Yucatecan Cuisine: A privilege from the land of Mayab

Travel to Southeast Mexico and enjoy a wide range of culinary possibilities: as an entrée, you can have lime soup, salbutes or panuchos; main dishes include pheasant, venison, wild boar or the delicious cochinita pibil, which, when seasoned with red onions, is an absolute must. Bon appétit!

Written by Laura B. de Caraza

You can travel to Yucatán either before or after the end of the world, as the popular saying goes. The truth is that the sole mention of this state incites us to imagine a place where people’s heritage and cultural manifestations get lost in time and blend with the history of mixed races, lead by Gonzalo Guerrero in the ancient Yucatecan lands. As in other regions of Mexico, Yucatecan food is a distinctive cultural characteristic: in no other place is food as related to history and landscape, legend and magic.

It is in the image of the corn men, described by the Mayan holy book, that the mark of a cultural universe where food is the sustenance of both the real and the imaginary worlds, holds a position of prominence.

It is in the trinity formed by the pheasant, the venison and the wild boar –seasoned with achiote, recado colorado or the spices brought from the other side of the ocean–that the origins of a culinary taste are identified. This taste is still alive and well, and materializes through the amazing variety of dishes of a cuisine that is famous in Mexico and throughout the world.

Tasting the repertory offered by Yucatecan dishes is an experience that brings together the enigmas of Mayan words, interwoven with Spanish and a surprising rainbow of unforeseen flavors.

When one is about to eat salbutes, panuchos or the original poc chok, a thought can cross the mind: the color and flavor recall not only those tranquil afternoons in Mérida, but also the gazes of those that capture the world in the same spot where the Earth has its limits.

Have you ever tasted this exquisite cuisine? Go ahead and comment!

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