Andrew Coppolino explores the history and food of Cinco de Mayo

May 5, or Cinco de Mayo, is a dayof celebration of Mexican culture, history and food.

While the recognition of the date comes only once a year, and while the flavour profile of Waterloo region is generally Central American with several restaurants serving Salvadoran corn-flour "pancakes" called pupusas, many Mexican foods such as tacos, burritos and tamales of Mexico are available here year round.

Chiles, hominy, pepitas: Mexican ingredients

Guacamole and salsa are perhaps mainstream ingredients not really representing the range of Mexican food.

Regardless, these common dishes, including the popular condiment pico de gallo, are delicious. Classically a relishor salsa-like combination of finely chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro, hot peppers, salt and lime juice, pico de gallo translates to "rooster's beak" the theory being that when eaten with thumb and fore-finger the shape mimics the beak of a chicken.

Spices like cumin, oregano and cayenne are foundational to Mexican cooking, as is achiote paste, a musky-scented amalgam of crushed annatto seeds, coriander, cumin, cloves and garlic. A fairly recent addition to health food regimens are pepitas, a traditional Mexican ingredient that is hulled pumpkin seeds. The dark green seeds are best roasted and salted.

A lesser known food that was invented by first peoples in North America and which has made its way to being an extremely popular dish, especially to southern United States cuisine, is hominy: the dried corn kernels were originally treated with lye in an ancient process called nixtamalization.

The process makes the corn easier to grind you've experienced it when you've eaten grits, like those served atLancaster Smokehouseor in the posole soup thatEthel's Loungemade for Cinco de Mayo.

Chiles and mole

Of course, chile peppers characterize Mexican cuisine, and their names are legion. From habaneros and jalapeos to chipotles and serranos, many are dried and blended to create chile powder, a ubiquitous ingredient that flavours many cuisines around the world.

The poblano pepper contributes to adobo, a sauce or paste that is flavoured with an acid like vinegar and which is often used as a marinade.

Mole is another sauce in which meats like chicken are braised the name likely derives from the word for "concoction" in the Nahuatl language. And that is exactly what a mole is: A rich, reddish-brown concoction of many spices, onions, chiles, garlic, ground pepitas, Mexican chocolate and whatever else cooks want to add from their larders.

Mole can have dozens of ingredients and can take a long time to prepare. They vary markedly from region to region in Mexico. Restaurants likeTaco Farmin Waterloo prepare their version of mole poblano with their grilled cheese sandwich.

Toast Cinco de Mayo with Mexican beverages

Whatever the meal, May 5 can be toasted with a beverage of distinct Mexican personality and with more than cerveza, Margaritas, tequila and its less specialized cousin mezcal.

Waterloo'sAmbrosia Pastry Co.makes bean to bar chocolate the only venue in the region to do so and uses it to make traditional Mexican drinking chocolate.

Thousands of years ago, before chocolate was eaten in solid form, it was consumed as a liquid, but not as the terrifically sweet drink that we know. Ambrosia uses sea salt, yellow chiles and cinnamon in their traditionally re-created drinking chocolate. The chocolate is coarsely ground, unlike supermarket powder, and thickened with cassava.

Like espresso, Mexican drinking chocolate is taken in a small cup.

Taco Farm serves a michelada, a beer-based drink that is traditionally made with lime juice, spices and chiles served in a salt-rimmed glass. Purportedly a portmanteau word, michelada may derive from the Mexican phrase "mi chela helada," which translates to something like "my frosty cold beer." Whether true or not, it is one of those charming food myths.

Local restaurants also serve teas made with hibiscus, a Mexican tradition as well as agua frescas, which blend fruits, cereal grains or seeds, sugar and water that make refreshing non-alcoholic drinks.

Horchata is a bit of an acquired taste: ground grains, cereals, seeds or chufa nuts are steeped in water to which is added sugar and spices. Almonds or rice may also be used, and the drink may be served cold or at room temperature. Salvadoran pupuserias and Latin American food stores in Waterloo Region often sell the drink.