State By Plate: Oaxaca

Oaxaca and it’s bonzer culinary practice is evident not lone successful its wealthiness of accepted nutrient markets but besides successful the galore signature Mexican dishes it has produced. For example, nary little than 7 varieties of mole, the crown jewel of Mexican gastronomy, hail from Oaxaca. Tlayuda and queso Oaxaca are besides determination inventions, of course, and though mezcal whitethorn oregon whitethorn not be, Oaxaca is surely the ancestral homeland of this iconic Mexican spirit.

The 7 moles of Oaxaca

Moles are considered the crown jewels of Oaxacan cuisine and diligently incorporated an astounding fig of ingredients. (Robby McCullough/Unsplashed)

Moles successful Oaxaca don’t person an idiosyncratic originator similar Andrea de la Asunción of mole poblano fame. Instead, the state’s 7 ineffable moles—mole negro, mole rojo, mole verde, mole amarillo, mole colaradito, mole chichilo, and mole manchamanteles—seem to person evolved people pursuing the fusion of Spanish ingredients similar cinnamon, achromatic pepper, and anise with accepted pre-Hispanic ones similar chocolate, chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, and herbs specified arsenic hoja santa. 

Mole negro, the astir emblematic and wide celebrated of Oaxaca’s moles, is besides the astir complex, boasting connected mean astir 30 ingredients, including 4 chilies—chilhuacle negro y rojo, and chiles mulato and pasilla oaxaqueña. Three of these are astir exclusively regional, a distinguishing diagnostic successful each Oaxacan moles, arsenic chilies similar chilhuacle, pasilla oaxaqueña, chile de agua, chilcostle, tuxta, and costeño are small grown extracurricular of the state. 

Mole rojo and amarillo are mostly considered the spiciest of these moles, acknowledgment to a higher proportionality of spicy chilies specified arsenic chilhuacle amarillo, costeño, and chile de árbol. Meanwhile, mole negro is noted for its sweeter, much chocolate-forward flavors, and the others for the inclusion of distinctive ingredients. Mole verde, for instance, is made with pumpkin seeds, tomatillo, cilantro, and jalapeño; manchamanteles often includes chorizo and fruits specified arsenic pineapple and peach; and chichilo boasts homemade beef banal and texture-thickening masa.

Tlayuda, the Mexican pizza

Tlayuda isn’t precisely similar pizza, but it is delicious. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)

If Italy didn’t make pizza until aft the importation of Mexican tomatoes (true story) successful the 16th century, wherefore didn’t Mexico invent it first? The reply is that it did (kinda), though it’s called tlayuda (evolved from the Nahuatl words tlao-li, meaning husked corn, and uda, for abundance), and features a 16-inch toasted mentation of a tortilla lasting successful for breadstuff dough. 

No, there’s nary pepperoni and sausage, but meaty toppings similar tasajo, cecina, and chorizo are popularly added, arsenic are cheesy quesillo (more connected this later), asiento, and refried beans. So excessively are tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, and cilantro. 

Served successful markets and connected thoroughfare corners, tlayuda is an Oaxacan thoroughfare nutrient fixture that was voted the champion thoroughfare nutrient successful Latin America successful a 2020 Netflix poll. In immoderate areas of Oaxaca, the crockery includes ingredients specified arsenic ants and grasshoppers. Chapulines, of course, are an Oaxacan specialty, too, and often sourced from alfalfa and cornfields astir the fertile valleys of Oaxaca (city, not state).

Originally generated from Oaxaca’s Zapotec and Mixtec cultures, utilizing nixtamalized tortillas toasted connected clay comals, tlayudas began to see much ingredients erstwhile the Spanish arrived successful Mexico. Today, asiento (unrefined pork lard) and refried beans supply the basal (like herb condiment connected pizza), followed by food (sometimes melted), chorizo, avocado and herb slices, and different determination specialty items.

Since 2010, it has been 1 of the Oaxacan dishes designated by UNESCO arsenic an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The instauration of queso Oaxaca

A shot of delicious, caller Oaxaca cheese. (Ingredienta)

Leobarda Castellanos García was lone 14 years aged erstwhile she accidentally invented distinctive queso Oaxaca successful Reyes Etla during the 19th century. Amazingly, she’s not the youngest culinary inventor of enactment during that century: Armando Martínez Centurión reportedly invented the torta successful Mexico City successful 1892 erstwhile helium was lone 11. 

According to section legend, she allowed the beverage to overcurdle and past tried to close her mistake by adding blistery water. The resultant pasta filata (or stretched curd) cheese, which Leobarda called quesillo, was stringy, stretchy, chewy, and delicious. Its fame rapidly dispersed to Puebla, wherever it acquired the sanction queso Oaxaca to designate its spot of origin. 

Reyes Etla remains the ancestral location of queso Oaxaca, an exquisitely melty food distinguished by the strands wrapped to execute its ball-of-yarn-like appearance. As galore arsenic 50 families inactive marque food determination traditionally, though the popularity of queso Oaxaca nationwide has since spawned a big of imitators. 

Interestingly, queso Oaxaca is the lone pasta filata food of enactment successful Mexico, but determination are respective worldwide, including from Italy, mozzarella, provolone, and burrata. However, the Greeks made the archetypal illustration circa 500 BCE.

The ancestral homeland of mezcal

Mezcal is possibly adjacent much fashionable than tequila successful 2025, and the precise champion comes from Oaxaca. (Tianguis Mezcalero)

Oaxaca whitethorn not person been the archetypal authorities successful Mexico to nutrient mezcal, but it has surely established itself arsenic the champion and astir prolific. Today, nine states are legally allowed to marque mezcal nether its denomination of origin, but Oaxaca unsocial distills implicit 90% of the country’s total. 

The past of the fermented agave portion pulque dates backmost good implicit 1000 years, but distillation techniques apt weren’t introduced until aft the Spanish colonization of Mexico successful the aboriginal 16th century. However, researchers astatine the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) have hypothesized that Indigenous inhabitants of Mexico whitethorn person distilled mezcal with kilns arsenic acold backmost arsenic 400 BCE.

The documented past of mezcal accumulation successful Oaxaca comes from taxation records and begins astir the mediate of the 18th century, though the tone has astir apt been produced locally for acold longer. Certainly, time-honored methods are inactive utilized to marque mezcal successful Oaxaca, notably successful artisanal expressions. 

As Graciela Ángeles Carreño of the artisanal Oaxacan marque Real Minero precocious told National Geographic: “We are perpetually being told what mezcal should oregon could beryllium by outsiders, but what radical request to recognize is that mezcal isn’t conscionable a inclination oregon thing to beryllium sold—it’s portion of who we are. We marque mezcal successful clay pots and hide it underground not due to the fact that it makes america much wealth (it doesn’t) oregon due to the fact that it’s casual (it’s not), but due to the fact that it’s however our fathers and grandfathers did it, and however we privation our children to bash it.”

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas section adept for the USA Today question website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos question guidebook and a contributor to galore websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related contented and manner features focused connected food, vino and golf.