Influence of geography and climate on Mexican food habits?

Question

I am having some trouble finding information on this topic. If anyone has sources or personal knowledge they can share, it would be greatly appreciated.

Here's what I have:

Mountain ranges and high tablelands prevented populations from combining until recent technological advances to transportation made this possible .As a result of this isolation, entire regions developed their own styles of cuisines.

The north of Mexico is known for its beef production and meat dishes while Southeastern Mexico, its spicy vegetable and chicken-based dishes, Seafood is commonly prepared in the states that border the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico

Most Mexican is spicy and flavorful, a reflection of the hot climate of the country.

Answer 1

Before the era of refrigeration, food spoilage was a very big problem. The preference for spicy food evolved because spices acted as both a preservative and failing that, helped cover up the taste of meat gone bad. That is why spicy foods are common in all tropical areas of the world. Spices also help make the less desirable cuts of meat taste better, by chemically breaking down the muscle tissue and gristle in the meat and thereby tenderizing it.

Answer 2

Geography And Climate Of Mexico

Answer 3

Good take on Mexican food, However I would argue with the broad statement that most Mexican food is spicy...reflection of the hot climate of the country. Much of the country is green with vegetation and wet from frequent rainfall and often cold.. The spiciness comes from the added condiments, Experienced Mexican cooks like to have guests add their own "hot".

Answer 4

Climate: As with any place in the world, the climate dictates what may or may not be grown locally (don't try growing rice or bananas in an area prone to frost, or potatoes in the tropics for example) Geography: 1. Physical Again, what can be grown depends on the local terrain and soil types, rainfall, amount of sunlight etc (verging back into climate but these thngs do overlap - even heavy rain on limestone with a low water table is lost very quickly whereas a little rain in an area with a water table just below the ground's surface can make the land productive) 2. Political Geography If a country has good links with other countries there can be reliable regular and plentiful trade in food stuffs, thus making items that cannot be grown locally readily available at affordable prices. Political differences can hamper trade. 3. Cartography. Ok, so the world is pretty well mapped now but in the days of Cook and Columbus, opening up new routes meant gaining access to new areas with new foods thus becoming available - eg, tea from China, coffee fom S. America, Bananas into Europe from Africa , the spice trade and so on. Having a location with easy access to trade routes is also a factor here. Knowing where things come from helps but if you are stuck in a place without trade connctions you will be limited to eating what grows locally. So, for Italy: Local crops include wheat (pasta, bread, pizza, cakes tc), tomatoes (all sorts of sauces and salads), olives (as fruits and olive oil) grapes (as fruit, for wines etc.) salad stuff, and quite a lot of other produce including citrus fruits. All these are very visible in Italian cooking. Imported items since not long after Marco Polo include the spices that help make Italan food so wel known and liked. Italy enjoys a central posiion in the Mediteraneum (sp?) Sea with easy access to the rest of Europe to the north and to N. Africa by ship close by to the south. Italy is considered to be at the end of the Silk (& spice) route from Asia, a route said to have been discovered by Marco Polo, but probably oder than that. In comparrison, Lapland is snowed in most of the year and cannot grow crops. This means very little wealth generation from trading or agriculture to use to buy imports and limited contact with the rest of the world for trade anyway (historically), thus the local diet is high in just a few items such as reindeer and seal meat, fish etc. Compare that with the vast range of food that is common place in Italy. Please excuse poor typing - faulty keyboard

Answer 5

Go to the library and check both Rick Bayless and Diane Kennedy's books. They not only have recipes but will also tell you a little about the culinary history of some of the foods. Very interesting reading.

If you have enough time, I will be happy to help you research it a bit and will send you what sources I find.

I am not sure if this is a homework assignment or what but if you will e-mail me, I will gladly help look for information for you. Aside from having an extensive collection of books on food and cooking, I am a pretty good internet researcher.

If you are in a big time crunch, I probably won't be able to provide as much information but I can provide some.

Answer 6

It had nothing to do with the mountain range or any thing like that. What it is is that certain things grew in certain areas and certain areas had animals that were killed for food. Different foods were developed from what was available at the time.
As for the spicy flavors that was due to the taste buds of the Mexican people. As long as I have been here on this earth I have yet to meet in person a Mexican who does not like Chile! Oh sorry, Salsa...

Answer 7

Hot climates very often use spiciness in their foods. I think spicy hot leaves one cooler in hot climates. To some degree, anyway.