- God, the squeamish American in me is struggling right now.
- (PvF) Are you ready to try some incredibly unique foods
from Mexico today?
- Ooh! - Heck yeah!
- Yes I am! (laughs)
- (PvF) We are headed off the beaten path,
to try some wonderful and authentic Mexican dishes
that you may or may not have heard of,
like corn smut and cow stomach soup.
- Corn smut? (laughs)
- I don't know what those are, but it sounds good.
- I used to travel a lot for work, and I've been to Mexico City,
and I had to eat like crickets, and really terrible stuff.
- Oh no, please don't tell me that right now.
- (woman) We're making Chiles en Nogada.
- Very, it looks really pretty.
- I'm in!
- Wow, that's a long time ago. - Are those pomegranates?
- Is that supposed to be like the flag?
- It looks like melted ice cream. - Shh!
(Jillian laughs)
- Ooh, walnut cream?
- Man, walnut cream.
- Wow!
- Oh, look at how cute that is. - Mmm.
- Chiles en Nogada is a traditional dish from Puebla
that is tied to Mexican independence, and is symbolic of the flag of Mexico.
- Oh, oh wow! - Oh, because it's like a flag!
- (Julian) Yeah, that's awesome. - (Jayka) Duh!
- Shut up. - Wow, it's sweet.
Almost like it would be a dessert. - (Sharon) It is so sweet, mm-hmm.
- Ooh, oh whoa, there's stuff in here.
Sauteed onions and peppers inside the pepper.
- Oh my gosh, Julian, when I tell you,
there's so many flavors in my mouth right now.
- The fruit in it is kind of a nice touch,
'cause it gives it like a different taste to it.
- There's such like a fresh juicy crunch.
- It's got that nice kinda roasted taste.
- Didn't even know of its existence.
So it's really cool that I got to try it.
- That's so good.
- I had no idea what to expect, so when I bit into this, I was like...
- Same, like walnut cream, I was like how's that gonna taste?
But this is so good, yeah. - It's good, this is so good!
- 10 out of 10, baby! - Mm-hmm.
- 10 out of 10!
- How would you even come up with this?
And they made it look like the flag!
Like, that's big brain energy right there. (laughs)
- (man) Menudo, cow stomach soup.
- Menudo, Menudo. - Menudo?
- Menudo! - I've heard of Menudo.
- I've heard of Menudo before, but I don't think I've ever tried it.
- How do you feel?
- Not great.
- See, I'm already excited for this.
- The way they're making it, they're like beware of the smell.
- I know, right? - And he's like mmh.
- Chiles. - So good.
- Yeah. - (sighs) Chiles.
- Are they making this for like a small army?
- Man, these guys are going hard right now.
- You know this is gonna be good now.
- Mmm! That looks so good!
- Yeah.
Oh wow, that honeycomb.
- (PvF) Menudo is an extremely popular and unique
traditional Mexican soup made from red chili and cow stomach,
that many claim is hands down the best hangover cure.
- I've never even seen this dish, to be honest,
but it's really cool, the way that it looks like a honeycomb.
Like, that's incredible.
- This looks so good.
- This honeycomb is wild looking.
- This is rough for me.
- It's not that hard to stomach. (both laugh)
- Mmm. - That broth is super good.
- I usually have cabeza, and this tastes very similar.
- It's cooked really well, it's not like overly chewy,
like when you overcook it sometimes.
- The stomach itself isn't like super flavorful.
- She's struggling. She's like what is this?
I don't eat these things.
- I think it's the texture, yeah.
- It'll be fine. - You'll be fine.
- It's very fatty.
- I had no idea.
- (PvF) So there is Filipino Menudo,
which is different than Mexican Menudo.
- Right, Spain conquered Mexico and the Philippines,
which is why a lot of our words in our languages are the same,
and our food is very similar as well.
- Tastes sort of like a tortilla soup.
- I can feel my lips. I don't like that, mm-mm.
- I'm the complete opposite of her, I like this.
- A cow stomach, for sure, might scare away some people.
- Yeah.
- It's a mental thing for me too.
You know, I get in my head. You know that.
- I think in America, especially, there's like maybe
an aversion to eating the organs of a beast.
- I don't mind eating different parts of an animal,
because I feel like if you're already gonna kill it,
you might as well use every piece of it.
♪ (upbeat music) ♪
- Corn smut. - That looks like mold.
- Huitlacoche. - Hmm.
- Worshipped in Ancient Mexico.
- Worshipped by gourmet chefs. - And worshipped by gourmet chefs.
- Fresh corn smut. - Fresh corn smut from the market.
- Onion and garlic, okay.
