Every cuisine has a foundation of ingredients. In Mexico, it was squash, corn, and beans. Each region then added their specialties to this foundation. In the Yucatan Peninsula, seafood was the primary addition along with fruit-based sauces. In northern Mexico, the meat was almost always grilled over an open charcoal fire. Oaxaca is thought to be the place corn was first domesticated. Even today, there are many varieties of corn grown in this area that can be found nowhere else. Chiles are another staple in this area. They make seven different varieties of mole sauce in Oaxaca.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization just added 46 new items to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Things, they said, that are cultural treasures worth preserving. Among them was Spanish flamenco, traditional gastronomic meal of the French and traditional Mexican cuisine.
Many years ago, when I first had cocktails with new friends here in Mexico, I was somewhat surprised when the waiter brought lime wedges with the peanuts, and even more surprised when one of the group squeezed liberally, dousing the peanuts, skin and all, with the aromatic juice. He didn't ask whether anybody didn't want lime, because apparently everyone did.
