Esquites (or ezquites) (troles and trolelotes in Northeast Mexico, chasca in Aguascalientes, vasolote in Michoacán, etc.) also known as elote en vaso (corn in a cup) or just simply elote in Southwestern USA is a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

snack or

antojito Mexican street food, called ''antojitos'' (literally "little cravings"), is prepared by street vendors in Mexico City, street vendors and at small traditional markets in Mexico. Street foods include tacos, tamales, gorditas, quesadillas, Empalme ( ...

. One can find them at local markets, and street vendors selling corn. The word ''esquites'' comes from the

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

word ''ízquitl'', which means "toasted corn". National Museum - Caja de Mazorca de Maiz

Origin

Although its true origin is not known, it is a common understanding that esquites are historically a common Mexican street food. According to Nahuatl stories, esquites are credited as being created by the deity Tlazocihuapilli of Xochimilcas, who is also credited with creating Mexican Atole and corn jelly. There is an alternative origin story that claims that in the late 1800's, Emperor Maxamilion and Empress Carlota created a dish referred to as "Odalisque Teeth", when they accidentally used corn flour instead of wheat. The modern day esquite is known as a Mestizo preparation because many of its fundamental ingredients (not including corn) were from Spain.

Ingredients

Esquites are generally made from white corn kernels that have been boiled and softened in water, which typically contains salt and

epazote ''Dysphania ambrosioides'', formerly ''Chenopodium ambrosioides'', known as Jesuit's tea, Mexican-tea, ''payqu'' ''(paico)'', ''epazote'', ''mastruz'', or ''herba sanctæ Mariæ'', is an annual or short-lived perennial herb native to Central A ...

. Sometimes the corn is also sauteed in butter and onions after it has been boiled. The white corn kernels are first boiled until soft and tender in large pots and served in plastic or styrofoam cups, hence the name in English, "corn in cup". One can additionally find them being served in corn husks. The ingredients can vary; toppings for esquites include (but are not limited to) combinations of

lime juice A lime (from French ''lime'', from Arabic ''līma'', from Persian ''līmū'', "lemon") is a citrus fruit, which is typically round, green in color, in diameter, and contains acidic juice vesicles. There are several species of citrus trees ...

chili powder Chili powder (also spelled chile, chilli, or, alternatively, powdered chili) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (in which case it is also sometimes known as chili p ...

or hot sauce,

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

, cotija cheese, and

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (; ), colloquially referred to as "mayo" , is a thick, cold, and creamy sauce or dressing commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar ...

. In places like Mexico City they are also topped with Mexican Chapulines or crickets. A popular modern-day variation is to top the corn with blended

Flamin' Hot Cheetos Cheetos (formerly styled as Chee-tos until 1998) is a crunchy corn puff snack brand made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin invented Cheetos in 1948, and began national distribution in the U.S. The initia ...

Takis Takis may refer to: * Takis (snack), a spicy, roll-shaped snack * Takis Christoforidis, a Greek actor * Takis Fotopoulos, a Greek political philosopher * Takis Ikonomopoulos, a Greek football player * Takis Kanellopoulos a Greek film director * T ...

. New Variations include all the same ingredients but mixed in with a chip bag of choice.

Other countries

Esquites is also known in some other countries such as Iran where it is known as "Mexican corn" (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: ذرت مکزیکی, ''zorrat mekziki'') and Bulgaria where it is known as "corn in cup" (

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

: царевица в чашка, ''tsarevitsa v chashka'').

References

{{Street food Maize dishes Mexican cuisine Snack foods Street food

Origin

Ingredients

Other countries

See also

References