Tex-Mex is a term describing a fusion of American cuisine and Mexican cuisine,
deriving from the culinary creations of Tejanos. It has spread from border
states such as Texas and those in the Southwestern United States to the rest
of the country as well as Canada. Tex-Mex is most popular in the state of
Texas. Though Tex-Mex is often conflated with
the Southwest cuisine found in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, they are
not synonymous. Common dishes
Some ingredients are common in Mexican cuisine, but other ingredients not
typically used in Mexico are often added. Tex-Mex cuisine is characterized
by its heavy use of shredded cheese, meat, beans, and spices, in addition to
Mexican-style tortillas. Dishes such as Texas-style chili con carne and fajitas
are all Tex-Mex inventions. Moreover, Tex-Mex has imported flavors from other
spicy cuisines, such as the use of cumin, introduced by Spanish immigrants
to Texas from the Canary Islands and used in Berber cuisine, but used in only
a few central Mexican recipes. History
The word "Tex-Mex" first entered the English language as a nickname for the
Texas Mexican Railway, chartered in southern Texas in 1875. In train
schedules published in the newspapers of the 19th century the names of railroads
were abbreviated. The Missouri Pacific was called the Mo. Pac. and the
Texas-Mexican was abbreviated Tex. Mex. In the 1920s, the hyphenated form was
used in American newspapers in reference to the railroad and to describe people
of Mexican ancestry who were born in Texas.
In the mission era, Spanish and Mexican cuisines were combined in Texas as in
other parts of the northern frontier of New Spain. However, the cuisine that
would come to be called Tex-Mex actually originated with Tejanos as a mix of
native Mexican and Spanish foods when Texas was part of New Spain and later
Mexico. From the South Texas region between San
Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso, this cuisine has had little
variation, and from earliest times has always been influenced by the cooking in
the neighboring northern states of Mexico. The ranching culture of South
Texas and Northern Mexico straddles both sides of the border. A taste for
cabrito, barbacoa de cabeza, carne seca, and other products of cattle culture is
common on both sides of the Rio Grande. In the 20th century, Tex-Mex took on
such Americanized elements as yellow cheese, as goods from the United States
became cheap and readily available. In much of Texas, the cooking styles on
both sides of the U.S. - Mexico border were the same until a period after the
U.S. Civil War. With the railroads, American ingredients and cooking
appliances became common on the U.S. side.
A 1968 Los Angeles Times feature claimed "[i]f the dish is a combination of Old
World cooking, hush-my-mouth Southern cuisine and Tex-Mex, it's from the Texas
Hill Country." Paris's first Tex-Mex restaurant opened
in March 1983. After the 1986 release of the film Betty Blue, Tex-Mex cuisine's
popularity in Paris increased. Terminology
The Oxford English Dictionary supplies the first-known uses in print of
"Tex-Mex" in reference to food, from a 1963 article in the New York Times
Magazine, and a 1966 item in the Great Bend Tribune. Diana Kennedy, an
influential food authority, explained the distinctions between Mexican cuisine
and Americanized Mexican food in her 1972 book The Cuisines of Mexico. Robb
Walsh of the Houston Press said the book "was a breakthrough cookbook, one that
could have been written only by a non-Mexican. It unified Mexican cooking
by transcending the nation's class divisions and treating the food of the
poor with the same respect as the food of the upper classes." Another early
instance in print appeared in the Mexico City News in 1973.
See also Cuisine of the United States
Mexican cuisine Tex-Mex cuisine in Houston
Jane Butel, preeminent author on the cuisine
References External links
"Tex-Mex Foods." Handbook of Texas. Robb Walsh's Six-Part History of Tex-Mex
in the Houston Press: Pralines and Pushcarts, Combination Plates, Mama's
Got a Brand-new Bag, The Authenticity Myth, The French Connection, Brave Nuevo
World. Pronunciation Guide to Mexican and
Tex-Mex Food Temples of Tex-Mex: A Diner's Guide to
the State's Oldest Mexican Restaurants Lieberman, Dave. "Five Ways To Tell
You're Eating Americanized Mexican Food." OC Weekly. Monday June 14, 2010.