Tamales - why you should be eating them now!

(Published in Pacific Pearl magazine February 2023)

You may have heard the phrase “Eat the seasons”, referring to consuming vegetables and fruits in the season that they are plentiful. But have you thought about applying this wisdom to other seasons, like Thanksgiving or Christmas season? We all know what food is traditionally served around those dates. In Mexico we also celebrate many religious festivities combined with a typical dish, like for instance Pan de Muertos around Day of the Dead on November 1st and 2nd or Chiles en Nogada (stuffed poblano pepper in walnut sauce) served in the weeks leading up to Mexico’s Independence Day on September 16th.

In February we celebrate a lesser known religious holiday called Dia de la Candelaria. Now don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard about it. You could call it National Mexican Tamales Day. It’s celebrated on February 2nd, remembering the biblical story where baby Jesus was presented in the temple. Traditionally people would go to church with a baby Jesus figure to get it blessed. And then you would eat tamales. Nowadays few people keep up the religious part of the celebration, but many locals will buy tamales to share with their family. On Dia de la Candelaria the local tamales shops will sell 10 times more than their regular sales. A piece of advice: order your tamales a few days earlier. So what if you’re reading this after February 2nd? Don’t worry, no pasa nada! Any day is a good time to eat tamales. And there is a whole world of tamales that you can explore. Here are a few scrumptious options that you can find around Mazatlan.

Tamal de elote
Mazatlan’s best-selling tamales are sweet corn tamales. They are made with fresh corn grated off the cob, passed through a grinder and wrapped in corn husk. It’s a popular side dish on a traditional Sinaloa-style breakfast with Machaca shredded beef and poblano peppers in cream sauce.

Tamal de camaron
Do you prefer savory flavors? Then shrimp tamales are a local must-try. The corn dough or masa is mixed with a shrimp tomato broth to enhance the taste and the filling is typically peeled shrimp, potato and carrot. You might be able to find Tamales barbudos or ‘bearded’ tamales which are stuffed with unpeeled shrimp, resulting in a richer shrimp taste. You will have to get hands-on to peel and eat the shrimp. It’s all part of the food fun!

Tamal Colorado or Nixcoco
This is the legacy of indigenous tribes who roamed these regions before the arrival of the Spanish. Tamal Colorado is different from other tamales in two ways. First of all, it’s not prepared the same way. It’s cooked with a tree bark which gives it its bright-red color. And secondly it’s a tamal without a filling. It has a unique corn dough flavor. This is the rarest of all tamales around town. Keep your eyes peeled for these small red-colored tamales around the market and give them a try.
 
Tamales oaxaqueños
The world of tamales doesn’t end at the borders of Sinaloa. Every state in Mexico has their own regional varieties, like Corundas from Michoacan or Zacahuil from San Luis Potosí. In Mazatlan you can buy Oaxaca-style tamales which are wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husk. The filling might be similar, but the banana leaves give a totally different flavor. You can find these tamales sold on street corners around the market.

Now let’s commit to eating the seasons in Mexican foodie style! If you’re ready to learn more about Mazatlan’s culinary scene, make sure to book your seats for one of the Flavor Teller food tours.

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