Description of Dish:
Esquites are a delicious and known Mexican dish made from corn mixed with mayonnaise, sour cream, liquid and crumbled cheese, lime juice and some chili powder. This dish is mostly known in Mexico and it's very common for it to be sold on the street by vendors. It has years of history and tradition, one of the tourist's favourite!
Yesterday I was eating a flavorful taste combination. I didn't know corn, cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, chili, and lime juice could create the best Mexican street food snack, esquites. It got me thinking about its creation. How come a simple vegetable like corn create this wonderful dish? What evolution in corn history took place in order for it to happen? Its evident corn has changed and evolved over time; esquites show the evolution of corn from its early history to its modern-day dishes.
The History of ‘Esquites’
The history of esquites forgoes to ancient times, exposing legends along the way. The word esquites, “comes from the Nahuatl word ízquitl, which means toasted corn” (Britannica). Its story goes way back to early times. According to gobiernodemexico.com, the dish esquites was created by Tlazocihuapilli, the only woman who ruled the Xochimilcas (Gobierno de Mexico). The legend says she gave life to dishes such as Necuatolli, Atole with honey, and tamales; all traditional Mexican dishes still seen to this day. Tlazocihuapilli uncovered her love for cooking with her values to give back to the Aztecs. She created esquites as a reward, or treat, for them to enjoy after hard days of working; since esquites are a tasty and nutritious food that can provide a variety of essential nutrients to the body (Insights). To this day, esquites are the most popular Mexican street food snack, they uncover a modern-day dish with a rich cultural history. Esquites are a flavorful and filling snack that is enjoyed throughout Mexico and in many other parts of the world (Science Direct). This explains this dish's growth, from being a local recipe to an international sensation. Esquites are often sold by street vendors being customized to suit each unique and individual taste. As a result, the concept of esquites hasn't changed much over time. What has though, is the corn people use to prepare them.
From Prehistoric to Modern
People might assume corn has stayed the same throughout history, that it's always been yellow kernels stacked on a large cob. The truth is, corn has significantly evolved since prehistoric times, from being a singular row of grains to what we see nowadays. Since the beginning, corn, also known as maize, is a crop that has been cultivated by humans for thousands of years (Science Direct). Its evolution can be traced back to its ‘ancestor’, teosinte, a grass native to Mexico and Central America (University of Utah). In order to achieve modern corn, teosinte, which is a type of perennial grass that has small dark triangular seeds, had to be bred over a long period of time (Merriam Webster). Indigenous people in these areas selectively bred teosinte to produce a crop that was more useful to them. The process of domestication consisted of choosing plants with their desirable traits. These were: larger kernels, easier-to-remove husks, and more abundant yields (Cafe Worldnews). Afterward, they would plant their seeds to produce the next generation of plants. Corn continued to evolve through a combination of nature and/ or human intervention (Eco Farming Daily). In present times, farmers have selected plants with traits that are best suited to their environments and needs. This has caused the development of a wide variety of corn types, each adapted to different conditions.
Modern Corn vs. Prehistoric Corn
Throughout history, the world has discovered over 500 types of corn; each being separated into two main groups, prehistoric and modern (Farm Progress). While they may look somewhat similar, they are more different than what people think. Starting off on their appearance, prehistoric corn was smaller in size and had a variety of colors, such as yellow, red, blue, and purple. Modern corn, on the other hand, is typically larger and has a yellow or white color. The two corn’s nutritional content is very unalike, “prehistoric corn was higher in protein and lower in starch” (USDA gov). It also had more fiber, vitamins, and minerals. On the contrary, modern corn has been selectively bred to have a higher yield. Which is “the amount of corn that can be planted within the area” (Scientific American). This has cost some of its nutritional content. Finally, in ancient times, prehistoric corn was used for a variety of purposes, such as for food, medicine, and rituals. It was also used to make clothes, baskets, and household items. However, “modern corn is mainly used for animal feed, ethanol production, and food”, such as esquites (Farm Progress).
