Cochinita pibil, Relleno negro, Frijol con Puerco (beans with pork), papadzules, lime soup, motuleño eggs, poc-chuc, among many others, are dishes part of the traditional Yucatecan gastronomy, considered Intangible Cultural Heritage of the State of Yucatan by official decree since 2013.
Yucatecan cuisine is strongly linked to regional identity. In particular, Yucatecan cuisine has established its own logic and aesthetics, different and distinct from Central Mexico food – the ideological source of Mexican national gastronomy- and closer to Caribbean traditions, according to the anthropologist Steffan Igor Ayora.
The consumption demand of Yucatecan dishes is not only limited to the Yucatan region. Cochinita pibil, for example, is prepared and marketed as a ready-to-eat packaged product, despite being prepared by production companies based in other states.
(Photo: unionjalisco.mx)
In an interview for the Agencia Informativa Conacyt, Manuel Octavio Ramírez Sucre, researcher at the Center for Research and Assistance in Technology and Design of the State of Jalisco (Ciatej), mentions that one disadvantage of these products is that their texture and flavor does not correspond to those of the dishes that are traditionally made in the region.
In conjunction with the company Associated Producers of the Yucatan Peninsula (Productores Asociados de la Península de Yucatán), Ciatej promoted the establishment of a prototype project for the manufacture of high quality regional processed foods ready for consumption. These ready-to-eat meals are safe, don’t have any chemical preservatives and have a long shelf life, through the financing of the Entrepreneurs Fund of Yucatan (Fondo de Emprendedores de Yucatán: Fondey).
TYT Newsroom with information from unionjalisco.mx