Exploring Abroad: Food in the Yucatán Peninsula

Mérida, the capital and largest city of the state of Yucatán, is also the cultural and culinary center of the peninsula.

With over a million residents from a broad cross section of countries beyond Mexico, Mérida offers a dazzling variety of food options.

Yes, burritos, enchiladas, and tacos are everywhere. American chains like Starbucks, Chili’s, and Texas Roadhouse are around too.

We’ve had our share of wonderfully prepared Mexican meals.

Inventive, artistic dishes almost too beautiful to eat. Almost…

And one of the best pizzas ever at a small neighborhood restaurant.

Yet the traditional cuisine of the area is still very much present and quite unique.

Relative isolation from the rest of Mexico, the traditions of its Mayan ancestry, and exposure to the ingredients of European traders visiting its ports combined to create an amalgam of fascinating flavors.

Many dishes include the holy trinity of Yucatecan food—sour orange, achiote (annatto), and habanero peppers. The orange is used instead of vinegar to pickle vegetables. Annatto contributes a reddish color and earthy, smoky flavor.

And habaneros bring the heat. Intense heat (Up to 600,000 Scoville units. Jalapeños by comparison measure 2,500 - 8,000.) that can leave you gasping for air.

We wanted to learn more, so we signed up for the Taste of Yucatán class offered by Los Dos Cooking School.

Throughout the day Chef Mario Canul shared his wealth of knowledge about the history of the region as we assisted in creating a fabulous lunch.

The traditional dishes we helped prepare included sopa de lima and pollo pibil.

Lime soup sounds weird, right? Trust us, it’s on almost every menu in Mérida and is quite tasty.

For the pollo pibil we first made a spice paste that, not surprisingly, included achiote, sour orange, and habanero. We then coated chicken breasts with the rub and wrapped each one, along with other ingredients, in a banana leaf.

With help from his staff, our meal was beautifully plated by Chef Mario and served with sparkling wine. Delicious!

Parting gifts from our class included Los Dos aprons and a jar of special honey produced by a native species of stingless bees here in the Yucatán.

The Taste of Yucatán class was a fun and immersive way to better appreciate our food experiences in Mérida!

Note ~ Los Dos founder, David Sterling, authored two magnificent cookbooks before his death in 2016. Yucatán features over 275 recipes from the region, while Mercados explores markets throughout Mexico with 100+ recipes from all over the country. Both have fantastic photography and enriching stories.