Cemita
Encyclopedia
There are several kinds of cemitas in Latin American cuisine.
sandwich, originally from the city of Puebla
.
It is distinguished from a torta
by the fluffy sesame-seeded egg roll that it is served on. Additionally, the ingredients usually are restricted to sliced avocado
, meat, white cheese, onions and red sauce (salsa
roja). Recently it has appeared on the streets of New York, Los Angeles, and other cities with Mexican food vendors.
The most popular meat in a cemita is beef
milanesa
, a thinly pounded and deep-fried piece of beef. Cueritos (pickled pig skin), queso de puerco (pork head cheese), and carnitas
(stewed pork) are also popular. The cheese is often panela
, a bland white cheese with the consistency of fresh mozzarella
. Quesillo
, a Mexican string cheese, is also used.
Although the name is the same, there are diverse types of cemitas depending on the region. The cemita of Sahuayo
, Michoacán
, is a smooth bread, without sesame seeds and including piloncillo. Its flavor is somewhat sweet and very flavorful; usually it is accompanied by a glass of milk, a cornflour drink (atole
), or some sort of hot drink. It is not used like a sandwich.
, says cemita comes from "acemite" (archaic Spanish for "bran") which in turns comes from Aramaic
, and is related to Greek σεμίδαλις (semídalis) ("semolina").
Use of the word may be influenced by a popular belief that the root of cemita is related to semita ("Semite"), referring to the Lebanese immigrants to Mexico who are said to have introduced the particular style of roll that goes into the sandwich, but this is likely a folk etymology due to the obvious similarity between the words.
.
Mexico
A cemita, also known as a cemita poblana, is sometimes known as a MexicanMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
sandwich, originally from the city of Puebla
Puebla, Puebla
The city and municipality of Puebla is the capital of the state of Puebla, and one of the five most important colonial cities in Mexico. Being a planned city, it is located to the east of Mexico City and west of Mexico's main port, Veracruz, on the main route between the two.The city was founded...
.
It is distinguished from a torta
Torta
Torta is a Spanish word with a huge array of culinary meanings depending from the area and period of history in question. It originated in different regional variants of flatbread, of which the torta de gazpacho and torta cenceña are still surviving in certain areas of central Spain. Tortas are...
by the fluffy sesame-seeded egg roll that it is served on. Additionally, the ingredients usually are restricted to sliced avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
, meat, white cheese, onions and red sauce (salsa
Salsa (sauce)
Salsa may refer to any type of sauce. In American English, it usually refers to the spicy, often tomato based, hot sauces typical of Mexican and Central American cuisine, particularly those used as dips. In British English, the word typically refers to salsa cruda, which is common in Mexican ,...
roja). Recently it has appeared on the streets of New York, Los Angeles, and other cities with Mexican food vendors.
The most popular meat in a cemita is beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
milanesa
Milanesa
The milanesa is a common meat dish mostly in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, as well as in other American countries to a lesser extent, where breaded meat fillet preparations are known as a milanesa The milanesa is a common meat...
, a thinly pounded and deep-fried piece of beef. Cueritos (pickled pig skin), queso de puerco (pork head cheese), and carnitas
Carnitas
Carnitas, literally "little meats", is a type of braised or roasted pork in Mexican cuisine.Pork carnitas is traditionally made using the heavily marbled, rich 'boston butt' or 'picnic ham' cuts of pork...
(stewed pork) are also popular. The cheese is often panela
Queso Panela
Queso panela , also called queso canasta or queso de la canasta because it carries the impression of the basket in which it is molded, is a white, fresh and smooth cheese of pasteurized cow's milk, served most often as part of appetizer dishes such as nopal salads or quesadillas. It is derived...
, a bland white cheese with the consistency of fresh mozzarella
Mozzarella
Mozzarella is an Italian Traditional Speciality Guaranteed food product. The term is used for several kinds of Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting :...
. Quesillo
Quesillo
Quesillo refers to different Latin American food or dishes depending on the country:-Bolivia:Quesillo in Bolivia means small fresh cheese. Popular farm cheese of the Cochabamba valley. Usually made from raw cow milk, pepsin and acid coagulation, maize size curd, dry salted, hand formed palm size...
, a Mexican string cheese, is also used.
Although the name is the same, there are diverse types of cemitas depending on the region. The cemita of Sahuayo
Sahuayo
Sahuayo is a city in the state of Michoacán, in western México, near the southern shore of Lake Chapala. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name...
, Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
, is a smooth bread, without sesame seeds and including piloncillo. Its flavor is somewhat sweet and very flavorful; usually it is accompanied by a glass of milk, a cornflour drink (atole
Atole
Atole is a traditional masa-based Mexican and Central American hot drink. Chocolate atole is known as champurrado or atole...
), or some sort of hot drink. It is not used like a sandwich.
Name
The Real Academia EspañolaReal Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one other hispanophone nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies...
, says cemita comes from "acemite" (archaic Spanish for "bran") which in turns comes from Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
, and is related to Greek σεμίδαλις (semídalis) ("semolina").
Use of the word may be influenced by a popular belief that the root of cemita is related to semita ("Semite"), referring to the Lebanese immigrants to Mexico who are said to have introduced the particular style of roll that goes into the sandwich, but this is likely a folk etymology due to the obvious similarity between the words.
Argentina
In northern Argentina the term cemita (also spelled semita) refers to a type of bread made from brown flour, grease and other ingredients.Central America
In El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua the term cemita refers to a kind of cake made with certain tropical fruits, usually caramelized pineapplePineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
.