The World | The Americas | Mexico

Mexican cuisine is influenced by Spanish cuisine, which is greatly influenced by Arab traditions. The Spanish introduced rice, wheat, chickpeas, onions, olives, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, thyme, bay leaves, peaches, apricots, citrus fruit, sesame seeds, almonds, and cattle and hog breeding. When the Spanish arrived in Mexico, the indigenous cuisine was already well developed and based on native ingredients, such as corn, dozens of varieties of chile peppers, squash, beans, tomatoes, avocados, fruits such as pineapples and papayas, and turkey, fish, and chocolate. Mexican cuisine today is a sophisticated melding of European and Native American foods and cooking techniques that are unique and distinctively Mexican.