Tabasco cuisine: pejelagarto, chipilin and tropical jungle

What is it?

Tabasco cuisine is the gastronomic tradition of the state of Tabasco, in southeastern Mexico on the coastal plain of the Gulf, one of the most tropical and Olmec-Mayan rooted cuisines in the country. The state is covered by rivers, mangroves, tall jungle and wetlands, which gives rise to unique products such as the pejelagarto (a fossil fish with scales), chipilin, plantain, criollo cacao, river snails and lagoon seafood. Its emblematic dishes are roasted pejelagarto, chipilin tamales, chocolate ground on metate, chipilin broth, pejelagarto empanadas, pataste or pataxte (wild cacao), stuffed plantains, river snails in their shell, white and cacao pozol, and artisanal chocolates such as chorote. It is consumed daily in the markets of Villahermosa, Cardenas, Tenosique and Paraiso, with riverside cuisine on the rivers and coastal cuisine on the Gulf.

Origin and history

Tabasco cuisine inherits directly from the Olmecs, the mother civilisation of Mesoamerica, which flourished in La Venta and other Tabasco sites more than 3,500 years ago and are considered the first cultivators and consumers of cacao in the world. The Maya-Chontal and Nahua-Mexicaneros also inhabited the region. The conquest of Tabasco by Hernan Cortes in 1519 was his first triumph in continental territory before advancing on Tenochtitlan. The region was part of Yucatan during the colonial period and was constituted as an independent province in 1786. Tabasco cacao has held the 'Cacao Grijalva' protected designation of origin since 2016, safeguarding criollo varieties cultivated in municipalities such as Comalcalco, Cunduacan and Paraiso. According to Larousse Cocina, the pejelagarto (Atractosteus tropicus) is a prehistoric fossil fish that has lived without major changes for 100 million years in the rivers of Tabasco; it is a ritual and economic food of the Chontal peoples. Mexico Desconocido documents that cacao pozol is an ancestral Olmec-Mayan drink continuous to the present day. Plantain (introduced by Africans during the colonial era) prospered so well in Tabasco that the state was its main exporter to the United States in the early 20th century. Tabasco produces more than 60% of Mexican cacao and is the national centre for criollo chocolate.

Characteristic ingredients

Pejelagarto is the flagship fish: it is roasted whole over the coals with its scaly skin, then opened and the white flesh is shredded to make tacos with tortilla, lime, coriander and green salsa. The head is used for broth. Chipilin (Crotalaria longirostrata) is a very green and aromatic leaf, the base of tamales and broths; it has a unique herbaceous flavour and high nutritional properties. Tabasco cacao is ground on metate and mixed with achiote to make white pozol (maize masa beaten with water) and cacao pozol (with ground cacao), refreshing daily drinks. Chorote is hot chocolate with maize masa, cinnamon and sometimes achiote. Plantain (macho, dominico, manzano and morado) is used in mogo-mogo (mash with beans), stuffed plantains with cheese or picadillo, and desserts. The river snail or tegogolo is eaten in its shell with tomato and chilli broth. The most used chillies are sweet pepper, amaxito chilli (similar to piquin) and pico de paloma chilli. Momo or to leaf (Piper auritum, Veracruz hoja santa) wraps tamales and aromatises. Seafood products such as oysters, crabs, sea bass and mojarra are abundant. Cacao beans, nibs and pure chocolate are exported to elite chocolatiers worldwide.

Cultural significance

Tabasco cuisine is the identity of Tabasco, 'the Eden of Mexico' in the words of the poet Jose Gorostiza, and a relevant cultural engine thanks to the Olmec cradle and cacao. The Cacao Grijalva protected designation of origin (2016) protects traditional producers against industrial hybridisations of African cacao. Comalcalco, the main cacao-producing centre, hosts the Tabasco Chocolate Route, with haciendas such as La Luz, Cholula and Jesus Maria that offer visits, tastings and workshops. The cuisine is part of the UNESCO inscription of traditional Mexican cuisine in 2010. The Carnival of Tenosique during Lent, unique in the country for its pre-Hispanic Pocho dances, includes Chontal ritual food. Day of the Dead festivities in Chontal towns such as Nacajuca preserve offerings with pozol, chocolate, tamales and sweets. La Venta Museum Park exhibits Olmec colossal heads as a cultural-gastronomic context. Chefs such as Aquiles Chavez and Cristina Veronica Ruiz have taken Tabasco cuisine onto the international stage, especially that of pejelagarto and pure cacao.

Frequently asked questions

What is pejelagarto?

It is a prehistoric fossil fish (Atractosteus tropicus) that has lived without major changes for 100 million years in the tropical rivers of Tabasco and the Usumacinta basin. It has large scales like a caiman, an elongated snout with teeth and firm white flesh. It is roasted whole over the coals with its skin on and eaten in tacos or broth. It is an ancestral food of the Chontal people and a gastronomic emblem of the state.

What is Tabasco pozol?

It is an ancestral Olmec-Mayan drink made with nixtamalised maize masa beaten with water. There are two versions: white pozol (only masa, water and salt) and cacao pozol (with ground roasted cacao and sometimes sugar). It is served cold in gourds, refreshing and very nutritious in the humid tropics. It is a daily food that replaces meals in Chontal and mestizo villages of Tabasco and Chiapas.

What does Tabasco cuisine taste like?

It has intense tropical flavours: bitter cacao, sweet plantain, herbal chipilin, aniseed hoja santa, earthy achiote, spicy habanero or amaxito chilli, and river fish with mineral flavour. It is less spicy than central Mexican cuisine but more aromatic and complex, with a predominance of fire cooking, vegetable wrappers (plantain, hoja santa) and cold drinks such as pozol and chorote.

Where does Tabasco cuisine come from?

It originates from the state of Tabasco, in southeastern Mexico on the coastal plain of the Gulf. Its oldest roots are Olmec (3,500 years, La Venta), followed by the Maya-Chontal and the Nahuas. The Spanish conquest in 1519 was Cortes's first triumph. Tabasco cacao with the 'Cacao Grijalva' protected designation of origin (2016) sustains one of the most continuous gastronomic traditions in the world.