How do Spanish and Mexican food culture differ?

4 Comments

1. clontarf1002 says:

   June 22, 2010 at 2:01 pm

   Spanish food has had more impact on Mexico than Mexico has had on Spanish food.
   The Spaniards eat lots of seafood and lots of red meat and lots of cured meats and sausages. The same cured meats and sausages that are popular in Spain are just as popular in Mexico: chorizo/longaniza, blood sausages, cecina, chistorra, ham, etc. Also Mexicans love seafood, red meats and chicken just as much as the Spanish.

   Spanish food is about subtle flavoring with herbs and spices. Mexican food is about cooking something bland and smothering it with a mole; tomato/chile sauce; or lime,salt and powdered chile.

   While the Spanish style meats and paella are very popular in Mexico the corn based products, mole and other hot sauces loved by Mexicans do not go over well in Spain.

   Vegetable dishes are not very popular in either country. Vegetables are seen more as a garnish or something to add color or texture to a stew or soup. Fresh fruits are popular in both places.

   In Mexico I like the tropical fruits, the mole and the tamales. In Spain I like the serrano ham, the olives, the oranges and the wine.
2. Spunk Nutley says:

   June 22, 2010 at 2:01 pm

   There’s a lot of overlap….

   Mexican food is more Aztec inspired – tortillas, sauces, corn meal, moles, and spicy peppers.

   Spanish food is more savory, less spicy and includes more seafood. Paella, chorizo, empanadas, and other small dishes. But there is also overlap between Spanish food and Greek/Italian due to the Mediterranean influence, and this is component is less prevalent in Mexico.
3. Beatriz G says:

   June 22, 2010 at 2:01 pm

   Mexican food is a mix of mexican indigenous and spanish gastronomical traditions, it includes even french and arab influences, we use the autochthonous ingredients like corn in all ways, a great chile variety, some authentic herbs, beans, fish, seafood, fruits (chirimoya, capulín, guayaba, zapote, changunga, garambuyo, etc.) and vegetables like chayote, calabaza (zuchinni and its flowers), tomatoe, green tomatoe, etc., some insects in some places, and from Spains influence we use cheese, milk (almost all our typical desserts are almost the same than there, like natillas, flan, arroz de leche, etc.), pork, beef, chicken, wine, rice, vegetables, coriander and parsley, wheat bread (bolillo, telera ant the typical pan dulce). Mexican influences in the world are vanilla, chocolate, tomatoe for exemple.
   Spáin has a big arab inflence in its food (the use of rice, legumes, olive oil, olives, nuts, citrus, etc.) and of course we have their influence (and here there is a considerable libanese population).
   And the globalized world has french, italian and "american" (their tastes) influences in their gastronomy, i think. Im mexican.
4. Mose Geidl says:

   December 2, 2010 at 6:28 am

   Thank you so much, this was very interesting. I was actually born in Spain (I’m not telling you when though!) but was moved around various parts of europe and lastly settled in Britain when I was 7. I dont remember much of the few years I was in spain, but the smell of spanish food always seems to get me going or something. It’s weird how I dont remember anything except the smells,isn’t it! I even found a internet site dedicated to spanish recipe, which gave me great delight and thought I really should to share with your readers. Anyway, thank you again. I’ll get my husband to add your website to my rss thing…