Mexico has always been a country that has always stood out for its rich and varied gastronomy. And just as it is the owner of dishes that have scaled the horizons and conquered other regions of the world, its desserts are not far behind and that is exactly what we will talk about today in Traveling By, we will talk about Mexican desserts.
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Mexican desserts
Plantain flamed with tequila, rice pudding, churros, boñuelos, esquites and pumpkin candy are some of the representative desserts of Mexico that you have to know and of course enjoy every time you visit the country. Let’s get to know the rest.
Esquites
Have you ever seen a long line of people waiting for their turn to buy something at a street stall? These street stalls are mainly tricycles and they are the heroes without a cape that offer us one of the best Mexican desserts that can be compared to the closest thing to love and we are talking about the esquites.
Esquites are corn kernels cooked in hot water, usually served in a plastic cup and accompanied with mayonnaise, chili, lemon and cheese. It is one of the most consumed desserts in the whole country and believe me, the best esquites are from street stands.
Marquesitas
Another Mexican dessert that is worth finding in the streets of every corner of the country are the marquesitas. It is particularly known that marquesitas come from the gastronomy of Yucatan, and they are like “crepes”, but thinner and rolled up as if they were a taco.
Something that called much attention to the marquesitas, is its ease of adaptation with any ingredient and that is why, you can enjoy it with cheese ball, with nutella, jam, cream, ice cream and for the more daring there is even marquesitas de pastor.
Rice pudding
Rice pudding has always been one of the simplest desserts in Mexican cuisine, since only rice and milk are needed to prepare it. But something very curious about this dessert is that it is not originally from Mexico.
However, the great acceptance by the country is something that can not be denied and has even been considered part of one of the best gourmet desserts in Mexico, as it has a facility to enhance the flavor and be accompanied by similarity of fruits like strawberries and dipped in chocolate. Quite a flavor odyssey.
Fried plantain
Another dish that is worthy of being found in fairs, plazas, shopping malls and in the haute cuisine of restaurants, is the fried plantain. We don’t use the traditional plantains that we know, we use another type of plantain that is known as “maduro” (ripe) and is perfect for frying in oil.
Thanks to its “sweet” flavor when fried in oil, it is a delicacy that can accompany any stew you are preparing. It is worth mentioning that in gourmet cuisine there is a variant of it, but it is known as flamed plantain and it is a recipe originally from the United States.
Churros
Another representative dessert of Mexico and really of all Latin America is churros. First of all it is necessary to know that this dessert has one of the pre-Hispanic ingredients of the ancestral cultures: Corn.
They are very easy to prepare and each country has its “own” version of churros, for example in Peru the inside is filled with cheese and cream before frying.
Corn bread
Going back to corn, it is not necessarily enjoyed in an esquite. It is very common to find a delicious corn bread in the bakeries of the magical towns, and if you have never tried it, you don’t know what you are missing.
Buñuelos
Another sweet flavor that Yucatán’s cuisine gives us is buñuelos, which are practically dough balls that have a sweet flavor with cinnamon and honey added to them. Something totally simple, but very tasty.
Pumpkin Candy
During the season of the Saints Innocents it is normal to see several seasonal dishes; among these dishes we find one that can never be missing in the altars and it is the pumpkin candy.
Again, it is a seasonal Mexican dessert, so it is very unlikely that you can find it outside the dates of the celebration of All Saints’ Day.
Marzipan
Marzipan is a sweet made with peeled almonds, sugar and rose water. It is very popular throughout Mexico, so much so that you can find it in corner stores, artisan markets and super markets.
Something very curious about this candy is that only the chosen ones can open it without breaking it, because it is very “delicate” and it is a challenge to remove the wrapper without damaging it.
Tamarind candies
Generally in artisan stores you can find many tamarind candies in different shapes, presentations and flavors. It is necessary to remember that Mexico has very rich lands for the cultivation of different tropical fruits and it is not strange to find a great variety of tamarind production.
Conclusion
These are just some of the most common Mexican desserts that we can find throughout the republic, however there are many more and little by little we will be adding them here, so you can get to know them. See you next time.
