A Guide to Mexican Cooking Equipment and Utensils
If you have enjoyed a Mexican meal with a Mexican family or at a good quality restaurant, there is a strong chance that traditional Mexican cooking pots and pan were used to make the meal. Mexicans use deep-frying, slow roasting and baking amongst other cooking methods and they have unique pots and pans for these. A lot of Mexican food is made with fresh produce such as vegetables, spices and herbs and you will find a mortar and pestle in any Mexican home, as well as a selection of sharp vegetable knives.
Some Common Mexican Cooking Pots
Ollas or Barros are big, deep clay cooking pots, which are great for simmering soup, stew or beans. Barro means mud or clay and olla means pot. Clay is a good medium because it heats evenly and is fine to sit over a direct flame all day. The even heating means you can avoid burnt spots in whatever you are cooking.
It is important to warm clay before using it or let it heat up as the oven does because it is sensitive to changes in temperature and might crack if exposed to heat suddenly. When you cook in clay, the food takes on a wonderful earthy taste.
Mexicans use Comals in cooking and a Comal is a large, round griddle made from aluminum, clay, or cast iron. These days, Comals usually have a non-stick finish. These are used to warm tortillas and roast chilies.
A cazuela is a big clay dish for simmering sauces like mole. A cazuela is about six inches deep and round like a bowl. These Mexican pottery dishes usually have handles so you can place it over an open fire without burning yourself and the outside might be brightly painted. The inside of a cazuela is glazed.
A tortillero is a Mexican tortilla press. They are made traditionally from wood or, in modern times, cast iron. Some are made from aluminum but these tend not to last long. A tortillero has two round plates and you put a ball of masa between them to make a tortilla.
Handy Mexican Cooking Utensils
A metate y mano is found in most Mexican kitchens and this is a platter sized, concave dish made from stone. It sits on three short legs on the table or three long legs so you can pull a chair up to it. There is a large, round stone, which you roll on the surface to grind or mix your ingredients.
A molcajete y tejolote is a Mexican mortar and pestle. This little wood, stone or clay bowl has a matching cylindrical tube with rounded ends, which is used to pulverize your ingredients when you roll it around in a circular motion.
The Mexicans love hot chocolate and they use a wooden whisk called a molinillo to make the top frothy. The molinillo is spun between the hands and some are plain but others are highly decorated. The molinillo is a small yet fascinating part of Mexican food culture. You can make Mexican food without having the equipment but using it can be fun and it looks good displayed in the kitchen.
