Food in Arizona

Mexican and Southwestern cuisine are the dominant culinary styles in Arizona.

Arizona has a good irrigation system and a long growing season, farmers can grow citrus, wheat and a good variety of vegetables. Several typs of cattle are raised, primarily beef.

Citrus fruits, mainly oranges, lemons, grapefruits and tangerines, are grown in the south of the state.  Among the vegetables, lettuce, jicama and tomatillo stand out. Jicama is a popular vegetable. It came to Arizona from Mexico, which is why it is also known as Mexican potato. Like potatoes, it is a tuber and has brown skin. The texture and taste are different from potatoes, jicama has a crunchy texture after cooking and a slightly sweet taste. Jicama is commonly used in salads, seasoned with salt and lemon. Tomatillos, which resemble small green tomatoes with a thin, paper-like cover, are also grown in Arizona. They date back to the time of the Aztecs.

It is said that the chimichangas were created by accident, when an Arizona cook dropped a burrito into a pan full of hot fat.

Arizona food and drink

Arizonans pride themselves on having a healthy lifestyle. Foods classified as particularly healthy are popular throughout the state. They also take advantage of the benefits of the desert and make jams, jellies and cactus wine, usually with prickly pears.

The state shares a border with Mexico and is influenced by Mexican cuisine, which includes quesadillas. Quesadillas are quite popular in Arizona, where they are often served in both traditional and creative ways. 

Arizonans like their food with lots of spicy spices. Chili peppers are an ingredient that appears in almost every dish and Arizonans pride themselves on liking things the hotter the better.

Many of Arizona's dishes and ingredients, such as chorizo and cheese, have already become known in the rest of the country, but in the 80s they were considered exotic outside the state.

Salsa cruda is something well known today almost everywhere in the world and Arizona can boast of having some unusual salsas, which are made with chilies, beans, vegetables, vegetables and fruit.

The availability of fresh fruit turns into pleasant refreshments during the warm months.

Arizona recipes

Quesadillas with vegetables

Food festivals

There are several market days throughout the state, during which you can try local specialties. Also interesting are the days dedicated to the culture of various indigenous tribes that inhabited the territory.

Arizona hosts several tamale festivals and salsa festivals throughout the year.
Prickly pear festivals are held in Superior and Tucson.

Popular dishes in Arizona

Navajo tacos are  similar to Mexican tacos, but are made with fried Navajo bread, or sopaipilla, as a base and not tortillas.

Pozole, a corn dish, is eaten, but the ingredients vary depending on whether the Mexican recipe or that of the natives is used.

Sonoran hot dogs carry a sausage wrapped in smoked bacon and topped with pinto beans, tomatoes, onions and mustard.

Menudo, a corn soup, is considered a hangover cure and is served on weekends. The fact that it needs to be cooked for a long time also influences so that it does not appear on the daily menu.