This exciting volume brings to life the food culture of Mexico, detailing the development of the cuisine and providing practical information about ingredients and cooking techniques so that readers can replicate some of Mexico's most important traditional dishes.

Mexican food has become one of the most popular cuisines in the United States, with noted dishes ranging from tacos and enchiladas to tamales and guacamole. What are the origins of Mexican food culture as we know it today?

Written with an educated—not specialized—audience in mind, the book includes descriptions of traditional and high cuisine, regional and national foods, everyday dishes and those prepared and served on holidays and special occasions. It also discusses ancestral eating habits and the way the food has been transformed under the pressures of globalization.

Specific chapters examine food history, important ingredients, typical appetizers, main meals, desserts, street foods and snacks, dining out, and food issues and dietary concerns. Recipes accompany every chapter. Rounding out the work are a chronology of food history, a glossary, sidebars, and a bibliography. This volume is ideal for any students learning about Mexican food and culture, as well as general readers who would like to learn more about international cuisines.

• Offers a comprehensive overview of the development of Mexican cuisine from its origins to today
• Helps readers to understand the diversity and richness of a cuisine that can trace its roots to ancestral traditions and ingredients, showing how it has evolved and continues to transform itself through contact with other cultures
• Provides practical information about Mexican cuisine, ingredients, and techniques, as well as easy-to-follow recipes that can help most people to replicate some of the traditional dishes of this cuisine
• Provides an at-a-glance look at food history in Mexico in a Chronology
• Illuminates the text through sidebars providing anecdotal "fun facts" about food in Mexican culture