What Are The Most Commonly Used Mexican Spices?

When people think of traditional Mexican food, they think of spice; hot peppers and cumin are usually the first flavors, which come to mind in connection with the cuisine of Mexico. Some of the spices which are now an important part of Mexican cooking are in fact relatively recent arrivals, having come to the new world with the Spanish conquistadores and other colonists. Others have been a part of Mexico’s culinary tradition for millennia, long before any Europeans set foot in the Americas.

Chilies are the Mexican spices with the longest history, having been used by the Aztecs for many centuries before the arrival of Europeans. Like tomatoes and potatoes, peppers are new world natives and remain one of the most important ingredients in Mexican recipes just as they always have been.

Jalapenos are the most familiar of these peppers to people in the US. They are commonly used in salsas and pickled for use as a condiment as well as diced for use fresh. The Serrano pepper, a smaller, slightly hotter pepper is also seen relatively often in the US. Many Mexican food recipe are nearly unthinkable without these fiery vegetables. Other peppers such as pasillas and anchos are commonly dried and then ground; others are smoked, such as chipotle peppers (which are actually smoked jalapenos).

Mexican herbs, which are native to the new world such as culantro, epazote, and Mexican oregano, are essential ingredients in a great many Mexican recipes. Culantro is a commonly used herb in both Mexican and Caribbean cuisines, though it is not seen often in the US and is largely unavailable except from Mexican groceries. However, the flavor of culantro is similar enough (though not identical) to cilantro that you may substitute cilantro for culantro in Mexican recipes if you are unable to obtain culantro.

Despite its name, Mexican oregano is not even a relative of the old world herb of the same name. While their flavors are similar enough that Greek oregano can be substituted if needed, this herb is actually related to lemon verbena, not oregano. Its flavor is slightly stronger than that of the oregano used in Greek and Italian cooking and can be found dried in Mexican groceries and specialty spice markets.

Epazote, on the other hand, is an herb for which there is no real substitute. This herb is used to flavor beans in traditional Mexican recipes. While its flavor is something like that of tarragon, it is not recommended to substitute this or any other herb in a Mexican recipe, which calls for epazote. It has a flavor which is all its own.

Cumin is one of the spices, which we think of the most in connection to Mexican food. This spice is also a staple of Turkish and other Mediterranean cuisines; introduced to Mexico by the Spanish (who themselves were introduced to it by Arabs during the Moorish period in Spain), this ingredient was adopted by Mexican cooks with enthusiasm. This newcomer quickly became an important ingredient in a great many Mexican dishes.

You might say that Mexican food is among the world’s first fusion cuisines, with its blending of old world and new world flavors. Using ingredients from both Europe and the Americas, Mexican cooks created something unique, new and distinctively Mexican. It is a cuisine which has a flavor all its own and thanks in part to Mexican spices, it has become popular in nearly every part of the world.

There are a few secrets about making the perfect Mexican rice recipe including leaving the lid where it is and not opening the pan until the dish is ready! Mexican rice takes a bit of practice to get just right but this delicious dish is well worth making and homemade Mexican rice is gorgeous.