Lecture 16: Aztecs and the Roots of Mexican Cooking
One of the more interesting foods eaten in central Mexico is
spirulina, a kind of algae collected from lakes. It is high in protein
and minerals. Lakes were also very important to Aztec agriculture
because they actually farmed on them. They built fl oating islands
anchored to the lake bed and covered with dirt (called chinampas)
that were kept watered all year round and could produce four crops
of maize per year. They had remarkably sophisticated systems of terracing and
irrigation. They also knew how to plant crops in complementary
combinations, called intercropping. They planted beans between the
rows of maize; one takes out nitrogen, and the other puts it back in. Mexicans domesticated rabbits, dogs, and turkeys as well as a kind
of guinea pig, and they hunted all sorts of wild animals, including
ducks, capybara, coati, and armadillo.Aztec Cuisine
Aztec cuisine was quite complex, featuring all sorts of extremely
spicy stews. Chili peppers were a main ingredient in Aztec cuisine,
and they were also used to make smoke bombs. Chilies (Capsicum
annum) are native to Mexico, and the Aztecs apparently ate nothing
without them. Chilies would be soaked, ground up, and used as the
base of sauces—exactly as they are today. Just as in Europe, there is evidence that the Aztecs had a kind of
middle class that was trying to imitate the customs of the nobles
and emperor. What is striking, though, is that in accounts of Aztec
meals, the observers noted that the participants ate moderately.
They didn’t indulge themselves, and balance and moderation are
apparently running themes through all Aztec thought. When the Aztecs were introduced pork, beef, and other forms of
alcohol, they attributed the rapid population decline to indulgence in
these. In fact, however, it was smallpox and measles. The Christian
traditions of fast and feast, asceticism and indulgence, were very
foreign to Aztec attitudes toward food and did not blend very easily.