page_title: Oaxaca City
section_title: Food and drink
hierarchical_section_title: Oaxaca City / Food and drink
caption_attribution_description: English: Oaxacan style hot chocolate served in a traditional clay cup and accompanied by "pan de yema" (egg bread)
context_page_description: The city and municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez, or Oaxaca City, is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Mexican state. It is located in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín, extending to the banks of the Atoyac River. Heritage tourism makes up an important part of the city's economy, and it has numerous colonial-era structures as well as significant archeological sites and elements of the continuing native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures. The city, together with the nearby archeological site of Monte Albán, was designated in 1987 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the site of the month-long cultural festival called the "Guelaguetza", which features Oaxacan dance from the seven regions, music, and a beauty pageant for indigenous women.
  The city is nicknamed "la Verde Antequera" due to its prior Spanish name and the variety of structures built from a native green stone. The name Oaxaca is derived from the Nahuatl name for the place, Huaxyacac, which was Hispanicized to Guajaca, later spelled Oaxaca.
context_section_description: The city of Oaxaca has long been considered "Mexico's culinary capital." The most notable aspect of Oaxacan cuisine is its variety of moles, which are a type of complex sauce. Their origins go back to the melding of Spanish and Arabic food in Spain.  After the Conquest, New World ingredients such as chile mulato, 'miltomate' (a small whitish wild tomato), tomatoes, peanuts, avocado leaves, and chocolate were incorporated.  While moles can be found in many parts of Mexico, Oaxaca has the greatest variety including negro (black), Colorado (red), coloradito (faint red), chichilo, verde (green), amarillo (yellow), and manchamanteles (lit. 'stainer of tablecloths'). They are sold in markets all over the city as a paste which is combined with water and simmered with a variety of meats.
  Other notable foods sold in markets include bars of chocolate (primarily used for making hot chocolate), traditional breads, and chapulines (fried grasshoppers with chile). Street foods include tlayudas, which are large, slightly crispy corn tortillas piled high with ingredients such as grilled beef (called tasajo), cheese, tomatoes, avocados, onions etc. Local drinks include those made with water, sugar and a flavoring such as aguamiel (honey water), trocitos de melón (melon), horchata (rice), tuna batida (cactus fruit shake), and nuez (nuts) as well as local fruits such as chilacayota  and guanábana. In nearby Tlacolula and Ejutla an indigenous drink called 'tejate' is still prepared and sold in the local market. Known here as the drink of the gods, it is prepared with corn, cacao, cacao flower and the seed of the mamey fruit. As for alcoholic beverages, this area prefers mezcal, which like tequila is made from agave, but unlike tequila can be made from a variety of different species of the plant.
  As in other areas in Mexico, chocolate has had special importance here since long before the Conquest. Aside from being a foodstuff, it was also used as medicine and cacao seeds were used as money. The chocolate prepared in this city is well known within Mexico, as it is distinguished by being flavored with cinnamon, almonds and sugar and is usually prepared with hot water or milk. It is usually served in large coffee cups with a local sweet roll. The best-known producer of this type of chocolate is Chocolate El Mayordomo, which recently has opened outlets in various parts of Mexico, esp. in Mexico City. In their main store in Oaxaca City, you can see them prepare the various types of chocolates they prepare including a chocolate pasta.
caption: A cup of Oaxacan-style hot chocolate served in a traditional clay mug (with no handle) and pan de yema ('egg-yolk bread')
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