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All Mexico Bernal The Flavored Esquites of Bernal
AO Edited Gastro Obscura

The Flavored Esquites of Bernal

This small town specializes in a rainbow of corn snacks.

Bernal, Mexico

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Mario Yair T.S.
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Colorful Esquites   Mario Yair TS / Atlas Obscura User
Colorful Esquites   Mario Yair TS / Atlas Obscura User
Esquite street stall   Mario Yair TS / Atlas Obscura User
Esquites   Mario Yair TS / Atlas Obscura User
Varieties of corn in the “Museo del Dulce” de Bernal   Mario Yair TS / Atlas Obscura User
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Throughout Mexico, esquites are a popular street food. The traditional esquite (from the Nahuatl "izquitl," to toast) is a snack that consists of frying or boiling corn kernels with epazote, chili and onion to later serve them with cheese, lemon, mayonnaise, or chili, according to the diner's taste.

However, only in the small town of Bernal is it possible to find them prepared with a rainbow different flavors and recipes that give the stalls selling them a colorful appeal. Here they are sold with butter, or habañero chili, shrimp, drowned in green mole, and garnished with guajillo, pipián, or even chicken legs. Each different recipe gives a different color to the corn kernels, which also come in different shades themselves: generally the white variety,  but also yellow and red. The dish is also completed with cheese, mayonnaise or more chili at the time of serving. 

In Bernal, esquites are traditionally prepared in clay pots on charcoal stoves, although the street vendors who pass through the streets of Bernal with carts prefer aluminum pots. Several famous spots for esquites line Calle Hermenegildo Galeana, a central street.  Doña Lupita and La Güera are two of the most popular options.

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Each stall has its recipes and varieties. Most of them are distributed along Corregidora street, which is the obligatory path for those who climb the Peña de Bernal monolith, but there are also some on Independencia and the streets surrounding the Main Square.

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Mario Yair TS

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June 16, 2022

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The Flavored Esquites of Bernal
Calle Hermenegildo Galeana
Bernal, 76680
Mexico
20.742695, -99.940844
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Nearby Places

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bernal

Bernal

Mexico

Places 3

Nearby Places

Rosalío Solano Museum of National Cinema

Bernal, Mexico

miles away

Quartz Grotto

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miles away

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bernal

Bernal

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Places 3

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