Menu
PTA Home
About PTA
Events
Information for New Teachers
   Hosting Families
   Glossary of Food
   Mexican Food
   Phone Book
Other Links
Character Education Program 
International Families Network 
 

Mexican Food

Ate: A jellied paste made from the pulp of various fruits, most commonly quince or guave.

Barbacoa:
Meat wrapped in maguey leaf and pit roasted.

Cabrito:
Broiled kid goat, popular in northern Mexico.

Cajeta:
Caramelized and flavored milk ( usually goat milk ) used as spread and in making crepes.

Ceviche: A cocktail made of marinated seafood (usually mackarel), with chopped onion, tomato, chile, oil and often diced avocado.

Chia: A beverage consisting of lemonade with tiny native seeds.

Chicharron: Fried pork rind.

Chiles en nogada:
A seasonal dish (especially popular in September) of stuffed poblano peppers bathed in a walnut cream sauce and garnished with pomegranate seeds.

Chiles rellenos:
Poblano peppers stuffed with cheese or ground beef, fried in egg batter and covered with tomato sauce.

Chongos:
Curdled milk, mixed with egg and with most of the moisture boiled out; syrup and cinnamon added.

Cochinita Pibil: A Yucatecan speciality consisting of suckling pig cooked in banana leaves.

Enchiladas:
A tortilla filled with chicken, beef, or fish and fresh white cheese, rolled up and then fried or cooked then covered in salsa. Swiss Enchiladas are alsocovered with cream.

Chilaquiles: Wide slices of tortilla fried until crispy and then bathed with salsa and topped with white cheese and cream.

Escamoles:
Ant eggs, usually served with fresh tortillas and guacamole.

Guacamole: Mashed avocado mixed with onions, tomatoes and spices. Served with tacos and as a side salad.

Gusano de maguey:
Maguey worms, usually served crisp-fried.

Horchata: A milky white beverage made from rice, melon seeds and cinammon.

Agua de Jamaica : A cold drink made from Hibiscus flowers.

Jumiles: Grasshopper-like insect, usually served toasted.

Mixiote: Mutton marinated in a somewhat piquant sauce and spices, and served with meat and chicken, or as sauce for enchiladas.

Mole: A dark sauce, with numerous ingredients, principally chocolate, chili and spices, and served with meat and chicken, or as a sauce for enchiladas.

Picadillo: Minced meat, mixed with tomato and onion, and seasoned. Used in rolled tortillas, and in chiles rellenos.

Pozole: A highly seasoned soup containing hominy kernels, chickpeas, pork, radishes, sausage, tomato and whatever else is in the kitchen.

Quesadilla:  A tortilla folded once over and stuffed with just about anything -cheese, meat, mashed potato, squash flower- then deep fried.

Sangrita:  Bright-red, chili-spiced concoction usually served as an accompaniment to tequila.

Sangría:  Red wine with diced fruit s and lemon juice.

Taco:  A tortilla stuffed and rolled.

Tamales:  Corn meal stuffed with pork or chicken with chili sauces, then steamed cooked in corn husks. Regional varieties use banana leaves and finer meal.

Torta:  A sandwich, made with a roll of bread ( bolillo or telera) cut in half.

Tortilla: A thin pancake of corn meal (wheat in northern states). Used in countless ways as a staple in Mexican diet. Served with meals, rolled to hold meats, cooked in sauces.