Native corn grains spotted at the Feria de Productores, or Producers' Fair in Guadalajara, Jalisco; copyright free image courtesy of "Feria de Productores,"; made available through Wikimedia Commons.

MAÍZ, or Corn or maize. As the main member the "triad" of foodstuffs on which America's great indigenous cultures was based -- corn (maize), beans and squash -- you can bet that a rainbow of corn grains can be found in Mexican mercados. Sometimes it's said that most traditional corn grains grown in Mexico fall into four groups: amarillo (yellow); rojo (red); blanco (white), or palomero (popcorn). A special kind of white corn is the pozolero, which are especially large, white, and relatively soft -- perfect for soaking, grinding, and making into tortillas. Also pozolero corn, as the name suggests, is used for making the traditional pozole, a special caldo, or stew, which beside the corn usually contains bits of meat, greens and condiments typical of the region.

Pozolero corn at a small market in Mexico City; copyright free image courtesy of "ProtoplasmaKid" made available through Wikimedia Commons.

Alpiste, or birdseed; copyright free image courtesy of "Xanyssel" made available through Wikimedia Commons.

ARROZ, or rice; in Mexico often sold as arroz quebrado, or "broken rice,"as seen at the left, on sale at the Mercado Michoacán in Colonia Condesa of Mexico City. Broken rice, if all the grain's germ and bran remain, is nutritionally equivalent to brown rice. If the germ and bran have been removed, it's the same as white rice -- thus less nutritional. Broken rice often is fed to animals other than humans. Broken rice cooks faster and when eaten raw by pets and livestock provides energy faster than none-broken grains. In mercados it's easy to spot because of its bright whiteness.

Alpiste, or birdseed; copyright free image courtesy of Matt Lavin made available through Wikimedia Commons.

ALPISTE, or birdseed, often bought for backyard chickens, usually turns up in a Mexican mercado's grain area. Usually the name alpiste applies to Canary Grass, Phalaris canariensis, originally from the Mediterranean region. One reason Canary Grass seeds are so commonly fed to chickens and caged birds is that they're highly nutritious, with a relatively high content of vegetable protein. Also, many people consideer the seeds to be medicinal for numerous ailments.

Alpiste, or birdseed; copyright free image courtesy of "Bobyellow" made available through Wikimedia Commons.

GIRASOL, or sunflower seeds, can be bought in the raw form or toasted, with or without the tough, blotched husk. Often roving vendors sell little packagess of toasted and salted seeds. Botanically speaking, the items at the right are one-seeded cypsela-type fruits of the sunflower. You crack open the fruit's tough husk to expose the seed. In Mexico often the fruits, normally called seeds, are toasted, the husk and seed inside are then ground into a paste, and the tasty, nutritious atole de semillas de girasol, or sunflower-seed atole, is made. However sunflower seeds/fruits are eaten, you're sure to get a healthy combination of protein, fiber, minerals and other nutrients. It's thought that sunflower plants were first domesticated in Mexico about 4600 years ago.

Semillas de calabaza, or birdseed, nibbled on in Guerrero; copyright free image courtesy of "Ix kimiaranda" made available through Wikimedia Commons.

SEMILLAS DE CALABAZA, or squash seeds -- the ones at the left being toasted and spritzed with lemon juice and salt -- are important traditional snacks in Mexico. As with the sunflower seed picture, at the left the items show are, botanically speaking, fruits, each containing one seed. However, with squash fruits/seeds, normally the whole thing is eaten, either raw or toasted, though both flavor and nutrient value are enhanced with light toasting. Squash seeds provide about the same excellent nutrient and fiber value as sunflower seeds. They're eaten as snacks often sold on the street, also ground up for moles, sprinkled over salads. Many kinds of squashes produce edible seeds, and have been eaten in Mexico since ancient times.