It was the former workers of the mines who, during the Colony, made the basic food of the indigenous, corn, the axis of the current Zacatecan cuisine. Savor it!
The first inhabitants of Zacatecas fed mainly on fruits and roots and on the meat of the animals they hunted. Later Spanish explorers arrived in search of gold and silver, minerals that they found in large quantities, so they decided to found a large number of mining reales, including that of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios de Zacatecas on January 20, 1548. A From then on Zacatecas was populated in its vast majority by miners, that is, rude and hardworking people, who made corn, chili, tomato, beans, quelites, turkeys, atoles and sometimes tamales, their main food.
Due to the aridity of the territory and the growing mining activity, there was not much that could be cultivated, so Zacatecas became an important center of trade with other provinces. There, salt, sugar, pigs, rams, cattle, wheat flour, spices, dried fish, lentils, chickpeas, rice, etc. were sold, and the place became an obligatory passage for merchants, so the inns also proliferated, where appetizers and dishes that already incorporated regional elements with new ingredients brought from the Old World were served, such as picadillo empanadas, quesadillas, stuffed chiles or tasty stews and pipianes; To drink fresh water, brandy and, of course, pulque from the region were served.
In 1864 the French took Zacatecas and stayed there for two years, taking their food customs with them; Thus, the invaders introduced to the local gastronomy dishes made with butter and cream, almonds, prunes, fortified wines, coconut, pine nuts, wrapped and covered fruits, cakes and milk chocolate.
In the times of Porfirio Díaz, the state's economy recovered and livestock was reborn, with it appearing on Zacatecan tables meat cooked in various ways, but above all grilled or charcoal-grilled. Later, during the Revolution, the fat with chili and butter and stewed beans were born, dishes that the “adelitas” prepared with care for their men.
Adding all the above, today's Zacatecan families preserve in their wonderful kitchens and old cookbooks made with much love, from which every day they extract regal dishes that they share with friends and visitors.
