MexicanFoodWorld.com

As in every culture, Mexican cuisine is prepared not just with traditional native ingredients but with the tools to shape and cook them. Those tools have developed over centuries of experience and combined today with modern technology to give the chef the best of both worlds.

One of the most basic and widely used is the comal – the humble iron skillet. Hardy and versatile a good comal will last generations. It will provide a high heat retention material to prepare tortillas, fish and many other traditional Mexican foods. Comals come in an astounding variety of shapes and sizes, too.

But before it can get to the pan an ingredient has to be put into the right form. One superbly useful pair of tools for doing just that are the molcajete and the tejolote. These are the traditional mortar and pestle used to grind ingredients. Whether used to grind corn for masa by hand or powderize a dried chile pepper, they’re indispensable to any kitchen that prepares fresh Mexican cuisine.

Another tool that can be used for that purpose, one that requires less effort, is the molino de maiz. Its primary function is to grind corn, but it can be used on chile peppers, garlic and a wide variety of other foods and spices. While more contemporary grinders are electric, even the ones with a hand crank are easy to use (and great fun).

But there is yet another step before that tortilla makes its way to the comal. Mashing corn to make a ball of masa is great, but tortillas are flat. To pound them by hand is acceptable, but requires a lot of effort. Make life easy on yourself by getting a tortilla press. If you make Mexican dishes, one of these cast iron presses will repay you many times over. Tortillas are used throughout Mexican cuisine.

While you’re at it, don’t forget the tortilla warmer. You’ll usually make more than you consume in one round. A warmer will keep the tortillas steamy hot, ready for the next eager diner.

But cooking, per se, isn’t the only function performed when preparing a Mexican-style meal. Aqua de fresca, horchata and many other drinks are mixed or blended. A traditional molinillo de madera is a great tool on those occasions.

These wooden, hand-held mixers/crushers can mash fruit and stir juices. Whether you’re making a delicious fruit drink, a hot chocolate beverage or an arroz con leche (thickened milk and water with rice and sugar), one of these will come in handy.

When you think of grinding or mixing, don’t neglect the lowly batidor. A simple masher, it can be used for potatoes, carrots or anything else that needs to be made into a pulp. Add to the tool set a rodillo de madera, a wooden rolling pin, and you can make that delicious ensaimada sweet bread you’ve been dying to try.

There’s no end to the list of utensils and cookware you could acquire. The more you have, the wider array of dishes you’ll be prepared to tackle with traditional tools. That turns cooking from a chore into great fun.

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