Tex-Mex is considered by some to be "America's oldest original cuisine". Tex-Mex got its name back in 1875, when the Texas-Mexico Railroad was nicknamed Tex-Mex to refer to the railroad and the Mexicans born in Texas. During the mission era, Texas food was mixed with Spanish and Mexican food.

More than 60% of the population of Texas has Mexican ancestry, hence the popularity of the cuisine. Tex-Mex is most popular in the south-central part of the state, including the cities of Austin and San Antonio.

Tex-Mex cuisine includes a large amount of beef, many and varied spices, lots of yellow cheese and often beans.

Their food is popular world-wide and quick and easy to prepare. Of course, there are some dishes that require more time and preparation, such as casseroles, black bean soup and bunuelos, which is fried bread sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.
 

What are the typical Mexican spices?

Tex-Mex dishes usually use sour cream, as well as garlic, coriander leaves, lime, beans, avocado and chorizo, a spicy Mexican sausage originally from Spain.

Various chilies also play an important role in Tex-Mex dishes.

Chili peppers range in flavor from sweet and spicy to hot and are added to a variety of dishes. Chili peppers used in Tex-Mex cuisine include jalapeno, ancho and the hottest of them all, habanero chili.

A popular chili pepper is the chipotle. It is made from dried and smoked jalapenos. It has a unique flavour and goes well with many dishes. It is also becoming increasingly popular outside Mexico. Another type of chilli pepper is the Ancho chilli. It is different from other peppers because it has a sweet, dried fruit-like flavour.

Other spices commonly used in Mexico are cumin and oregano. Oregano is a perfect accompaniment to Mexican dishes containing tomatoes. And cumin gives Mexican food a flavour that is unmatched.

But there is also a typical Mexican spice mixture, Recado rojo, which was used by also the Mayans. Its red colour comes from the annatto seeds, a natural red colouring (obtained from the orleans tree) that is also commonly used in the food industry.The spice mix contains spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cumin, oregano, garlic and many others, and is used to season or marinate meats.
 

Some typical Tex-Mex dishes:

Fajitas - we recommend our Fajitas spice mix

Tacos - RECIPE here: Chicken Tacos with Salsa and Gucamole

Chili con carne, Enchiladas, Quesadillas, Nachos, Burritos