3.2.1 Mexican Cuisine

3.2.1 North American Cuisines-Latin American Cuisine-Mexico

Hola!!! Agenda for Today

-Join the Quizizz
-“Annotate” while we wait for our
classmates to arrive!
Tell us what you did this weekend?

Today’s Lesson 3.2.1

●Mexican Cuisine

●Ingredients and famous foods

●Check for Understanding
Questions

●Video of guacamole &
elote corn

Guacamole

Tacos

Nachos

Burrito

Vote for your favorite Mexican food!

​Monday, 11/10/25

Lesson 3.2.1-

Vocabulary: cultural influences, ingredients

Objectives:

• describe the Mayan, Spanish, and French influence on Mexican cuisine.

• identify the impact of terrain, agricultural crops, and livestock on Mexican cuisine.

• identify common ingredients in and describe popular dishes in Mexican cuisine.

WHAT WILL WE
COVER TODAY?

●Location - where is Mexico?

●Factors that affect food
production

●Typical Mexican Ingredients

●History: Cultural Influences

●Mexican Terrain

●Popular Dishes

LATIN AMERICA

●Generally understood to consist
of the entire continent of South
America in addition to Mexico,
Central America, and the islands
of the Caribbean whose
inhabitants speak a Romance
language

●Romance Languages

○Derive from Latin

○Spanish, French,
Portuguese, Italian,
Romanian

WHERE IS MEXICO?

Population
128 Million - Mexico
332 Million - USA

Borders 4 US states
Texas, New Mexico,
Arizona, California

3 CULTURAL INFLUENCES

●Hunters and gatherers,
therefore their most impactful
influence on Mexican Cuisine is
wildlife animals such as deer
and rabbits

●Mayans gathered tropical
fruits, beans, and corn and
incorporated them into dishes

●The Mayan impact is
commonly referred to as
pre-Hispanic cuisine

Mayan Influence

3 CULTURAL INFLUENCES

●Earliest Carbon Dating
archeological digs have found
go back to year 2600 BC - over
4,000 years ago

●Staple crops of the Mayan diet,
including maize, beans,
squashes, and chili peppers

●By 500 BC - cities had
monumental architecture with
temples, hieroglyphics

●Some Major cities fell by year
950 and there was movement
north

●1500s, Portuguese shipwreck in
Caribbean

Mayan Influence

3 CULTURAL INFLUENCES

●The Spanish invasion of Mexico
in 1521 resulted in the
incorporation of Spanish
ingredients and cooking
methods

●The soldiers imported rice,
beef, pork, chicken, garlic, and
onion

●This influence led to the
emergence of quesadillas,
guacamole, pork loins
marinated and prepared in a
spicy sauce, and chilies stuffed
with cheese and beef or pork

Spanish Influence

3 CULTURAL INFLUENCES

●The French introduced baked
goods in Mexican cuisine

●Sweet and savory breads
prepared today demonstrate
the impact of the French on
Mexican cuisine

French Influence

Capital: Mexico City

Mexico City

The Ángel de la Independencia is a monument to independence in Paseo de la Reforma that
was built to honor the 100-year anniversary of Mexico's War of Independence. It additionally
serves as a mausoleum for the most influential fighters and heroes of the war.
Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821 (built in 1910)

El pollo

(chicken)

VOCABULARY

Los huevos
(eggs)

Las tortillas de maiz

(corn tortillas)

La pimienta

(pepper)

El arroz
(rice)

Los frijoles refritos

(refried beans)

El ajo

(garlic)

La cebolla blanca

(white onion)

Categorize

Options (3)

Known for being hunters and gatherers; incorporated deer, rabbit, corn, and beans

Known for importing rice, beef, pork, chicken, garlic, and onion

Known for their baked goods which resulted in sweet and savory breads

Organize these options into the right categories

French

Spanish

Mayan

Draw

Circle anything you have tried

Maiz - corn

Pan - Bread

Caldos -
Broth/soup

Match

Match the following

• El arroz

• 
  El pollo

• 
  El ajo

• 
  Los huevos

Rice

Chicken

Garlic

Eggs

• Rice

• 
  Chicken

• 
  Garlic

  
  

• Eggs

Match

Match the following

• 
  La cebolla blanca

• 
  Las tortillas de maíz

• Los frijoles refritos

• La pimienta

White Onion

Corn Tortillas

Refried Beans

Pepper

• 
  White Onion

• 
  Corn Tortillas

• Refried Beans

• Pepper

Match

Pre-Test- Match the description with the correct name of a popular Mexican dish.

