| The traditional food of Yucatan is actually a mixture of the
Hispanic culture with the Maya. The exquisite flavor of Yucatecan
cuisine depends precisely on the combination of original recipes and
ingredients, and is easily recognizable throughout Mexico for the
predominance of the strong seasonings used.
Maize, or corn is an essential component of Yucatecan dishes, and is
consumed in abundance. Some typical dishes such as lime soup,
papadzul and Motul-style eggs all use fried tortilla in their
preparation; other dishes such as the panucho or dzotolbichay are
prepared with masa, or the tortilla dough. Turkey is also used
widely in Yucatecan cuisine, and is the basic ingredient of a wide
variety of succulent traditional dishes.
Playa del Carmen has an infinite number of restaurants where one can
enjoy all kinds of food, from the most elemental and economic to the
most sophisticated and elegant, as well as gourmet restaurants
offering international cuisine.
The cooking delights of the traditional Yucatan cuisine are made of
an exquisite mixture of ingredients used by ancient Mayas, with
flavors brought by the Spaniards during the Colony, and later, with
contributions of the Caribbean and the Middle East. For a time, the
Yucatan Peninsula was considered to be difficult to reach, because
the mountainous terrain and the few roads that existed isolated it
from the rest of Mexico, but having ports and cultural and
commercial dealings with Europe - especially with France-, New
Orleans and Cuba, the Yucatan people were naturally influenced by
the many aspects of these countries and cities, thus forming the
base of one of the most recognized gastronomies of Mexico and the
world.
And it’s no wonder, since Yucatan food has international fame due to
the unique combination of condiments and spices such as pumpkin
seed, oregano, purple onion, sour orange, sweet chili pepper, xcatic
pepper, habanero, max chili pepper and cilantro, which, when mixed,
give that very special taste to the cuisine of this region, once
known as the “Land of the pheasant and the deer”, because said
species were used as main ingredients to the delicacies here
prepared; nowadays these have been replaced by pork and turkey meat,
adding diverse condiments, creating the delicious regional meals we
today know and enjoy, such as cochinita pibil, one of the most
traditional gastronomical specialties, and one of the best known in
the rest of the country.
Also there are the delicious salbutes and panuchos, made with hand
made corn tortillas, fried and covered in black beans, shredded
turkey or chicken meat, lettuce, purple onion, and xnipec sauce; the
papadzules, made with tortillas stuffed with hard boiled egg,
pumpkin seed sauce, bathed in tomato and habanero sauce; lime soup,
much alike chicken broth but with a subtle taste of lime; stuffed
cheese, as well as the traditional poc-chuc and tikinxic fish,
marinated in achiote, then enveloped in banana leaves and baked, to
be then enjoyed with a tasty tomato and habanero sauce.
Habanero chili, considered to be among of the hottest in the world,
is widely used in all its forms to give a very unique taste to food.
The very hot xnipec sauce is made with it, it includes lime juice,
onion, and roasted then ground habaneros.
Other regional traditional meals, although maybe not as widely known
due to being more homemade, are: three meats stew, chocolomo, pibil
chicken, bean with pork, motuleño eggs, lentil stew, strained
tamales, and vaporcitos.
To drink, there is the delicious rice horchata, lime and chaya
shake, lime water, drinks made of sour orange, soursop and pitahaya,
as well as the refreshing trolebuses, sorbets and granizados (served
on crushed ice) that we can enjoy in the shade of a leafy tree at
Paseo Montejo. Another traditional drink is the exquisite xtabentun,
better known as “liquor of the Gods”, made with honey and anise.
Desserts, also an example of the region’s great gastronomical
quality, give a perfect finishing touch to a special meal or dinner.
Most are made with regional fruit, such as the papaya, nance fruit
or ciricote sweets, and there is the tasty coconut creams or cocadas,
and the “poor gentleman”, always delighting the most demanding
tastes. |
