Vocabulary

Question 1

Achiote

Answer 1

A shrub or small tree known for the seeds from it’s fruit, “Annato Seeds”, used in achiote paste, typically used to color and marinade meats.

Question 2

Adobado

Answer 2

Immersion of raw food in a stock/sauce usually including paprika, oregano, salt, garlic, and vinegar. Preserves and enhances the flavor of the original raw food.

Question 3

Aguamiel

Answer 3

Maguery cactus sap.

Question 4

Al Carbon

Answer 4

Barbecued over wood or charcoal. (i.e., Pollo Al Carbon)

Question 5

Ancho Chile

Answer 5

Aged, dried Poblano peppers.

Question 6

Atole

Answer 6

Hot, masa based corn beverage. Usually Masa, piloncillo, cinnamon, vanilla. Often served with chocolate, which is called “Champurrado”.

Question 7

Barbacoa

Answer 7

A style of cooking, the original “barbecue”. Can be slow cooked over fire, or buried and steamed under manguey leaves. Can refer to any meat that’s steamed until tender.

Question 8

Barley

Answer 8

Cereal Grain. Mainly used for adding malt. Present in most beer.

Question 9

Bolillo

Answer 9

Crusty rolls used for tortas. A variant of a baguette.

Question 10

Telera

Answer 10

A flat bread, similar to a boillio, but flatter and bigger.

Question 11

Bolsa

Answer 11

Bag.

Question 12

Carnitas

Answer 12

Literally means “little meats”, this style originated in Michoacán. Pork is braised or simmered in oil or lard for several hours until tender and juicy.

Typically served with cilantro, onion, salsa, guacamole, refried beans and tortillas.

Question 13

Ceviche

Answer 13

A style of cooking raw fish without heat– instead acid (usually citrus, lime or lemon) is added to the fish which “cooks” it.

Question 14

Chicharrones

Answer 14

Technically this refers to a cooking technique of frying something very thing to make it puffy and crispy.

Colloquially, it refers to pork skin prepared in this style.

Question 15

Chile Torreado

Answer 15

A chile rubbed between your hands (like a tornado, hence the name) to loosen the seeds and the veins and increase the heat of the chile. Usually served alongside a meal, and you’re meant to alternate bites between the food and the chile.

Question 16

Chorizo

Answer 16

A type of pork sausage made since Roman times. While exact styles vary worldwide, Mexican Chorizo is usually flavored with native chili peppers and encased in a natural intestine casing. They can be fresh, in which case they must be cooked before eating, or fermented/cured/smoked to be a dry sausage, which can be sliced and eaten or added to other dishes.

Question 17

Churro

Answer 17

a fried dough (choux) pastry, often incorporating cinnamon, chocolate, and other spices. Sometimes served knotted, sometimes long and thick, and often dipped in hot chocolate or café con leche.

Question 18

Cilantro

Answer 18

The bright green leaves and stem of the coriander plant. Has a soapy, citrusy taste. Often used alongside hot/spicy foods.

Question 19

Coctel

Answer 19

Spanish for cocktail, usually refers to poached or marinated seafood in a tomato based cocktail sauce.

Question 20

Coriander

Answer 20

Spice made from the seed of the coriander plant. Similar flavor to lemon, sage, caraway. Not similar in flavor to Cilantro, despite the shared parent.

Question 21

Cotija Cheese

Answer 21

A hard cow’s milk cheese that originated in Mexico. Comes as “Cotija de Montaña/ Grain Cheese” which is dry, firm, and salty. “Tajo” cheese is moister and fattier, not dissimilar to parmesan or feta.

Question 22

Doritos (AKA Duros)

Answer 22

Popular Mexican snack food made of puffed wheat, flavored with chili and lime. Not available in Cool Ranch or Nacho Cheesier.

Question 23

Fresno Chiles

Answer 23

Similar to the jalapeno, but red, thinner, hotter, and more delicious.

Question 24

Guajolota

Answer 24

A tamal inside a bolillo. The traditional “tamal torta” of Mexico City.

Question 25

Habanero Chile

Answer 25

Small, lanterned shaped chili that can be green, yellow, or orange. Usually used in sauces/salsas

Question 26

Hoja Santa

Answer 26

An aromatic herb with a heart shaped leaf. Literally translated as “sacred leaf”, also called “yerba santa”.

Question 27

Manteca

Answer 27

A lard used in cooking and baking.

Question 28

Milanesa

Answer 28

A preparation where the raw food (usually veal or chicken, but sometimes beef, pork, eggplant and even soy) is dipped in egg, seasoned, and dredged in breadcrumbs or flour and then pan fried in oil.

Question 29

Nopal

Answer 29

Edible prickly pear cactus.

Question 30

Piloncillo

Answer 30

Pressed, unrefined brown sugar.

Question 31

Pico de Gallo

Answer 31

Minced or processed salsa.

Question 32

Pickling

Answer 32

the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine (a saltwater solution) or an acid solution (often vinegar).

Question 33

Quesillo

Answer 33

A very popular type of string cheese sold in balls of various sizes. Also known as “Queso Oaxaca”

Question 34

Queso Fresco

Answer 34

A creamy, soft, mild, unaged white cheese.

Question 35

Rajas

Answer 35

Fried poblano pepper slices.

Question 36

Serrano

Answer 36

Peppers. Hot, but not too hot. Can be red or green.

Question 37

Sofrito

Answer 37

This sauce is the cornerstone of many latino dishes. It’s made by sauteeing anato seeds in rendered porkfat, then removing the seeds and adding onions, garlic, pork, peppers, and other herbs to taste. The sauce is typically then put aside and used as needed in various recipes.

Question 38

Sous-Vide

Answer 38

French term, meaning “under vacuum”. Food is sealed in an airless bag and then cooked in a hot water bath for a specific time.

Question 39

Tamales

Answer 39

Any kind of filling, with masa (tortilla dough) and lard wrapped around it, then wrapped in a corn husk and steamed.

Question 40

Tomatillo

Answer 40

Like a small tomato with a husk. Used in green sauces.

Question 41

Masa

Answer 41

Spanish for dough. Often in the Americas, and definitely in our restaurant, it’s used as shorthand for “masa de maíz”, or corn dough.

Masa de maiz is made from Hominy, which is Corn that has undergone Nixtamalization. [Hominy and Nixtamalization are separate cards]

It can come in a powdered form, called masa de harina, or Maseca (the name of a leading commercial brand).

Question 42

Nixtamalization

Answer 42

A preparation process for corn or other grains, you soak or cook the grain in an alkaline solution (usually lime-water), and then hull the grain.

This allows the grain to be more easily ground, it also increases it’s nutritional value, flavor, and aroma. It does this by breaking down the cell walls of the grain.

This allows the corn kernels to be removed, creating Hominy, which is pulverized into Masa de maiz, which is cooked into tortillas.

Question 43

Hominy

Answer 43

Corn kernals which have been bloated, broken down, and detached from the husk by Nixtamalization.

Question 44

Masienda

Answer 44

Masienda supplies our masa, which we cook into tortillas on site.

Masienda is known for working hand in hand with small Mexican farms to create a masa the promotes fair trade and non-GMO produce while also highlighting the best and most natural flavors.