At this moment in time, esquites are the modern-day dish for corn. They are a Mexican dish, rich in history and culture, acquiring their own legend. Esquites are made of cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, chili powder, and most importantly, corn. A vegetable that has been used on Earth for a variety of purposes over thousands of years. Not only for Mexican gastronomy but also for cultural uses. As time passed, corn has evolved to suit each environment's needs, creating hundreds of corn variations. While modern corn may look very different from prehistoric corn, it still stays true to its ancient roots.
Corn has changed so much throughout history, whether it is regarding its religious significance or its different presentations. Corn has a significantly large history, in this article will be exploring the origins of the most commonly used ingredients with corn and when they were introduced and applied to the corn, the article will also be focusing on providing background information regarding corn and the elaboration of essential ingredients to make esquites, the most popular dish that is made up from corn.
Background of the dish:
Throughout times corn has been used for multiple purposes whether it’s religious or cultural, it has always been an important fact, and one of the places where it outstands is in Mexican culture, through the years it has been modernized and its significance has drifted far away from before, it has been modernized into things like esquites, “In Xochimilco, its inhabitants tell the legend of how the esquite was created by Tlazocihualpilli, the only woman who ruled the xochimilcas, to whom dishes such as the necu atolli and the tlapiques are also attributed.”(matadornetwork).
Esquites are essentially made up from different common ingredients and are put together to make a delicious typical dish. “Tlazocihuapilli of Xochimilcas was the woman to develop esquites and a wide variety of other popular dishes.” (amigofood), this dish caused an impactful change in México considering just how cheap and easy it is to assemble, it is a highly known dish nonetheless the story behind it is not really known for example, “The Wixárikas celebrate the corn goddess every year, with dance, food, songs and drinks, in a party they call Xarikixa. They perform a ceremony where they endorse the commitment between the gods and humanity, and to ask that the crops be successful.” (matadornetwork) with this quote we can see some history behind it, we can also see its development through the years and its impactful significance in Mexican culture.
Important ingredients and their elaboration:
Esquites usually tend to be made up of mayonnaise, a variety of spices as well as sauces, cheese, and sour cream, these are the most typical ingredients, now you may wonder what is some of the histories behind these, how they are created and how does it work?. Before understanding the history of this it is essential to understand and know how these ingredients are elaborated, for instance, did you know “Mayonnaise sauce is an emulsion of oil and water. For these two elements to stop repelling each other, an emulsifying agent is needed to attract them and keep them together forever and ever. That is, an intermediary is needed that is friendly with the oil and water molecules alike. This role is played by the egg or, rather, the yolk.” - directoalpaladar
While it may not seem like essential information, when it comes to the elaboration of the exquisite it’s really important to not only know the significance of it but also the science behind it, another example would be “But this is not all that is needed to achieve a stable emulsion or a perfect classic homemade mayonnaise. So that this does not break, the oil must be separated into small droplets so that the emulsifier is able to surround them and, isolating them.”(-directoalpaladar), it is so important to understand the creation of each ingredient in order to understand why it's so common and cheap to create esquites. This shows us just how basic and cheap the ingredients are, considering that its way was more understandable why it's such a commercialized dish and just how easy it can be created.
Ingredients and their origins:
“Mayonnaise is a French invention that arrived in Mexico in the 19th century and, once industrialized, could be enjoyed starting in the 20th century.”(-directoalpaladar). Mayonnaise a key ingredient to the esquites where introduced to México back in 1862, during this times Napoleon Bonaparte had conquered all of México and Spain which is how mayonnaise came to México, little was it known that years later it would be used to create such an important and typical dish. It is important to notice the difference between esquites and elotes, “Esquites is very similar to another popular street food, elotes.
The main difference elote is Mexican corn served on the cob. While esquites is a Mexican side dish created using loose corn
kernels”(-amigofood) after knowing this it is way more understandable why ingredients like mayonnaise are used with esquites, since the corns are loose mayonnaise can be easily mixed onto them and to further understand esquites, “Basically they are prepared with corn kernels, salt, and epazote, but the extra ingredients vary depending on the area of the country where it is prepared”(-directoalpaladar).
