Campeche cuisine: what it is, pan de cazón and dishes

What is it?

Campeche cuisine is the culinary tradition of the state of Campeche, on the western coast of the Yucatán peninsula along the Gulf of Mexico, considered the most sophisticated of the three peninsular cuisines. It combines Maya heritage, Spanish techniques, pirate contributions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and Gulf products of seafood and artisanal fishing. Its emblematic dishes are pan de cazón (a lasagne of tortillas, stewed dogfish and black beans), pámpano en escabeche, chocolomo (a beef-offal broth), Campeche panuchos, oven-baked Campeche suckling pig, strained tamales (made with strained, not coarsely ground, dough), pibipollos, coconut prawns, octopus rice in its ink and sweets such as cocoyol sweet and cocada. The city of Campeche, the state capital, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 for its defensive walls against pirates and its fortified historic centre.

Origin and history

Campeche cuisine has deep roots in the Maya civilisation, which dominated the region with cities such as Edzná, Calakmul and Becán for more than 3,000 years. The peninsula was sighted in 1517 by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, and Campeche was founded as the Villa de San Francisco de Campeche in 1540 by Francisco de Montejo 'the Younger', becoming the principal port of the peninsula until the rise of Progreso (Yucatán). It suffered constant attacks from English, French and Dutch pirates during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (Henry Morgan, Lorencillo, Jean Lafitte), which prompted the construction of the imposing defensive wall with its eight bastions, still visible. The pirate presence left culinary traces: techniques of salting, smoking and preserving that influenced pámpano en escabeche and cured fish. According to Larousse Cocina, pan de cazón is an eighteenth-century Campeche invention that makes use of the dogfish (a small shark) abundant in the Gulf. Lebanese immigration from the late nineteenth century in Campeche contributed kibbeh and Levantine techniques. The cultivation and consumption of cacao in areas such as Carmen has maintained a chocolate tradition since pre-Hispanic times. Campeche was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 for its value as a fortified colonial city.

Characteristic ingredients

Pan de cazón is the emblematic dish: maize tortillas arranged in layers like a lasagne, with stewed dogfish (a young shark cooked and shredded in a sofrito of tomato, onion, epazote and habanero chilli), strained black beans and a tomato sauce with habanero chilli, repeated in 3 to 5 layers. It is served hot, garnished with a whole roasted habanero chilli (decorative). Pámpano en escabeche is pampano fish, fried and then marinated in an escabeche of vinegar, onion, garlic, pepper and cumin, a Mediterranean-pirate heritage. Chocolomo is a broth of beef offal and meat cooked with onion, achiote, coriander and habanero chilli, a dish of the chacolomo or Maya-mestizo ritual slaughter. Campeche strained tamales contain very fine strained dough (sieved through cloth), not coarsely ground; filled with chicken or pork in guajillo chilli. Dogfish, crab, prawns, octopus in its ink and Gulf sea snails are the marine stars. Achiote, habanero chilli and X-cat-ik chilli are basics. Yucatán red onion and sour orange replace lime. The cocoyol (a local palm) and the chichihualtzapotl produce fruits for traditional sweets. Xtabentún and chaya complement peninsular ingredients.

Cultural significance

Campeche cuisine is the most sophisticated peninsular cuisine for its pirate-Maya-Mediterranean mix and a driver of the state's tourism. The city of Campeche has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 for its value as a fortified colonial city; the cuisine is an indispensable part of the tourist experience. Traditional cooks such as Silvia Ramos and Mónica Hernández have preserved centuries-old recipes of the Campeche repertoire. Campeche cuisine is part of the UNESCO dossier of traditional Mexican cuisine inscribed in 2010. Patron-saint festivals such as those of Pomuch (a unique Day of the Dead with the cleaning of bones), the celebrations of the Virgen del Carmen in Ciudad del Carmen, and the Champotón fair include traditional food as a cultural axis. The Calakmul biosphere reserve, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, preserves ritual Maya cooking in nearby villages. Campeche is also an important producer of prawn, octopus and cacao. Dogfish cooking sustains small-scale fishing economies in villages such as Champotón, Sabancuy and Seybaplaya. The state government promotes routes such as the Cacao Route and the Camino Real Route.

Frequently asked questions

What is pan de cazón?

It is the emblematic dish of Campeche: a kind of 'Mexican lasagne' of 3 to 5 alternating layers of maize tortilla, shredded dogfish (young shark) stewed in a sofrito of tomato, epazote and habanero chilli, and strained black beans. It is covered with a tomato sauce and garnished with a whole roasted habanero chilli. It is served hot, in square portions. It was born in the eighteenth century, making use of the abundant dogfish of the Gulf.

Why are there so many escabeches in Campeche cuisine?

Because of the pirate and Iberian influence. Campeche was a key Gulf port and suffered constant pirate attacks during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which prompted food-preservation techniques for long voyages and supplies during sieges. Escabeche (vinegar, onion, spices) was a Mediterranean method for preserving fish and meat without refrigeration. Pámpano and turkey in escabeche are a direct heritage.

What does Campeche cuisine taste like?

It has complex flavours: citrus from achiote and sour orange, acidity from the escabeches, spicy-fruity notes from habanero and X-cat-ik chilli, smokiness from pibil cooking, and the mineral sweetness of Gulf seafood. Pan de cazón mixes earthy marine flavours with beans and spices. It is more sophisticated than Yucatecan cuisine owing to its greater variety of fish and the Mediterranean-pirate influence.

Where does Campeche cuisine come from?

It originates in the state of Campeche, on the western coast of the Yucatán peninsula along the Gulf of Mexico. Its roots are Maya (Edzná, Calakmul) of more than 3,000 years, with a strong Spanish colonial imprint from 1540 (the founding of the town). It received Mediterranean-pirate influences of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and Lebanese ones from the late nineteenth century. The city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.