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06- Mexican Cooking Glossary |
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Print this Recipe Achiote: The reddish-orange seed of the annato tree used to season and color foods. A seasoning paste is also made from the seeds. Used extensively in the Yucatán region. (Can dye clothes, skin.) Adobo: A chile-based paste to use as marinade or sauce. Agua fresca: Beverage made with blended fruit, flavorings, and water. Aguacate: Spanish for avocado, which are native to Mexico. Pear-shaped or round fruit with dark green to almost-black skin and soft cream-colored interior when ripe. Avocados (aguacate) are native to Mexico, and there are many varieties. Used for guacamole and other salads, and sauces. Anaheim or California: Long, slender chile, light green in color. Ranges from mild to quite hot. Roast and peel before using in chiles rellenos, sauces, and vegetable dishes. Also canned as whole green chiles and diced green chiles. Ancho: A dark red to almost-black dried poblano chile, with wrinkled skin. In some places it is called pasilla. Wide at the top and tapered toward the tip, and 3 to 4 inches long. Anchos are mild to hot. Used for sauces, or reconstituted then stuffed. Antojito: Appetizer or snack. From the Spanish word antojo, meaning whim. Includes traditional small portions of street foods such as tacos, sopes, tostados, and burritos. Sometimes called botana. Asada or asado: Broiled or grilled meat. Atole: Thick drink or porridge usually made with ground corn. Bebida: Alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage or drink. Banana leaves: Large flat leaves of the banana tree widely used in Mexico to wrap tamales, or other foods that are baked or steamed. Bolillo: Oval-shaped Mexican sandwich roll (about 6 inches long), with crusty exterior and soft center. Often used for Mexican sandwiches called tortas. Botana: Snack or appetizer. Also called antojito. Budín: Pudding. Refers to sweet desserts and savory baked dishes. Buñuelo: Fritter made with wheat flour. Burrito: A filled and wrapped flour tortilla. Common in northern Mexico. Cajeta: Thick caramel confection made with goat's or cow's milk and sugar. Long, slow-simmering produces caramel color and very sweet flavor. California: Shiny dried chile with smooth red skin, 4 to 5 inches long, mild to slightly hot. Used in cooked sauces and ground into chili powders. Canela: Also called Ceylon cinnamon; referred to as the pure or true cinnamon. Has a milder, sweeter flavor than Cassia variety common in the United States. Carnita: Pork steamed and fried in lard. Popular filling for tacos. Cascabel: Dried reddish-brown chile that's mildly hot with a nutty flavor. Round in shape and rattles when shaken. Cazuela: Clay cooking vessel that's wider at the top than at the bottom. Ceviche: Raw fish marinated and "cooked" in lime juice. The chemical action of the acid in the lime juice firms the flesh and turns it opaque, so the texture is as though cooked. Chalupa: Corn tortilla dough formed into small oval or round with pinched-up rims. Fried and topped with filling for appetizers. Champurrado: Chocolate atole (corn-based chocolate drink). Chaya: Mayan green leafy plant found in the Yucatán. The tender greens are used like spinach or Swiss chard (the recommended substitutes). Chayote: Pear-shaped, pale green vegetables related to squash. They are indigenous to Mexico and are also known as vegetable pears or mirlitons. Cherimoya: Tropical dark green fruit with patterned skin that resembles thumbprints. Creamy white flesh with shiny black seeds. Used in sorbets and other desserts. Chicharrón: Fried pork rind used as snack or garnish. Chilaquile: Casserole made with day-old tortilla strips or wedges combined with eggs, sausage, or bits of chicken or meat, onion, and red or green sauce. Usually topped with crumbled cheese. Chile: Term used for a large number of capsicum peppers-both fresh and dried-ranging from mild to extremely hot, that are used in cooking. Dried chiles are mainly used for cooked sauces. (See individual listings.) Chiles are also ground, and labeled "pure" with the name of the chile. Unless labeled pure, chili powder is a blend of ground chile and other spices. Chile de arbol: Small, thin, dried red chile that's very hot. Used in table sauces and cooked sauces. Chile relleño: Stuffed fresh or dried chile. Chimichanga: Large flour tortilla, stuffed, folded, and fried. Chipotle: Dried, smoked jalapeño chile with a brown leathery skin; it's very