- Okay, that's pretty. - Yeah, right?
- Oh, so you eat it like a taco?
- Yeah.
- Oh my gosh, I love tacos. - Oh, cute little taco holders.
- Beautiful! - Come on!
- (Jillian) Beautiful plating.
- (PvF) Huitlacoche, or corn smut is an edible fungus
that grows on organic corn,
and is considered a unique Mexican delicacy.
- It's not ready until you squeeze the lime on there.
- I don't know how to describe this.
- How is it?
- I can't decide.
- I hope it's a little mushroomy,
like I love mushrooms.
- It doesn't have a mushroom taste, 'cause mushrooms don't have
that strong of a flavor, I feel like.
- I'm not getting any like, anything too crazy here.
It almost kinda tastes similar to like beans, almost.
- This one has a stronger flavor, it's like, right?
- I can't identify this taste.
- It gives me like a burnt flavor, right?
- (Sharon) Mm-hmm.
- This is really strange.
- It tastes like how I imagine dust to taste like.
(Ed laughs)
- It tastes like it's straight from the dirt.
- Like, I don't think it's dirt. - No, no.
- It's just like bitter.
- Earthy. - Earthy.
(Sharon laughs) Like straight from the Earth.
- So it's a little on the more bitter side,
so that's all I'm really tasting out of this.
- I think it's like, you gotta try it a few times
before you really... - Yeah, I tried the whole thing,
and I'm still not sure.
- 'Cause the more I eat it, the more flavor you get.
So I'm like okay, I don't hate it.
- (React) But are you glad you tried it?
- I'm so glad I tried it. - Oh!
How can you not want to try something like this?
This is amazing.
- Seven Moles.
- I know Moles. - I've had Moles.
- Yeah.
- Seven moles. - Nice.
- Sorry. - Moles.
Well, I mean. - Seven moles, I'm sorry!
- Ooh! - Seven moles.
- Yes, give me, give me the moles.
- Ooh, I hope this is good, 'cause it looks incredible.
- Wow.
- That looks so good. - Yeah.
- Ooh. - Oh wow!
- Oh wow! - Ooh.
- (PvF) Mole is the national dish of Mexico,
and has many complex and beautiful forms,
like rojo, negro, coloradito, amarillo, estofado, and verde.
I tried, to name a few.
- Like this dark one is the only one I knew of.
- That's the only one I've had too, is the dark one.
- That is such a, ooh. - Is it good?
- It's like a party, man!
- That's the one I'm used to, that's the one I like.
- I love the colors, though.
- I'm definitely getting some cloves from that one.
- That's... - That's sweet.
- It has like a million flavors that all come together
and give everybody a high five.
- This one's on the lighter side,
I can't really tell what that tastes like.
- This orange one is like the red sauce they put over Mexican rice.
- It tastes just like salsa.
- Oh, that's good! - That's my favorite one!
- We'll see just how spicy the verde really is.
- Ooh. - Mmm, there's a spice on that.
That's that jalapeno.
- Yeah, you start to feel the kick of the jalapeno a little bit.
- It's a very muted taste, but then you just all of a sudden
get a kick. - Mm-hmm.
- Shoot, I'm having such a hard time picking my favorite!
- (laughs) Going back and forth. - They're all so good!
- I really like this orange one. - Yes, that's my favorite one.
- I feel like any of these three on the right, I liked.
- (coughs) This hurts, but it's so good!
- (man) Well, Pinole's a Spanish word for roasted corn flour, or corn meal.
- Okay. - Pinoles.
- Pinole. - Pinole.
- Ring light. - I know, right?
- Oh, so are we having a drink now?
- Drink? - Oh.
(Jillian gasps) - Ooh!
- 10,000 year old energy drink.
Aztec warriors, what the heck?
- Oh, awesome.
- Whoa! - I'm ready!
- Ooh! - Oh, it's really cute.
- I like this cup.
- (PvF) Atole de Pinole is a traditional hot corn and masa beverage
that's very popular during Day of the Dead,
and Las Posadas, or the Christmas holiday season.
- You add a star anise in there, and it automatically makes me
think of like holidays,
'cause it's always like cinnamon sticks, and star anises, and all that.
- I always try to make recipes, and they're always like star anise,
and I'm like what the heck is that?
And it's a literal star. - Is that not the...
- Okay, so it's kinda gritty. I was not expecting that.
- Thick! (laughs)
- It's thick, as if it was blended with ice.
- Right.
- But there's no ice in it.
- Flavor-wise, I really like it. - Mm-hmm.
- Texture-wise, not so much. - (laughs) Yeah.
Me either, I don't like the texture.
- Yeah.
