Perhaps you have eaten Mexican food in a top quality Mexican restaurant or even in a Mexican home. If you have, maybe some authentic Mexican cookware or utensils were used to make the dishes. Mexicans use a range of different cooking methods, including baking, slow roasting and deep-frying and they have unique pots and pans for these methods. Mexicans like to use plenty of fresh produce in their cuisine, including spices and herbs, so you will find sharp knives and a mortar and pestle in any Mexican kitchen.
Traditional Mexican Cooking Pots
Ollas, also known as Barros, are deep clay cooking pots. They are perfect for simmering beans, stew or soup and clay is a great medium for cookware because it distributes the heat evenly to avoid burnt spots. Barro means clay or mud and olla means pot. These cooking pots are fine to put over a direct flame all day long.
It is important to warm clay before using it or let it heat up as the oven does because it is sensitive to changes in temperature and might crack if exposed to heat suddenly. When you cook in clay, the food takes on a wonderful earthy taste.
A Comal is a big, round griddle, which can be made of cast iron, aluminum, or clay. Modern Comals are usually coated with a non-stick finish. Comals are used to roast chilies and warm tortillas.
A cazuela is used for simmering mole and other sauces. This is a large, round clay dish, which is between five and seven inches deep. The outside might be painted in bright colors and the inside is glazed. A cazuela has handles so you can put it over an open fire.
A tortillero is a Mexican tortilla press. They are made traditionally from wood or, in modern times, cast iron. Some are made from aluminum but these tend not to last long. A tortillero has two round plates and you put a ball of masa between them to make a tortilla.
Popular Mexican Cooking Utensils
You will find a metate y mano in most Mexican kitchens. This concave dish is the size of a platter and made of stone or rock. It will have three short legs and sit on the table or three long legs so you can sit up to it on a chair. There is a big, round stone, which you roll on the surface to mix together or grind the ingredients.
A Mexican mortar and pestle is called a molcajete y tejolote and this is a small clay, wood or stone bowl with a long cylinder made of the same material. The cylinder is rounded on each end and you use it to pulverize the ingredients in the bowl by rolling the cylinder in a circular motion.
Hot chocolate is a popular Mexican drink and a wooden whisk called a molinillo is used to make froth on the top. You spin the molinillo between your hands to do this. Some are plain and others are highly decorated. The molinillo is a small but significant part of the exciting world of Mexican food customs. Even though it is possible to make delicious Mexican recipes without the proper equipment, it is more fun to use it. Mexican pots and tools look great displayed in the kitchen as well.
Traditional Mexican Cooking Pots
Ollas, also known as Barros, are deep clay cooking pots. They are perfect for simmering beans, stew or soup and clay is a great medium for cookware because it distributes the heat evenly to avoid burnt spots. Barro means clay or mud and olla means pot. These cooking pots are fine to put over a direct flame all day long.
It is important to warm clay before using it or let it heat up as the oven does because it is sensitive to changes in temperature and might crack if exposed to heat suddenly. When you cook in clay, the food takes on a wonderful earthy taste.
A Comal is a big, round griddle, which can be made of cast iron, aluminum, or clay. Modern Comals are usually coated with a non-stick finish. Comals are used to roast chilies and warm tortillas.
A cazuela is used for simmering mole and other sauces. This is a large, round clay dish, which is between five and seven inches deep. The outside might be painted in bright colors and the inside is glazed. A cazuela has handles so you can put it over an open fire.
A tortillero is a Mexican tortilla press. They are made traditionally from wood or, in modern times, cast iron. Some are made from aluminum but these tend not to last long. A tortillero has two round plates and you put a ball of masa between them to make a tortilla.
Popular Mexican Cooking Utensils
You will find a metate y mano in most Mexican kitchens. This concave dish is the size of a platter and made of stone or rock. It will have three short legs and sit on the table or three long legs so you can sit up to it on a chair. There is a big, round stone, which you roll on the surface to mix together or grind the ingredients.
A Mexican mortar and pestle is called a molcajete y tejolote and this is a small clay, wood or stone bowl with a long cylinder made of the same material. The cylinder is rounded on each end and you use it to pulverize the ingredients in the bowl by rolling the cylinder in a circular motion.
Hot chocolate is a popular Mexican drink and a wooden whisk called a molinillo is used to make froth on the top. You spin the molinillo between your hands to do this. Some are plain and others are highly decorated. The molinillo is a small but significant part of the exciting world of Mexican food customs. Even though it is possible to make delicious Mexican recipes without the proper equipment, it is more fun to use it. Mexican pots and tools look great displayed in the kitchen as well.
About the Author:
When you think of Mexican food recipes, which ones come to mind? Many people would think of tacos, fajitas and burritos although Mexican salsas, Mexican salads and Mexican soups are all wonderful too. Mexican meals are great to make because they use fresh ingredients, aromatic herbs and spices and they are easy.
Brilliant!!! This time of year cooking equipment is turning into an avalance. I'm certainly going to take your idea and run with it. Thank you.
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