hot. Used canned in a seasoning mixture called adobo, and also puréed and made into a fiery chipotle sauce with a smoky taste. Chipotles are popular, and a little goes a long way. Chorizo: Spicy Mexican pork sausage. Churro: ope-shaped, deep-fried fritter, from 4 inches to about 10 inches long, that is rolled in sugar while hot. Cilantro: Green herb, also called Chinese parsley, that has a distinctive flavor essential in many fresh salsas and as a garnish. Comal: A griddle made of clay, aluminum, iron, or steel. Used for toasting ingredients such as tomatoes, chiles, seeds, herbs. Cotija cheese: Aged cheese; also called queso añejo. Crema: Mexican cream that is thick and slightly sour, somewhat like French crème fraiche. It's used to garnish enchiladas, tacos, and other snacks. Empanada: Sweet or savory pastry turnover. Enchilada: Filled corn tortilla, folded, rolled, or stacked, and covered with sauce. Often baked. Epazote: An important green herb--essential in some regions of Mexico--used in bean dishes, tamales, some sauces and stews, and other dishes. Used fresh and dried. Escabeche: Meats, fish, or vegetables "pickled" in vinegar, oil, herbs and spices. Flan: Baked custard made with milk and eggs. Originally from Spain. Flauta: Corn tortilla rolled around filling and fried. Frijoles refritos: Refried beans. Garnacha: Yucatán appetizer made with small bowl-shaped corn tortilla dough that's fried and filled with beans and spicy meat or chicken mixtures. Gordita: Appetizer made of corn tortilla dough that's shaped into patties, then baked on a comal or skillet, or fried and topped with beans, shredded meats, chicken, and just about anything. Guajillo: Medium-to-long, dark red dried chile that's quite hot and very popular. Used extensively in cooked sauces. Guëro chile: Pale yellow, waxy, small hot chile. Also milder banana and Hungarian wax chiles, about 4 inches long; used in sauces, salads, and sometimes pickled. Gusano de maguey: Small worm that inhabits agave plants. It is fried and eaten as a delicacy and also put into bottles of mezcal liquor. Habanero: Small, very hot--maybe the hottest of all chiles--in shades of green, yellow, orange, and red. A lantern shape with indentations and irregularities. Closely related to the Scotch Bonnet chile. Helado: Ice cream Hierba Santa: Large leaf with an anise-like flavor used in sauces and as a wrap for steaming fish and sometimes tamales. Also called hoja santa, momo, and acuyo in some regions. Horchata: Beverage made by grinding uncooked rice or melon seeds with water or juice. Huevos rancheros: Breakfast specialty of eggs on tortillas topped with a tomato-based sauce (salsa ranchera). Huitlacoche: (also cuitlacoche) A black fungus growing on corn during the rainy season. Used in crepes, soups, and with eggs. Jalapeño: Dark green, plump hot chile about 2 to 3 inches long, with a rounded bottom. Used raw in salsas and cooked in sauces. Also pickled and canned. Jicama: Large root vegetable with light brown skin and white flesh, shaped like a turnip, with a crisp sweet taste. Jicama is eaten raw, peeled and sliced, and is occasionally cooked. Lard: Rendered pork fat. Licuado: Beverage of blended fruit with milk, yogurt, or water. Manchego cheese: Popular Spanish cheese made of sheep's milk; also made in Mexico with cow's milk. Masa: Fresh dough made of specially processed dried corn used to make corn tortillas, tamales, and other masa dishes. Dried masa is also dehydrated into a flour called masa harina. Metate: Three-legged stone used for grinding. Mixiote: Thin membrane, like parchment, from the maguey plant. Used to wrap foods that are then cooked in a pit. Molcajete: Stone mortar used for mashing and grinding. Mole: Nahuatl word meaning sauce. Refers to a number of traditional complex sauces from different regions of the country. Mulato: Dried, very dark, almost-black chile, very similar to and often mistaken for an ancho. Used in moles. New Mexico: Long green chile resembling Anaheim, but hotter, and used in the same ways as Anaheims. Nopales: Paddles from the prickly pear cactus that are eaten as a vegetable all over Mexico. Often cut into strips called nopalitos for cooking. The edible fruit of the plant is called a prickly pear, or tuna. Pan de muerto: Special round loaf of sweet bread topped with decorative dough-shaped crossbones that is used for celebrating the Day of the Dead, which honors deceased family and friends. Panela: Mild slightly soft cheese; often sliced as an appetizer. Pasilla: Long, narrow, black chile