with dark patches on them, others with a vertical brown intermittent striping. The jalapeño chilli is called by different names according to the type and the season in which it is harvested or just local usage: gordo chilli in Veracruz, chilchote in the Sierra de Puebla, or tomachilli in old cookbooks, cuaresmeño in central Mexico. An average jalapeno chilli is about 21/1 inches (6.5 cm) long and just under 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide; it can range from mild to hot to very hot. It is used either in its mature but green stage or when fully ripened and bright red in color.
The skin of these chillis when fresh is smooth and shiny and the flesh firm to the touch. When dull and wrinkled, they have lost their fresh flavor and crisp texture.
Chilli Guajillo
The guajillo chilli (along with the ancho) is the most commonly used dried chilli in Mexican cooking, probably because it is more widely available than many other. The guajillo chilli has a smooth, tough skin that is a deep maroon color. It can vary from fairly hot to hot and has a pleasant, sharp flavor. In the north central region on the country it is called cascabel (rattle) because it rattles and resembles a rattlesnake's tail. It belongs to a family of chillis that when fresh are sometimes called mirasol (Looking at the sun) – erroneously, for the majority of these chillis hang down on the plant and do not point up to the sun.
While the guajillo is occasionally used for a table sauce, it is more often used after being soaked and blended for spreading on meat and for thick stews.
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NOPALES
Nopales or cactus paddles are the fleshy joints or "leaves" of several varieties of edible Opuntia cactus. With rare exceptions they are cooked first before being added to certain dishes.
The cactus family (Cactaceae) has more than 1,000 different species. Cacti are thick-stemmed, generally spiny, mostly leafless plants unique to the Americas, and Mexico is the world's center of cactus diversity. Edible portions of the cacti include the stems and the fruits called tunas (prickly pears). Nopales is the generic name given to the cacti from the Opuntia and Nopalea kinds.
In Mexico, nopales, the edible stems (or pads) of the prickly pear cactus, probably make up most of the cactus products consumed. They are thick, green, and fleshy, and, when used in stews or salads, they have a flavor and texture similar to that of green beans. These prickly pear pads are an important vegetable in the Mexican diet and, in some regions, they even serve as a dietary staple during certain seasons.
Not only were the Nopales widely consumed in many Mesoamerican ancient cultures. They became legendary and one of Mexico's eminent national symbols, found in the centre of Mexico's flag: an eagle devouring a serpent perched upon a Nopal. This was the sign the Aztecs were looking for to lay the foundations of their great capital, Tenochtitlan.
The edible nopal is actually the young, tender branch of a prickly pear plant. The spines are barely developed at the time of harvest, and the campesinos who harvest them remove them and clean the pad before taking it to market. Vendors sell nopales as entire pads or diced and packaged (nopalitos) in neatly tied plastic bags for a quick, rinse and serve dish. Some grocery stores even sell pickled nopales, which are delightful salad garnishes.
Nopales with their high fiber content are beneficial to nearly any diet. They are very popular as a drink blending them with orange juice, which it is claimed promotes weight loss. Numerous other nutritional and health benefits have been linked to this fleshy vegetable.
Every April, the central Mexican village of Tlaxcalancingo, Puebla, celebrates the Feria de Nopales, a tribute to its most important crop, the nopal cactus. Set against a background of snow-capped volcanos, the bright green fields yield one of the healthiest, most versatile foods to grace the Mexican table. The fair's featured repertoire of nopal recipes includes everything from tacos de nopalitos to nopal ice cream, all prepared by local cooks and eagerly consumed by villagers and visitors alike.
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