Since caldos, or stews, usually constitute a comedor's main dish, and stews are born from so many different recipes, it's worthwhile to have the following list, which will be useful if your stew tastes interesting and you ask what it is made of:
Achiote paste as commonly bought in stores; copyright-free image courtesy of "El Mono Español," made available through Wikimedia Commons.- achiote: annatto -- much-employed orange-red dye and flavor enhancer, seen at the right, made from ground seeds of the achiote tree Bixa orellana
- ajo: garlic
- albahaca: basil
- arroz: rice
- apio: celery
- berenjena: eggplant
- calabaza: squash or pumpkin
- cebolla: onion
- chayote: a greenish, pear-shaped, sometimes softly spiny squash
- chícharos: peas
- chilacayote: a green, spherical, baseball-size squash
- chili: red or green chili pepper
- cilantro: coriander herb, Coriandrum sativum
- col: cabbage
- ejote: string bean
- elote: ear of sweet corn
- epazote: herb sometimes called "Mexican tea," Chenopodium ambrosioides, seen at the right
- frijoles: beans
- garbanzos: chickpeas
- haba: lima bean
- jitomate: depending on region, usually means tomato, though sometimes it's the husk tomato, which also is called tomatillo
- maíz: corn, or maize
- manteca: lard
- mantequilla: butter
- orégano: oregano
- papa: potato
- perejil: parsley
- pescado: fish
- pimienta: black pepper
- pollo: chicken
- puerco: pork
- res: beef
- queso: cheese
- sal: salt
- tomate: depending on region, may mean tomato or red tomato, though sometimes the husk tomato is called tomate verde (green tomato) or jítomate
- tomatillo: husk tomato
- zanahoria: carrot
Epazote herb collected in the mountains of Chiapas.