Mexico

Equipment You Will Probably Want To Buy For Mexican Cooking

In order to cook authentic Mexican foods you will need some special tools. While it is possible to do Mexican cooking without these tools, true Mexican flavor depends on some of these tools that allow the food to develop the traditional flavors.

One such tool is the Cazuelas. This is a small bowl shaped dish that is about five to seven inches deep that is used for cooking sauces. Clay is very even heating and so there are no burnt spots in the sauces that you make in this dish. Mole is one sauce that is often cooked in this dish. The dish sometimes has some handles on either side and can be brightly painted on the outside and glazed on the inside.

The Olla or Barro are also Mexican clay pots. These pots are very large and may be used for simmering beans, soups or stews. These pots offer even heating and can be heated all day long over an open flame. Remember that these pots are fragile and that quick changes in temperature can cause them to break.

The griddle or Comal can be made of cast iron, aluminum or even clay. The griddle is round and can be used to warm tortillas or for roasting vegetables including chiles. There are several sizes of Comals available, some up to two feet in diameter.

A Metate y Mano is a manual grinder which is carved from lava rock or stone. It looks much like a large mortar and pestle. It is used in Mexico for grinding corn to make tortillas. Water is then added to the ground corn to make the paste to make the tortillas.

Mexico’s true mortar and pestle is called the Molcajete y Tejolote. It can be made out of clay, wood or stone. A cylinder of the same material that has been rounded on each end is used to crush the spaces or chilis to prepare them for cooking.

A Molinillo is a wooden stirrer which is used for frothing hot chocolate. To use this tool, hold the handle between your hands and move the hands back and forth to spin the tool rapidly.

A Tortillero or tortilla press can be made of wood, cast iron, plastic resin or aluminum. The aluminum presses break rather easily, so choose one of the other presses fro best result and to save money. Mesa is rolled into a ball and the ball is pressed flat into the shape of a tortilla. The tortilla is baked on a griddle before eating.

As you can imagine, cooking in the traditional Mexican way can take some time. Fortunately, there are many shortcuts that you can take, and many people make very tasting Mexican food using utensils that are already in their kitchen.

One example of these short cuts is finding a good local Mexican Bakery and buying freshly made tortillas. This will save you the steps of grinding corn, pressing tortillas and cooking them on a griddle. You can still have very tasty authentic Mexican food.

At Yellow Rose Peace Bus you can find lots more helpful info on cooking.

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