The Role of Empanadas in Mexican Food Culture | Lifestyle

The Role of Empanadas in Mexican Food Culture

by KCKudra

Empanadas are stuffed pastries and the name literally means, "wrapped in bread." An empanada is usually made by folding a round dough patty in half over the stuffing, making them semicircular. These tasty little snacks are incredibly popular and they make suitable fare for any meal or occasion.

Empanadas from Galicia to Latin America

The type of empanadas you might find as part of a Mexican typical meal are thought to come from Galicia in Spain. These snacks arrived in Latin America with the Galician colonists. An authentic Galician empanada is a large round or square pie, cut into slices. This makes it a hearty, filling and portable lunch for workers. Portable food variations include Cornish pasties, Indian samosas, Italian calzone, and turnovers of different types. A lot of cultures have their own version of "pocket" dishes or meat pies because they are both hearty and portable.

Galician empanadas are often made with chicken, pork loin, or cod. Empanadas are considered a national dish in both Uruguay and Argentina and Galician empanadas are very popular in Latin America because of the high number of Galician immigrants who have made Latin America their home.

Empanadas, which have many different regional names, can be stuffed with poultry, meat, fish, vegetables, or cheese. You can also get sweet ones stuffed with cream and fruit. Ground beef sauted with different seasonings is a popular empanada filling. These delicious snacks are shallow fried, deep-fried or oven baked and they are a Mexican typical meal. Baked empanadas can be eaten hot, cold, or reheated but the fried ones are usually served hot.

Empanada crusts are normally made from water, wheat flour, salt and fat (butter, lard, shortening or margarine). The crust might be plain or seasoned.

Different Kinds of Mexican Empanadas

Mexicans like to eat their empanadas whenever they feel like it, making them great fare for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, appetizers, or desserts! These are certainly a versatile Mexican food.

Favorite Mexican fillings for these snacks include yam, sweet potato, cheese, fruit, vegetables, seafood, cream, meat, guava, and pumpkin. The dough might be corn or wheat based depending on the region in Mexico. In the Mexican Chiapas region, chicken or cheese empanadas are a frequent breakfast, supper, or snack food. In Hidalgo, the empanadas are especially famous.

If you are interested in Mexican food culture, these delicious pastry snacks cannot be overlooked and if you want to make your own Mexican dishes, you will find them fun and rewarding to create. Empanadas are especially good eaten hot from the oven and the whole family will love these tasty little Mexican treats. It is also possible, of course, to buy readymade frozen empanadas from the store but everyone knows the homemade ones are a hundred times better!

You can enjoy Mexican empanadas at any time of the day and they make a nice change from sandwiches in packed lunches. If you want to have a go at making the kinds of food Mexicans eat because you have enjoyed reading a history on Mexican food then you will definitely enjoy making these.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.

When you think of Mexican food recipes, which ones come to mind? Many people would think of tacos, fajitas and burritos although Mexican salsas, Mexican salads and Mexican soups are all wonderful too. Mexican meals are great to make because they use fresh ingredients, aromatic herbs and spices and they are easy.