that's also called chile negro. In some places the name pasilla is used for fresh poblano chiles and dried anchos. Pibil: Refers to the pit-cooked foods of Yucatán. Picadillo: Sautéed ground meat dish made with beef, pork, or chicken, and tomatoes, onions, garlic, and other regional flavorings. Often used as a stuffing. Piloncillo: Unrefined cane sugar; shaped into cones or slabs. Pipian: Stew, similar to mole, with ground pumpkin or squash seeds and nuts. Plátano: A cooking banana, or plantain, also known as plátano macho. Plantains are fried, baked, or mashed. The skin turns nearly black when ripe. Also used to refer to a sweet eating banana. Poblano: The most-used fresh green chile. Dark green and shiny with broad shoulders, tapering to a rounded or pointed bottom. Used extensively roasted, peeled, and stuffed for rellenos, and as a garnish when cut into thin strips or squares. Poblanos are also cooked in many dishes and puréed in many sauces. Postre: Dessert Pozole: Soup made with pork or other meat and treated dried corn, called hominy in the United States. Quesadilla: Folded, grilled, or fried corn or flour tortilla filled with cheese, and sometimes other ingredients are tucked inside with the cheese. Rajas: Strips of roasted and peeled poblano chiles. Relleno: Any food that is stuffed. Most often used for stuffed chiles. Rompope: Mexican cooked eggnog drink made with milk, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, and rum. Salsa verde: Cooked or raw green sauce. Sangrita: A popular drink to accompany tequila made from orange juice, grenadine, chiles, and sometimes tomato juice. Serrano: Small, slender, light green, hot-to-very-hot chile that used mainly in fresh salsas or cooked sauces. Often used interchangeably with jalapeños. Sopa seca: "Dry soup"; refers to rice and pasta dishes. The liquid the rice or pasta begins cooking with is completely absorbed, making it dry. Sope: Like gordita. Appetizer made of tortilla dough that's formed into small rounds with pinched-up rims, then fried and topped. Tamal: Often spelled tamale. Tortilla dough filled with any kind of meat, vegetable, or fruit, then wrapped in corn husks, banana leaves, or other wrappings, and steamed. Taco: Corn tortilla folded around a filling. Sometimes briefly fried. Tamarindo: Brown pods from the tamarind tree. The inside of the pods makes a tart juice that's used to flavor beverages, candies, and sauces. Taquito: Filled, rolled, and fried corn tortilla, similar to a flauta. Tejolote: Pestle used for grinding in a molcajete (stone bowl). Tinga: Special stew from the state of Puebla. Tomatillo: Small green tart fruit with a papery hush that looks like a green tomato. Used in cooked and raw sauces and salsas throughout the country. Also called tomato verde in Mexico. Torta: Mexican sandwich; also means a pie or tart. Tortilla: Thin flat bread made of masa (specially treated dried corn). Corn tortillas are the most important bread in Mexico. Tortillas are also made of wheat flour, used more in northern Mexico. Tostada: Fried corn tortilla chips, or whole fried tortillas used as an edible plate to layer with ingredients such as beans, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, meats, and cheeses. Yuca: Edible root from a tropical plant that's used like potatoes, mainly in Yucatán, Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Chiapas. Often made into fritters or chips. Organize all of your own recipes with the Cook'n Recipe Software. Watch and see how easy it is! From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 06- Mexican Cooking Glossary is from the Cook'n in Mexico collection. Click here to get this CD or download the recipes right now! Sign up for our free monthly newsletter, with recipes, cooking tips and more! Enjoy more recipes like this! 04- Techniques 02- Ingredients for the Mexican Pantry 01- Introduction 03- Kitchen Equipment 05- Menus 06- Mexican Cooking Glossary 07- Mail-Order Sources for Ingredients 08- About Author __Roasting, Peeling and Seeding Fresh Chiles __Roasting Tomatoes __Toasting Dried Chiles __Toasting Dried Herbs and Spices __Toasting Nuts and Seeds __Grinding, Blending, and Frying __Using Banana Leaves __Using Fresh Cactus Paddles __Pressing Tortillas __Hot Tamales For Every Taste __Handling and Preparing Cactus __Chicharrón, a National Snack __Fried Corn Tortilla Chips and Strips __Moles with Poultry __Making Beans Easier to Digest __Pan Tip for Baking Bread __Mexican Chocolate |
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