• Thin, circular flatbreads made using unleavened cornmeal and wheat

• Fried or baked pastries filled with sweet or savory filling

• Corn on the cob or street corn

• 
  Corn and flour tortillas filled with a variety of meats, topped with a sauce, and garnished with cilantro, avocado, onion, radishes, jalapenos, cheese, and cream

• 
  Type of custard made with milk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla

Tortilla

Empanada

Elote

Enchilada

Flan

• Tortilla

• Empanada

• 
  Elote

• Enchilada

• Flan

TERRAIN INFLUENCES

Known for beef production

and dishes focused on

meat

Northern Regions

Southeast Regions

Spicy Vegetable and

Chicken Dishes

regions that border the

Pacific Ocean and Gulf of

Mexico commonly use

seafood

Border Water

Categorize

Options (7)

Coffee

Bean

Corn

Wheat

Rice

Tobacco

Cotton

Using your prior and learned knowledge, determine which crops you believe flourish in the different types of terrain in Mexico.

Forest Land

Crop Land

Grazing Land

Forest Land

Beans

Corn

Coffee

Wheat

Cotton

Tobacco

Rice

Crop Land

Grazing Land

MEXICAN TERRAIN

Coffee

Forest Land

Beans
Corn
Wheat

Rice

Crop Land

Tobacco
Cotton

Grazing Land

MEXICAN TERRAIN

5 Essential Ingredients

Avocados have gained
popularity throughout the world,
and one of the most popular
celebration condiments,
guacamole, is made using these
buttery fruits.

Avocados are sliced and added
as a topping, mashed into a dip,
or even used as a spread.

*Fun Fact: used to be called
Alligator Pear
* Technically a Berry

Garlic enhances the flavors
of a dish, is nutritious, and
also adds a punch to many
dishes.

Whole cloves or minced
garlic can be added to
many Mexican rice and
curry dishes.

5 Essential Ingredients

Tomatoes were introduced by
the Spanish.

From salsa to sauces, tomatoes
are diced and added to make a
dish flavorful, fresh, and juicy!

5 Essential Ingredients

Cilantro is one of the most
important herbs in Mexican
cuisine; it adds freshness to any
dish and is used to garnish all
the dishes in this cuisine.

From fresh salads to guacamole
or Mexican rice, a dish is
incomplete without this herb.

5 Essential Ingredients

Lime is found in almost all dishes
and beverages in Mexican
cuisine; it adds freshness and
lightens a dish!

Fresh lime juice is squeezed in
margaritas and salsa dips.

5 Essential Ingredients

Ingredients:

Serrano peppers

Cilantro

Salt

Onion

Avocados

Lime juice

Diced tomato

Made in:

Molcajete

​

Guacamole

COMMON INGREDIENTS

Multiple Select

Which of the following are Mexican chilies?

• chipotle

• jalapeno

• pinto

• cilantro

CHARACTERISTICS

OF MEXICAN CUISINE

TEXTURE

INGREDIENTS

packed with flavors that arise from
the spices, herbs, and chilies used.
Most of the dishes range from mild
spicy to red-hot, fiery dishes! Apart
from spiciness, Mexican food has a
blend of tanginess, freshness, and a

sense of earthiness to most of the

dishes.

FLAVOR

COOKING
METHODS

Mexican food has a mix of crunchy
and soft dishes. Nachos and chips
and some tacos are usually crispy,

while burritos, quesadillas, and
tortillas are soft, corn flatbreads

stuffed with various ingredients and

condiments.

Mexican food uses simple cooking
methods, from grilling to sautéing to
cooking on a stove. These cooking
methods are basic and easy. Native
Mexicans used cast iron to cook tortillas,
which is still done today in many
households.

●Corn

●Beans

●Avocado

●Lime

●Beef

●Chicken

●Pork

●Fresh herbs

POPULAR DISHES

POPULAR DISHES

POPULAR DISHES

POPULAR DISHES

POPULAR DISHES

https://mexicanfoodjournal.co
m/chiles-en-nogada/

Match

Post-Test- Match the description with the correct name of a popular Mexican dish.

• Thin, circular flatbreads made using unleavened cornmeal and wheat

• Fried or baked pastries filled with sweet or savory filling

• Corn on the cob or street corn

• 
  Corn and flour tortillas filled with a variety of meats, topped with a sauce, and garnished with cilantro, avocado, onion, radishes, jalapenos, cheese, and cream

• 
  Type of custard made with milk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla

Tortilla

Empanada

Elote

Enchilada

Flan

• Tortilla

• Empanada

• 
  Elote

• Enchilada

• Flan

Open Ended

Mexican cuisine has three major cultural influences: Mayan, Spanish, and French. Using your learned knowledge about what each contributed to Mexican cuisine, which influence is your favorite and why?

Next Lesson 11/12---3.2.2 Latin American Cuisine Day 2

• describe the Mayan, Spanish, and French influence on Mexican cuisine.

• identify the impact of terrain, agricultural crops, and livestock on Mexican cuisine.

• identify common ingredients in and describe popular dishes in Mexican cuisine.

​Are you able to?