What Goes Into Real Mexican Food?

What Goes Into Real Mexican Food?

What Goes Into Real Mexican Food?
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 7
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.54

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		Quesadillas, chiles, masa, seafood, generally, authentic, plentiful, luckily, rattlesnake, pineapple, cauliflower, depend, history, form, abundance, ingredient
	content words:		Modern Mexican, Vera Cruz, United States

Print What Goes Into Real Mexican Food?
edHelper.com subscriber options:

	Print What Goes Into Real Mexican Food? (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)
	Quickly print reading comprehension
	Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on What Goes Into Real Mexican Food?

Leave your feedback on What Goes Into Real Mexican Food? (use this link if you found an error in the story)

What Goes Into Real Mexican Food?
By Jane Runyon

¹     The flavors in Mexican food are strong and rich. This comes from a long history of using spices, peppers, and ingredients that are plentiful. Some of the dishes have changed very little from what was made in the days of the Aztecs. Luckily, some have.

²     In some parts of Mexico, Aztec and Mayan food is still prepared. It is generally referred to as prehispanic food. Some of the ingredients you might find in this prehispanic food are iguana, rattlesnake, spider monkey, and insects. The Mexican people know about this food; they just don't eat much of it today.

³     Modern Mexican food comes from a blending of food. Aztec cooking relied on corn, chiles, herbs, beans, and squash for its flavor. When the Spanish came to the land, they brought with them rice, beef, pork, chicken, garlic, and onions. The Spanish learned some of the secrets of native cooking. They were introduced to chocolate, papaya, pineapple, and sweet potatoes. By combining all of these ingredients, the food of Mexico was born.

Paragraphs 4 to 9:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

Copyright © 2008 edHelper