30 points Summerize This

In 1835, William Heath Davis became one of the first Americans to settle in California. There, he got his first taste of Mexican food. Davis later wrote of the Californio diet:

Their tables were frugally [simply] furnished, the food clean and inviting, consisting mainly of good beef broiled on an iron rod, or steaks with onions, also mutton [sheep], chicken, eggs . . . The bread was tortillas; sometimes made with yeast. Beans were a staple dish . . . Their meat stews were excellent when not too highly seasoned with red pepper.

Davis may not have known it, but the food he was enjoying in California brought together the best of two worlds.

A Food Revolution The Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1521 began one of the great food revolutions in history. The Spanish came to Mexico in search of gold, but the greatest treasures they found were American Indian foods unknown in Europe, including corn, tomatoes, chocolate, peanuts, vanilla, beans, squash, avocados, coconuts, sunflower seeds, and chili peppers. The Spanish shipped these new foods back to Spain, and from there, they spread throughout Europe, greatly expanding people's food choices.

In turn, the Spanish brought the foods of Europe to Mexico. They introduced meats such as pork, beef, lamb, chicken, and goat. They brought nuts and grains such as almonds, walnuts, rice, wheat, and barley. They planted fruits and vegetables such as apples, oranges, grapes, olives, lettuce, carrots, sugarcane, and potatoes (which they discovered in Peru). Additionally, they introduced herbs and spices such as cinnamon, parsley, coriander, oregano, and black pepper.

A New Style of Cooking Mexican cooks combined these foods of diverse origins to create a rich and flavorful style of cooking that was neither Indian nor Spanish. It was distinctly Mexican.

As Americans settled the Southwest, they were introduced to Mexican food. Many of them liked the new tastes, and they borrowed recipes from Mexicano cooks. In Texas, the mingling of Mexican and American dishes resulted in a style of cooking known as Tex-Mex. Across America, a spicy stew of beef and beans known simply as chili became as American as apple pie.