- It feels almost like... - Way overcooked oatmeal.
- It does taste very like holiday-y. - Mm-hmm.
- (PvF) So Pinole, which is the stuff mixed in,
is full of key vitamins and nutrients including protein, amino acids,
fiber, and antioxidants.
- Alright, so catch us after this episode.
We're gonna be running outside, guys.
- I'm just getting filled with energy right now.
I feel like I'm ready to run across the Andes Mountains.
(both laugh)
- Kinda like meal replacement-y.
- I really like the taste. I can't get past the texture.
- Me neither.
- I actually really like this.
- Ooh, that's yummy, look, I cleaned my bowl.
- Wow! - My cup.
- (man) You know, I've been racking my brain
trying to think of something weird that I ate
when I was growing up in Mexico.
- Oh no.
- Oh my gosh, she said it too. (laughs)
(Jillian gasps) - Son of a cricket eater.
- I'm not scared of eating bugs.
I've eaten so many bugs on this channel before.
- Yeah, I hear you.
- Oh my gosh.
- Oh my goodness. Ooh! (laughs)
- They look like they're alive, and like...
- Alright, alright, alright. - Ah! (laughs)
- Ugh.
(Jillian gasps)
- Oh geez. - Cricket!
- (PvF) Chapulines are a crunchy and sustainable Mexican delicacy.
They're very popular in the Oaxaca State.
- God, the squeamish American in me is struggling right now.
- Oh my goodness, they're like full bugs.
- This is the real snack that smiles back.
- I can see his little eyes. Ugh.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
(bugs crunching)
- I might have a leg in my throat.
- That is so salty.
It tastes like how fish food smells.
- It gets really dusty, and then like it'll get stuck in your teeth.
- Yeah.
- Ugh, it just gets in your teeth, man.
- When you're on a long road trip, and you just need a snack,
and you pick it up from the gas station, like...
- It's just like eating a snack,
like anything that's just like a crunchy snack.
- Corn nuts or sunflower seeds.
- That's not what it tastes like. - It gives me that vibe.
- (PvF) Do you think it's bad,
or do you think you're just having a mental issue getting over it.
- Oh yeah, it's definitely just a mental thing,
'cause like once I crunched it and it turned into dust,
you're right, it is just kinda like eating a cracker.
- I'll stick to sunflower seeds.
- I'm a little basic Betty.
- Also, like cultural foods like this shouldn't be described as weird.
- Yeah, it's just different.
- Because people enjoy it, right, it's just different.
- Yeah.
- (man) Concha is...
- A Concha! - Oh.
- I love a Concha!
- I've never tried it, but I've seen it.
- It's really pretty.
- That looks good. - Yum!
- Ooh.
- Oh, look at, sugar, butter. - Sugar, butter, you can't go wrong!
- Can not go wrong. - You cannot go wrong at all.
- Look at all that color.
- Oh, and then they, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft.
- These are so good, have you had these before?
- I actually have, yeah, yeah, they are bomb.
- Nothing makes me happier than seeing dough
and seeing how much it grows after it gets heated up.
- Wow!
- Ooh. - Cute!
- (PvF) Conchas are the epitome
of both Spanish and French influence in Mexico, resulting in a beautiful
sweet bread with a cookie dough topping.
And while this dish isn't necessarily that obscure,
it's one people might have seen, but not tried.
- Mmm!
- Like a sweet bun, but without the glaze.
- It's a very dry pastry, which I like.
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah, it's like a bagel with like a cookie hat on.
- Yeah! (laughs)
- So the top is crumbly like a cookie,
as you're biting it, as you can tell,
from all over her side of the table.
But then the soft bottom part, the bread is like soft.
- They're diverse, like they just have range in all their food.
- Instead of people being like this is mine, and that is yours.
They'd be like okay, let's take the best of both worlds,
bread and cookie, and then wa-bam, put them together.
- There's like a commitment to artistry, I feel like,
in like all aspects.
- I love trying everything,
'cause you never know what you're gonna like.
- No need to be scared.
Mexican food, it's the best, I promise.
- I feel like if you're scared to try food,
it's like okay, what's the worst that can happen?
It tastes bad, you spit it out.
- I went for it, and I'm still here, and still alive.
- If I can eat a cricket, you can too.
- Right. (both laugh)
- Thank you guys so much for watching People Vs Food.
- We hope you enjoyed this trip to Mexico
as much as we did.
- And we know we missed a lot of good food,
so let us know in the comments what else we should try.
- As always, make sure to like and subscribe for more!
- Bye! - Bye!
- Adios! - Hasta!
(both laugh)
- Bye guys! - Bye!
I'll eat it. (laughs)