Editing Mexican cuisine (section)

===Chile peppers===
[[File:Chile Rellenos.jpg|thumb|left|[[Chile relleno|Chiles rellenos]], stuffed chile peppers]]

The other basic ingredient in all parts of Mexico is the [[Chili pepper|chile pepper]].<ref name="adapon7">Adapon, p. 7.</ref> Mexican food has a reputation for being very spicy, but it has a wide range of flavors and while many spices are used for cooking, not all are spicy. Many dishes also have subtle flavors.<ref name="fife"/><ref name="adapon11"/> Chiles are indigenous to Mexico and their use dates back thousands of years. They are used for their flavors and not just their heat, with Mexico using the widest variety. If a savory dish or snack does not contain chile pepper, hot sauce is usually added, and chile pepper is often added to fresh fruit and sweets.<ref name="adapon7"/>

[[File:Molcajete y tejolote.jpg|thumb|A [[molcajete]] and tejolote, the traditional [[mortar and pestle]] of Mexico]]

The importance of the chile goes back to the [[Mesoamerican]] period, where it was considered to be as much of a staple as corn and beans. In the 16th century, [[Bartolomé de las Casas]] wrote that, without chiles, the [[indigenous people]] did not think they were eating. Even today, most [[Mexicans]] believe that their national identity would be at a loss without chiles and the many varieties of sauces and salsas created using chiles as their base.<ref name="adapon8">Adapon, p. 8.</ref>

Many dishes in Mexico are defined by their sauces and the chiles those sauces contain (which are usually very spicy), rather than the meat or vegetable that the sauce covers. These dishes include [[entomatada]] (in tomato sauce), [[adobo]] or adobados, pipians and [[Mole sauce|moles]]. A hominy soup called [[pozole]] is defined as white, green or red depending on the chile sauce used or omitted. Tamales are differentiated by the filling which is again defined by the sauce (red or green chile pepper or mole). Dishes without a sauce are rarely eaten without salsa or without fresh or pickled chiles. This includes street foods, such as [[taco]]s, [[torta]]s, [[Chicken soup#Mexico|soup]], [[Sope (food)|sope]]s, [[tlacoyo]]s, [[tlayuda]]s, [[gordita]]s and [[sincronizada]]s.<ref name="adapon114">Adapon, p. 114.</ref> For most dishes, it is the type of chile used that gives it its main flavor.<ref name="adapon8"/> [[Chipotle]],  smoked-dried jalapeño pepper, is very common in Mexican cuisine.