Conclusion
In conclusion, esquites have had such a big development through the years and certainly have much history behind them which is why it is so important to know about it. We can also see just how developed corn has been, it has gone from an important ritual and object to a very common Mexican snack. We also need to acknowledge how impressive certain things can have a small effect, for example when the article talks about how mayonnaise was introduced in the 1800’s thanks to Napoleon Bonaparte’s conquest and how it eventually led to a french invention being a key ingredient in very important Mexican dishes. After this article, it is so clear just how important it is to know the historical and cultural background of such a well-known dish.
Have you ever thought of the importance of corn? I bet you have not, but corn has much more history and culture than people think. It's full of traditions and has great importance for many indigenous communities, and it's used all over the world!.Corn has been part of many cultures from thousands of years ago and it continues to be an important part of our culture. This article will teach readers about some of the history of corn and what are some things it's used for, as well as the current use of corn in society.
The history of corn is a truly interesting topic. Corn was primarily domesticated around 10,000 years ago by the people from meso-america (The People of the Corn). Although many indigenous communities use legends and myths to explain the domestication of the corn, according to “corn and its mexican ancient gastronomy”, there were two men and two women who over time taught their descendants how to cultivate it and use it as a culinary ingredient. Corn has a very significant spiritual significance to various communities due to the fact that they use corn to pray to their gods, making it a sacred vegetable for communities (Corn rituals, History, Life and Mexican Culture).
Corn has many uses thanks to its flexibility. Its gastronomy isn't just about people eating corn by itself, some mayonnaise and lemon, although it's delicious that way, (Corn and its Ancient Mexican Gastronomy) corn has many recipes for dishes people eat on a daily basis, such as tortillas, bread, beer, etc. It is also a great complementary for other meals since there are more than 60 types of corn domesticated at the moment (Mexico's Native Corn Varieties Threatened by New NAFTA), Some of this types of corn are more salty and some sweeter, just like the yellow corn, which has a sweeter taste so it's also very common and used for desserts (Insanely Good Recipes).
To this day, corn continues to be as known as it was in the past. It’s still being consumed by great parts of the United States and the whole world! It's one of the most traditional foods for Mexican culture since Mexicans continue to use it as one of their main ingredients. Corn is also used for special festivities as decoration (Of Maize and Men). Mexico imported around 13.8 million metric tons of U.S. corn in one year (The People of the Corn), thanks to the popularity of the grain it has also helped employ many people from several parts of the world thanks to the great undertaking (Corn and its Mexican Ancient Gastronomy).
In conclusion, corn is full of history and cultural traditions, their history is truly interesting mostly because of the legends indigenous communities have, to explain the domestication of the corn. This vegetable is still one of the people's favorites thanks to its delicious taste and flexibility with dishes and recipes, everyone has tried corn at least once in their life! Though it's mostly common in places like Mexico and the United States. Next time you are trying this delicious ingredient, dont forget its sacred value and all about the many communities that use it to cherish gods.
INGREDIENTS:
Corn
Butter
Mayonnaise
Sour Cream
Graded white cheese
Yellow liquid cheese
Tajin
Lime juice
PROCEDURE:
Boil six cups of water with a pinch of salt.
Add fresh corn kernels once the water has reached the temperature of 170º degrees.
Let the kernels cook for 10-12 mins.
Once cooked, drain all the water from the corn.
Before the kernels cool down, add half a tablespoon of butter.
Let the corn cool down for 20 minutes.
Add the desired corn to a cup or bowl and add 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of sour cream and two tablespoons of liquid yellow cheese.
Mix until well integrated.
Add the lime juice, tajin, and graded cheese depending on your own preference.
Mix, and enjoy!
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AUTHORS NAME: Nina Martinez, Loreta De La Peña, Tania Cruz