Mexican Food Glossary
A plain-English glossary of core Mexican ingredients and cooking terms, from maize, masa and nixtamal to chiles, beans, tacos and cilantro.
Contents
Mexican cooking vocabulary centers on three staples: maize (corn), beans and chile peppers. Most of the terms on a menu, a recipe card or a market sign describe one of these ingredients, a way of preparing it, or a dish built from it. This glossary defines the core words in plain English, with the Spanish name first where it matters, so you can identify ingredients and understand how common dishes are classified.
Maize: the foundation
Maize is the base of the cuisine. It is eaten fresh, but much of it is dried and then processed into dough, which becomes tortillas, tamales and many other foods. Knowing the maize vocabulary explains a large share of Mexican dish names.
- Maíz: the Spanish word for maize, or corn.
- Nixtamalization (nixtamal): a traditional process in which dried corn is cooked and soaked in an alkaline solution, usually water with lime (calcium hydroxide). The treated kernels are called nixtamal. The process loosens the hulls and makes the corn easier to grind and more nutritious.
- Masa: dough made by grinding nixtamal. Masa is the starting point for tortillas, tamales and many snack-style dishes.
- Tortilla: a thin, flat round of masa cooked on a griddle. In Mexico, the word on its own usually means a corn tortilla. Wheat-flour tortillas also exist and are associated mainly with northern Mexico.
- Tamal (plural tamales): masa, often with a filling, wrapped in a corn husk or leaf and steamed.
- Elote: fresh corn, often sold on the cob.
- Atole: a warm, thickened drink made with masa or corn.
Chile peppers: flavor as well as heat
Chile peppers are used for their flavor, aroma and color, not only their spiciness. Mexican cooking uses many varieties, both fresh and dried. One point that confuses many readers is that a single pepper often has two names: one when it is fresh and another when it is dried or smoked.
- Chile: the standard Spanish spelling for a chile pepper. In US English, chili or chili pepper is also common.
- Jalapeño: a medium-sized fresh green chile. When it is smoked and dried, it is called a chipotle.
- Poblano: a large, mild fresh chile, often used for stuffing. Dried, it is called an ancho.
- Salsa: Spanish for sauce. In Mexican cooking, salsas are usually built on chiles, either raw or cooked, and range from chunky to smooth.
- Mole: a family of complex sauces, typically made with dried chiles and many other ingredients. Recipes vary widely by region and household.
Beans: the everyday companion
Beans are the second pillar of the traditional diet and are commonly eaten alongside corn tortillas. Several varieties are used, and the preparation names below show up often on menus.
- Frijoles: the Spanish word for beans.
- Frijoles de olla: beans simmered in a pot (olla) and served in their broth.
- Frijoles refritos: refried beans. Cooked beans are mashed and fried. Despite the name, they are not usually fried twice; the prefix is generally read as "well fried."
Tacos and cilantro
A taco is a tortilla folded or rolled around a filling, so it brings the staple vocabulary together in one dish. The garnish is a useful clue to the style. Tacos served in the traditional Mexican street style are often topped simply with chopped onion, cilantro and salsa, sometimes with a squeeze of lime. The US-style taco is often a crisp, pre-shaped shell filled with seasoned ground meat, shredded lettuce and cheese.
- Cilantro: the fresh leaves of the coriander plant. In US English, cilantro means the leaves and coriander usually means the seeds. It is a signature fresh garnish on many tacos.
- Taco: a tortilla wrapped around a filling. Fillings and toppings vary widely.
Quick reference table
| Term | Category | Plain-English meaning |
| Maíz | Maize | Corn |
| Nixtamal | Maize | Corn treated in an alkaline (lime) solution before grinding |
| Masa | Maize | Dough made from ground nixtamal |
| Tortilla | Maize | Thin flatbread, usually corn in Mexico |
| Tamal | Maize | Masa wrapped in husk or leaf and steamed |
| Chile | Chile peppers | Chile pepper; Spanish spelling |
| Chipotle | Chile peppers | Smoked, dried jalapeño |
| Ancho | Chile peppers | Dried poblano |
| Salsa | Chile peppers | Sauce, usually chile-based |
| Mole | Chile peppers | Complex sauce family, often based on dried chiles |
| Frijoles | Beans | Beans |
| Refritos | Beans | Refried (mashed and fried) beans |
| Cilantro | Herbs | Fresh coriander leaves |
What this guide does not cover
This glossary is limited to the core staples and the taco-and-cilantro vocabulary covered by the source material. It does not include recipes, quantities, heat ratings for individual chiles, or a full survey of regional dishes, and it does not settle disputed origin stories. Regional names and preparations vary across Mexico, so a term you see locally may differ from the definitions above.
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