Insights into Food in Mexico City

Food is fresher in Mexico.

Mexico doesn't have the level of industrialized farming that we do in the United States. In Mexico it is common that when something is ripe, the farmer picks it, it goes to the market the next day, and it's on your plate the day after. In the United States, many fruits and vegetables are picked unripe and then chemically ripened by the use of special gases… which does not produce the most delicious fruits and vegetables.

They also don't have as much industrial farming with their meat and their dairy and their eggs. Things are more likely to be naturally grown, and you're going to taste that in the food. That lack of industrial farming, that sort of old-fashioned way of growing and making food, makes it taste so much better.

However, that also means that there are safety concerns. With industrial farming, we get a lot more cleanliness, a lot more ways to make sure, for example, that manure is sterilized before it's used. You don't have that in Mexico, so your food is more likely to be dirty, or to have germs on it. So you really have to make sure to wash it correctly.

Indigenous traditions define Mexican food

Indigenous culture is very much an important part of Mexican culture today. It is part of what makes Mexican food so delicious. Mexican food is a combination of pre-Columbian techniques and ingredients with post-Columbian, post-Colonial, European, Spanish tastes. Ingredients like corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and avocados, are all pre-Columbian ingredients. And then spices like cinnamon and clove, ingredients like grapes, raisins, wine, olives, and more came from Europe. Cheese and pork came from Europe as well. What really makes Mexican food so delicious is this conversation between cultures that has happened over centuries. In fact, our words for tomato and avocado and chocolate: Those are from Nahuatl, which was an indigenous language of Mexico. So it's fun to think that basically all over the world people are saying a Nahuatl word: chocolate.

Chapulin

You'll see this on menus all over Mexico City. Chapulin: It is a grasshopper! It is one of the symbols of Mexico City. You will see this on menus everywhere. You will see it listed as a topping on guacamole. Eat them. They're great. They're like salty, lemony popcorn. They're very good for you. They won't make you sick, and it's a great cultural experience.

Fresh juices

Another delicious thing about eating in Mexico are the juices. Because produce tends to be ripe when picked, especially fruit, and there's also great weather to grow fruit year round in Mexico, there is an abundance of fruit that can go into fresh juices. In restaurants, you will see a fresh juice of the day. Sometimes they'll also mix in some things like cactus, cucumber, other green vegetables into their juices. It's all delicious. Make sure you try some.

However, be very careful about getting juice from a street food place or a vendor on a sidewalk. Because fruit tends to have bacteria on its skin, and it's not cooked when it's juice, that means that juices at a place in the street are more likely to make you sick. But at a nice restaurant, juices will be just fine.

Agua fresca

Agua fresca is different than a juice. This is sort of a like a sweetened fruit water. They're very good and refreshing on a sunny day. However, the same thing applies as with juices. At a restaurant, they're fine. But at a sidewalk place, you would want to probably avoid it or know exactly where you're buying it from.

Tortillas and bread

Tortillas and bread are so delicious in Mexico. The tortillas, mostly made of corn, are hand-pressed and they are so much better than anything you get in the United States. Also bread: Seriously better than France. The sandwich bread, the bread they serve alongside dishes at restaurants -- it’s just all very good.