Oaxaca Cooking, Restaurant Review
La Toscana gets high marks for ambiance,
service, and its great food.
A cello soloist might accompany your lunch of
Italian favorites or Oaxacan dishes served in an
elegant old building with an enclosed patio. Article
See Reviews By Locals
Oaxacan cuisine can have its exotic side, especially when the restaurant lists
grasshopper on the menu,

This might be a novelty to the visitor (you must try them)  but many locals grew up
dining on them chopped finely and roasted with chiles.  (Tastes like Chicken)

The staples of the fare predate history and one of the most important of them is
corn.   Served at nearly every meal in a pancake-like tortilla, the staple was
actually first  hybridized in the region about five thousand years ago (Corn is an
intentional or serendipitous cross between two grasses that grow wild in the local hills)

The other staples forming the age old recipes are squash, beans, and chilies.
Often these are stone-ground along with seeds and other spices to make a
sauce, called locally Mole.
Onion, an old world plant now plays and important part in the cooking as does
beef, pork and lamb, grazing animals brought by the Spanish.  The chicken is
also crucial to the cuisine but the old staples will still make their appearance at
every meal.
The bean, a new world plant will often appear as a dark brown paste spiced
with chile, and a touch of pork fat.
The round flat ceramic griddle
used to cook tortillas, the comal,
has been found in
archaeological sites nearly 4000
years old.
The comal, pictured at the left in
its modern metal version, has
not changed in 3500 years
except that some cooks prefer
the metal type for durability. .
Purists still prefer the ceramic
comal but they do break often.
Oaxacan villagers and vendors
still cook with the charcoal fire
beneath the Comal, although
some use bottled gas.
The cook at left uses the center
for active cooking and the sides
for keeping the food warm.
The cook will spread a thin
coating of lime (Cal) and water
paste over the surface to prevent
sticking
Vegetables come to Oaxacan markets
fresh and ripe. Each village has a special
market day but many neighborhood
markets operate each day in the villages
and in the city of Oaxaca.
Oaxacan regional cuisine can become
exotic street foods when memelitas,
tlayudas, tacos, and the even more exotic
roasted grasshoppers get a grilling on the
Comal over a charcoal fire at the outdoor
market.
The large round cooking surface(large
frying pan made of ceramic material)
called the comal shows up
archaeologically in 1500 BC and is an
indication that the cuisine of Mexico got
its start when the first tortilla browned
over a comal.  Grinding bowls make
their appearance at around the same
time (Three legged Suchilquitongo
Bowls) and indicate that Oaxaca's
famous Moles(ground sauces) were
developing at the same time as the corn
recipes developed, particularly the corn
paste cooked on the comal called the
tortilla.
Oaxacan Cuisine, A Brief History
Restaurant Reviews
A traditional kitchen of Oaxaca and one still used in many village
homes, the ceramic pot (olla for stews and hot chocolate or coffee,
(Café Olla) the round flat ceramic cooking surface over the coals,
the comal, an all purpose grill and the surface preferred for cooking
tortillas.  Charcoal is the preferred fuel
Oaxaca Cooking
Classes
La Casa Del Tio
Guero Restaurant
Garcia Vigil (street)
#715
Eight blocks north
of the Zocalo  
Tel. 51 69584
$40 USD includes
everything and
lunch
The Comal
Oaxaca Hotels      
Oaxaca Cooking can seem a cultural miracle to visitors.
The Colonial City of Oaxaca lies tucked between two ranges in South Central Mexico's
remote mountain vastness yet it hums with the latest in art, music, and fine cuisine.
Custom Search