Galley Tips for Mexico
Ingredients in Spanish, Measures in Metric
Cooking in Mexico presents opportunities to improve your Spanish and to savor new flavors. If you have favorite recipes which call for spices, herbs, and seasonings you found easily north of the border, you'll find they have different names in Mexico. Some of these can be simply hard to find here. This page offers resources to help you put dinner on the table; they are our tips for your galley.
Why Does the Meat Look Different?
Butchers in Mexico begin with the same primal cuts
as their counterparts north of the border,
but Mexican butchers break them down slightly
differently than American or Canadian butchers. Here is a document showing common Spanish names for
cuts of beef.
The cuts may look different, but you'll know what they are.
Cooking with Herbs in Mexico
Here are the names of common spices, partially drawn from
The
Book of Spices
by Fredrick Rosengarten, jr. For even more information on Mexican herbs,
see Karen Graber's online article, A
Culinary
Guide to Mexican Herbs.
Or peruse her Mexican recipes.
| Common Herbs | |
|---|---|
| English | Spanish |
| allspice | pimenta gorda |
| anise | anis |
| basil | albahaca |
| bay leaf | laurel |
| caraway seed | carvi |
| cardamom | cardamomo |
| cayenne | cayena |
| celery seed | semilla de apio |
| chervil | cerafolio |
| chives | cebolleta |
| cinnamon | canela |
| cloves | clovo |
| coriander | cilantro |
| cumin | comino |
| dill | eneldo |
| fennel | hinojo |
| garlic | ajo |
| ginger | jengibre |
| marjoram | mejorano |
| mint | menta |
| mustard seed | semilla de mostaza |
| nutmeg | nuez moscada |
| onion | cebolla |
| oregano | orégano |
| paprika | pimentón |
| parsley | perejil |
| pepper | pimienta |
| poppy seed | semilla de amapola |
| pumpkin seed | semilla de calabaza |
| rosemary | romero |
| saffron | azafrán |
| sage | salvia |
| savory | ajedrea |
| sesame seed | ajonjoli |
| tarragon | estragón |
| thyme | tomillo |
| vanilla | vainilla |
| walnut | nuez de Castilla |
Convert Temperature
To convert temperatures between Celsius and Fahrenheit, enter a number in one scale. Click the other scale to convert.
May require rounding
Unit Conversion Widget
Here is a handy interactive tool to convert units.
Chef's Corner
For those chefs who don't have time to find a converter to grams for Mom's brownie recipe, here are some handy values for reference when you're trying to read that label; there's also a draggable calculator ready to go.
| Imperial Units in the Kitchen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial | x | Multiplier | = | Metric |
| teaspoons | x | 5 | = | milliliters |
| tablespoons | x | 15 | = | milliliters |
| fluid ounces | x | 30 | = | milliliters |
| fluid ounces | x | 0.03 | = | liters |
| cups | x | 240 | = | milliliters |
| cups | x | 0.24 | = | liters |
| pints | x | 0.47 | = | liters |
| quarts | x | 0.95 | = | liters |
| gallons | x | 3.8 | = | liters |
| ounces | x | 28 | = | grams |
| pounds | x | 454 | = | grams |
| pounds | x | 0.45 | = | kilograms |
| Metric Units in the Kitchen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | x | Multiplier | = | Imperial |
| milliliters | x | 0.2 | = | teaspoons |
| milliliters | x | 0.07 | = | tablespoons |
| milliliters | x | 0.034 | = | fluid ounces |
| liters | x | 34 | = | fluid ounces |
| milliliters | x | 0.004 | = | cups |
| liters | x | 4.2 | = | cups |
| liters | x | 2.1 | = | pints |
| liters | x | 1.06 | = | quarts |
| liters | x | 0.26 | = | gallons |
| grams | x | 0.035 | = | ounces |
| grams | x | 0.002 | = | pounds |
| kilograms | x | 2.2 | = | pounds |
Weight and Volume – By Ingredient
Here's a weight and volume tool, a kitchen
converter,
which converts measures for many
different ingredients, from sliced apples and grated cheddar to yeast.
Convert Currency
For help establishing relative value of prices, see the currency page.
Mexican Produce
Here is a handy resource describing fruits and vegetables you may not have seen before.
Traditional Markets
To top it off, here is a great site about traditional Mexican markets.
