SPIRULINA, the superfood of the Aztecs that is experiencing a boom in Mexico

Spirulina seems like a modern food, but the indigenous Mexicans consumed it centuries ago.

Anyone who has spent time in Mexico City recently may have noticed that spirulina appears on every menu.

From licuados (shakes) to more traditional dishes like tortillas and tlayudas (a crispy tortilla with refried beans and other dressings). It is everywhere.

But don’t assume this is symbolic of the hipster’s invasion of health food globalization: centuries before it was considered a “superfood”, the brightly colored cyanobacteria (or blue-green algae), which grow in warm alkaline lakes and ponds and rivers, they were a pre-hispanic staple food.

The Mexica, the descendants of the Aztecs, collected the protein-rich food from the surface of Lake Texcoco, a vast body of water in central Mexico that was later drained to make way for the construction of Mexico City.

There the waters had the perfect balance of salinity and alkalinity for spirulina to flourish.

The Mexica called it tecuitlatl, a Nahuatl word that would translate as “rock excrement,” though they held it in a decidedly higher esteem than its name suggests.

“Oral traditions say that Mexican messengers and runners in ancient Tenochtitlán ate dried spirulina with corn, tortillas, beans, chilies, or mole as a fuel for long trips“says Denise Vallejo, chef who runs the vegan restaurant Alchemy Organica in Los Angeles, California.

Even without modern science Mexica could recognize nutrient density which has made spirulina one of today’s favorite foods.

It has approximately a 60-70% protein by weight and has essential amino acids and many vitamins and minerals, especially iron, manganese and B vitamins, according to the Encyclopedia of Dietary Supplements.

In fact, it’s so healthy and relatively easy to grow that experts believe it could be a potential food source for future colonies on Mars.

The western world rediscovered the nutritious ingredient in the 1940s, when a French psychologist who studied algae noticed that the Kanembu, from Lake Chad, in Africa, collected spirulina and turned it into sun-dried loaves called dihé.

But it didn’t make its big return to Mexico until a happy accident in the 1960s, when the owners of Sosa Texcoco, which produced sodium carbonate and calcium chloride in a large snail-shaped pond in the remnants of Lake Texcoco, noted a green substance that ruined work.

They approached French researchers, who concluded that it was the same organism that had been feeding the Kanembu for generations.

How is it being used now?

Since 2010, American Katie Kohlstedt and her husband, born in San Luis Potosí (northeastern Mexico), Francisco Portillo, have grown fresh spirulina that probably tastes very similar to what the Mexica harvested centuries ago.

“We are very proud to grow it here,” says Kohlstedt. “We didn’t have to invent something new or bring something from somewhere else.”

While many people may be familiar with spirulina in its dehydrated powder form, Spirulina Viva sells the green matter raw and frozen, which gives it a much more delicate flavor.

“The free spirit should be creamy like a cheese spread, “explains Kohlstedt.” If you close your eyes, you might think you’re eating something between avocado and spinach. ”

Note that if you think spirulina has a fishy taste, you’ve probably been buying a lower quality product, or even one that uses ground fish bones to provide the phosphorus spirulina needs to grow.

Spirulina should not taste like fish, and if that happens it is of poor quality.

Many of the 'superfoods' enjoyed today have a rich history in Mesoamerica: chia, amaranth, cacao, avocado, nopal.