Coffee in Mexico and “Café con leche”

Coffee in Mexico and “Café con leche”

In the 1720s, it was a French officer who introduced coffee to the American continent, when he brought a plant with him to the Caribbean island of Martinique.  After a successful harvest in 1726, other plants were brought to Antilles, Jamaica and Cuba.  In the 1790s, the first coffee plants finally made it to the Mexican port of Veracruz in the Golf of Mexico, from the Caribbean islands.  Other coffee plantations were established in later years: in the South, in Chiapas, with coffee plants from Guatemala, and Oaxaca with coffee from Cuba; and near the Pacific coast, in Michoacán and neighbouring states, with beans brought directly from the port of Mokha, in Yemen.  In the early 1800s, towards the end of the Spanish rule in Mexico, the first cafés opened in Mexico City, and coffee was served, “ … estilo de Francia": esto es, endulzado y con leche.” - “… the French way, that is, sweetened and with milk” ... click on title for more

Assorted Savoury Tamales – Tamales de Sabores

Assorted Savoury Tamales  – Tamales de Sabores

In preparation for next week’s Día de la Candelaria, I am sharing some of my recipes for tamales, Central Mexico style, wrapped in corn husks.  In this post, three savoury classics: chicken in green sauce (verdes), chicken in red mole (rojos) and hot pepper strips with cheese (rajas con queso) ... click on title for more

Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce

Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce

In Mexico, the traditional way to cook meatballs in general, is by preparing ground meat with egg and bread, similar to a mix for meatloaf, and then dropping the raw meatballs directly in caldillo, a brothy tomato-based sauce.  From there, they may be finished as a soup with vegetables or, as in this case, with the iconic chipotle peppers, in a thickened caldillo ... click on title for more