Editing Culture of Mexico (section)

==Cuisine==
{{Main|Mexican cuisine}}
[[File:Arrietacomedor.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Dining table]], painted between 1857 y 1859, oleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) by [[Agustín Arrieta]]]]

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   | image1    = Chile en nogada.jpg
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   | caption1  = ''[[Chiles en nogada]]'', a popular dish from Mexico
   | image2    = 001_Tacos_de_carnitas,_carne_asada_y_al_pastor.jpg
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   | caption2  = [[Tacos]] of [[carnitas]], [[carne asada]] and [[al pastor]]
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   | image1    = Mole in Puebla.JPG
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   | caption1  = [[Mole sauce#mole poblano|Mole poblano]] is considered Mexico's ''[[national dish#platos nacionales|plato nacional]]''
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[[File:Ate (dulce mexicano).jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Pear]], [[Quince]] and [[Psidium]] [[cajeta]]. In 2010 declared the [[Celebration of Mexican political anniversaries in 2010|Bicentennial]] Dessert of Mexico.]]

Mexican cuisine is known for its blending of Indigenous and European cultures. The cuisine was inscribed in 2010 on the [[Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]] by [[UNESCO]].<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?RL=00400 |title=Traditional Mexican cuisine - ancestral, ongoing community culture, the Michoacán paradigm |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=November 7, 2014}}</ref> Traditionally, the main Mexican ingredients consisted of [[maize]], [[bean]]s, both [[red meat|red]] and [[white meat]]s, [[potato]]es, [[tomato]]es, [[seafood]], [[chili pepper]]s, [[Cucurbita|squash]], [[Nut (fruit)|nuts]], [[avocado]]s and various herbs native to Mexico.

Popular dishes include [[taco]]s, [[enchilada]]s, [[mole sauce]], [[atole]], [[tamale]]s, and [[pozole]]. Popular beverages include water flavored with a variety of fruit juices, and cinnamon-flavored [[hot chocolate]] prepared with [[milk]] or water and blended until it becomes [[frothed]] using a traditional wooden tool called a ''[[Molinillo (whisk)|molinillo]]''. Alcoholic beverages native to Mexico include [[Mezcal|mescal]], [[pulque]], and [[tequila]]. [[Mexican beer]] is also popular in Mexico and are exported. There are international award-winning Mexican wineries that produce and export [[Mexican wine|wine]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chiff.com/a/wine-baja.htm|title=Mexico Wine Routes & Regions - Vineyards & Wineries of Baja|access-date=2010-02-18|publisher=chiff.com}}</ref>

The most important and frequently used spices in Mexican cuisine are [[chili powder]], [[cumin]], [[oregano]], [[cilantro]], [[epazote]], [[cinnamon]], and [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]]. [[Chipotle]], a smoked-dried jalapeño pepper, is also common in Mexican cuisine. Many Mexican dishes also contain [[onion]]s and [[garlic]], which are also some of Mexico's staple foods.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marthastewart.com/7617543/herbs-spices-used-mexican-cooking|title=Which Herbs and Spices Are Commonly Used in Mexican Cooking?}}</ref>

Next to [[Maize|corn]], [[rice]] is the most common grain in Mexican cuisine. According to food writer Karen Hursh Graber, the initial introduction of rice to Spain from North Africa in the 14th century led to the Spanish introduction of rice to Mexico at the port of [[Veracruz]] in the 1520s. This, Graber says, created one of the earliest instances of the world's greatest [[Fusion cuisine]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=Me n Mine-English|page=S-84}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Vegan Mexico: Soul-Satisfying Regional Recipes from Tamales to Tostadas|year=2016}}</ref>

In southeastern Mexico, especially in the [[Yucatán Peninsula]], spicy vegetable and meat dishes are common. The cuisine of Southeastern Mexico has quite a bit of Caribbean influence, given its geographical location. Seafood is commonly prepared in the states that border the Pacific Ocean or the [[Gulf of Mexico]], the latter having a famous reputation for its fish dishes, ''à la veracruzana''.

[[Chocolate]] originated in Mexico and was prized by the [[Aztecs]]. It remains an important ingredient in Mexican cookery.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/.amp/topics/ancient-americas/history-of-chocolate|title=History of Chocolate|date=10 August 2022 }}</ref>

[[Vanilla]] originated in Mexico. It was first cultivated by the [[Totonacs]] of Mexico's east coast. Vanilla is used in Mexico to flavor [[horchata]] and Mexican desserts such as [[churro]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/plain-vanilla|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227161025/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/plain-vanilla|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 27, 2021|title=The History of Vanilla|website=[[National Geographic Society]] }}</ref>

[[Mexican tea culture]] is known for its traditional herbal teas such as [[chamomile]], [[Tilia|linden]], [[orange blossom]], [[spearmint]] and [[lemongrass]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mexperience.com/searching-for-camellia-sinensis/|title=A Nice Cup of Tea: Searching for Camellia Sinensis|date=2 May 2024 }}</ref>