Ahuautle: what it is, taste and how it's eaten

What is it?

Ahuautle, from the Nahuatl ahuauhtli (water seed), are the edible eggs laid by aquatic flies of the genus Corisella (axayácatl) in the brackish waters of Lake Texcoco, Tlaxcala and Hidalgo. It is gathered by tying bundles of grasses on the shores so that the females lay their eggs. After drying in the sun, the eggs come loose and are sieved, obtaining a yellow powder used in fritters, revoltijo with romeritos, tamales and as a substitute for egg during Lent. Known as Mexican caviar for its high protein concentration and its historical value, it is one of the most representative pre-Hispanic foods of the high plateau and is still served in San Cristóbal Nexquipayac and in Chimalhuacán, State of Mexico.

Origin and history

The consumption of ahuautle has been documented since the Mexica Postclassic period. Bernardino de Sahagún, in the Florentine Codex (book XI, chapter 5), describes it as small eggs that abound in the lake of Mexico and are sold in the Tlatelolco market. Hernán Cortés mentioned it in his Letters of Relation sent to Charles V (1520), noting its use as tortillas and biscuits that the natives sold. After the conquest, the draining of Lake Texcoco, begun by Enrico Martínez in the 17th century and completed in the 20th, drastically reduced production. The UNAM and CONABIO have documented the activity as ahuautlera culture, surviving in Nahua communities that still practise lake fishing with inherited techniques. México Desconocido reports that only a few dozen families in San Cristóbal Nexquipayac keep the artisanal gathering of ahuautle alive today.

Characteristic ingredients

Ahuautle is made up of thousands of tiny eggs of less than 1 mm, laid in clusters by females of Corisella mercenaria and Corisella texcocana. It is harvested from March to October, by means of submerged bundles of bulrush or grass where the females spawn; when they are taken out and dried in the sun, the eggs come loose and are sifted through sieves. Its flavour recalls dried prawns, with notes of seaweed, salted fish and boiled egg. SAGARPA reports a protein content close to 63% by dry weight, higher than that of egg and chicken, as well as providing lysine, calcium and omega-3. Traditionally it is mixed with beaten egg to form fritters that are bathed in mole or guajillo chilli sauce. It accompanies revoltijo with romeritos and nopales during Holy Week, and is incorporated into ritual tamales of the Lenten season in Texcoco.

Cultural significance

Ahuautle symbolises the deep relationship between the cultures of the Valley of Mexico and their vanished lake environment. It formed part of the tribute that the lake communities delivered to Moctezuma, according to the Matrícula de Tributos, and was considered a ceremonial food. Today it is a subsistence resource at serious risk: the INAH and CONABIO warn that urbanisation and pollution threaten both the insect and the associated traditional knowledge. The Lake Texcoco Management Plan includes programmes to rescue the ahuautlero trade. Traditional Mexican Cuisine, recognised by UNESCO in 2010, explicitly incorporates ahuautle among the foods representative of the Mesoamerican food paradigm. Chefs such as Yuri de Gortari and Edmundo Escamilla promoted its revaluation at the Museum of Mexican Gastronomy before its closure, and restaurants such as Pujol and Quintonil occasionally include it on seasonal menus.

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