Mexican-American cuisine

[1] Culinary staples like tortillas, salsa, chips, chili, burritos, and tacos help to formulate many Americans' notions of Mexican food.

Due in part to big business, immigration, and widespread likability, Mexican food and dishes have largely become regular constituents in American homes.

Indigenous people found several uses for maize, such as: Native-grown vegetables included squash, tomatillo, tomato, cactus, and chile.

Fish, birds, larger game, insects, berries, fruits, sugarcane, and rice, among other plants were also common staples of the indigenous diet.

Aztec cuisine proved to be quite different, and the staple crops had not been developed sufficiently to support the livestock and populations the Spaniards hoped to establish.

[5] Spanish settlers also introduced cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and donkeys as sources of food and labor.

Instead of further changing their cuisine to match that of Spain,[3] patriotism in the new country led Mexicans to embrace their history of spicy foods, using chile as an integral part of many dishes.

Dating back to the 19th century railroad and agricultural industries, Mexican migration has been a key factor in the American Southwest and subsequent labor demands caused those migrant workers to move even farther north to states in the Midwest.

[9] With such an influx of migrant workers came an increase in Mexican food in regions that previously experienced little ethnic influence from Mexico.

Some examples of mass-produced Tex-Mex cuisine include canned chili, a hybridized version of Mexican "chile con carne", as well as packaged tortillas, boxes of pre-cooked taco shells, frozen burritos, packages of pre-made guacamole, bottled salsa, and bottled nacho cheese.

While businesses that produce authentic Mexican ingredients exist in locations near the border, the Americanized versions are much more common in typical grocery stores all across the nation.

The prominence of these chains continues to grow, but an ever increasing recognition of more traditional Mexican cuisine has also been evident in recent years.

Tacos are a common food in the Mexican cuisine
Flat tortillas made of corn were common in the diet of indigenous Aztec people
Dishes such as chili con carne gained popularity in the American Southwest and were later aided in their spread across the United States through canning techniques.
Korean tacos from the "Seoul on Wheels" truck in San Francisco
Taco trucks like Taqueria Mi Lindo Huetamo in Houston, TX continue to gain popularity across the United States.