Posts tagged Cherry Tomato
Living in Mexico – History of Food
Oct 4th
We know the ancient Mayans were famous for constructing advanced architectural achievements such as pyramids and cities, and their astronomers studied for centuries to create a 365 day calendar that is more accurate than the one used in our lives today.
Add to this mix the conquering Spanish moving food supplies around and the Mayans trading with other civilizations, such as the Aztecs, and you may not be surprised to learn that the ancient Mexicans changed the way the world eats. When living in Mexico you’ll discover many products of Mexican origin are used as ingredients around the globe today.
We’re not talking about the Mexican cuisine we all know and love, enchiladas, tacos and fajitas – just consider how your grocery list would look without the following items;
Chocolate – Although chocolate was learned about by Cortes from the Aztecs it was the Mayans who first cultivated the toasted fermented seeds of the cacao tree some 3,000 years ago. The Mayans traded it across and cacao seeds were an early form of money. Both civilizations drank the chocolate, it was spicy and bitter as sugar was not discovered. Chocolate was much more than a drink to the Mayans, it was a bridge between heaven and earth, they believed chocolate came from the Gods. Living in mexico today you can find chocolate flavored with pepper or paprika in the Yucatan state.
Chiles – Being cultivated in the Americas 7,500 years ago, southern Mexico’s capsicum annum is one of the species that is found in nearly every fiery dish in the world.
Tomatoes – Cortes first encountered a tomato from an Aztec market around 1520, however the modern day tomato came from the Yucatan state of Mexico. It was probably originally yellow in color and smaller, more like a cherry tomato today. As they are closely related to deadly nightshade, they were once thought of as being poisonous, today they are used around the world, in nearly every cuisine.
Vanilla (vainilla) – Believed to be first cultivated in the state of Veracruz by the Totonaca, by the 1500s this flavor had become popular for the chocolate drink of the Mayans. This was traded with the Aztecs who would have introduced it to Cortes. Later explorers from Spain and Portugal introduced it to Africa and Asia in the 16th century. Vanilla planifolia orchids grow wild in the jungles of southern Mexico; this is the only place in the world it grows wild and there are native stingless bees that pollinate the flower and produce Mayan honey. Tahitian vanilla that requires hand pollination also comes from Mexican stock.
Black Beans (frijoles negros) – It has been proven from modern day architectural digs that the black bean originated in Mexico and Central America more than 7,000 years ago. Living in Mexico in the 21st century you’ll find they are still a favorite in and around the Yucatan, with velvety texture they complement almost any dish at any time. Black beans spread widely throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Southern US; they now are becoming popular in many modern dishes.
Corn/Maize – Mayans first cultivated corn in roughly 2,500 B.C, when they settled in villages and surrounded themselves with cornfields. Corn was the most important food for the Americans, now it is a part of a staple diet globally in modern day life.
Avocado – Mexico is still the largest source of avocados. Originally thought to be an aphrodisiac, the Aztecs called it ahuacatal translating as testicle. Aztecs would even keep their daughters in their homes during harvest season and had to campaign to persuade the public that eating avocados would not equate to sensuality. The avocado later spread to Peru and the Rio Grande before heading towards Europe.
Papaya – The Papaya originated in the tropics of southern Mexico and Central America, it still grows wild in Mexico today. The Spanish took papaya seeds to the Dominican Republic and Panama, then cultivation spread to the other continents. Papayas arrived to Hawaii in the 1800s, this is the only US state to grow them commercially. Living in Mexico you can enjoy them fresh off the tree.
Sweet Potato (camote) – Native from the Yucatan to Venezuela, the sweet potato originated in the tropics. It was the Mayans that cultivated the plant around 5,000 years ago. They then spread throughout South America and the Caribbean by 2,500 B.C. Yams are often mistaken for sweet potato, butare actually another variety native to Africa.
Squash – Mayan people grew many varieties of squash as early as 8,000 B.C. and squash predates the more common foods associated with Mexico, such as beans and corn, by several thousand years. Before the Spanish introduction of beef and pork oils, squash seeds were the main source of dietary fat. Ground and toasted pumpkin seeds still appear on menus today.
Whether retiring or living in Mexico, you’ll be able to enjoy all these wonderful natural products, fresh and at local prices.
Return to Rincon la Vieja: Revisiting an Old Gem
Sep 3rd
Horseback riding at Rincon de la Vieja
It was the salad that first gave it away. I remembered that, six years ago, the salad had consisted of a pile of shredded and vinegary cabbage hidden under my grilled chicken. But this time, someone had painstakingly carved a flower out of a carrot and a cherry tomato and placed them in the center of the plate – as garnish. Something had definitely changed.
I was at Rinconcito Lodge, a pastoral slope of green dotted with cows and crowned with three rustic cabins where my then boyfriend and I visited nearly six years ago. Now engaged, we had agreed two nights before to return to this little-known spot and relive some of the butterflies, both the morpho and the stomach kind. But can you ever really return? Especially in a place where tourism is developing as rapidly as Costa Rica?
Our guide Alfrin
Thankfully, besides the salad, and a brand-new restaurant where it was served, the lodge seemed not to have been altered much. We were still picked up in Liberia by the owner in his Trooper that seemed to run on the white dust blanketing the road out of town. His sly grin and laconic answers still gave him away as a cowboy dabbling in the hotel business. We were again ushered into a cabin of rough-hewn logs that creaked with the night winds. And we delighted in seeing the familiar face, the lines set just a bit deeper, of our old horse guide sitting with a beer in his hand at the new restaurant.
We sat down to eat and discovered that with the new restaurant came a new manager. The manager was polite and made jokes. He spoke excellent English, had lots of ideas for improving and expanding the lodge and had studied tourism. He also tried to book a tour before offering drinks, but we took care of that in no time.
The next morning we were up early, excited that we had booked a horseback trip with the same guide, Alfrin, and that we would visit some new spots as well as some of the ones we remembered. Rincon de la Vieja Park is truly a natural marvel, filled with amazing wildlife (we spotted a coatimundi and a boa constrictor), fantastic horse trails and thrilling views. And of course, there are the mud pots and hot springs. Rincon is very volcanically active, and a great deal of the gas escaping from the vents and pools is sulfur. We joked that our first tour had been a trip from one stinky hole to another.
Rincon’s bubbling mud pots
This time, however, Alfrin led us to a new waterfall that the lodge owner’s son had discovered, complete with swimming hole and the cerulean flashes of morphos catching the sun. We then rode to a hot spring, dyed white and light blue from the minerals and, yes, reeking of eggs. But it was a wonderful, relaxing soak.
At the end of the day we galloped back to the lodge and dismounted, tired but happy. The new restaurant welcomed us with twinkling lights and we couldn’t resist having a beer before heading back to our cabin. As we clinked bottles and watched the setting sun, we realized that the pace of change in Costa Rica is fast and unstoppable. But that, yes, you can return to places of magic.
