Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In Mexican metal., native carbonate of soda mixed with some sulphate and common salt, which effloresces, after the rainy season, on the surface of the plains in Mexico, and later in the season forms a crust.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word tequesquite.

Examples

  • My Pequeño Larousse says tequesquite is salitre, which translates as saltpeter.

    Ceniza (ash) or tequesquite 1919

  • Its origin goes back to 1650, when a small village was established at the border of a spring where the natives extracted "tequesquite" and planted sesame and corn; etymologically it is a Nahuatl word meaning "Place of Tequesquite or Lime", because previously it was a salpetrous plain that after some time was covered by water.

    cCost of Housing Increase 2005

  • This process, called nixtamalization, uses either wood ash or slaked calcium hydroxide, called cal or tequesquite ( "builder's lime" in English) to soak the corn kernels and soften their often-tough outer skin.

    From Masa To Mesa: The Many Faces Of Tortillas 2004

  • This process, called nixtamalization, uses either wood ash or slaked calcium hydroxide, called cal or tequesquite ( "builder's lime" in English) to soak the corn kernels and soften their often-tough outer skin.

    From Masa To Mesa: The Many Faces Of Tortillas 2004

  • I think your ash or tequesquite may well be a version of this.

    Ceniza (ash) or tequesquite 1919

  • MexConnect. com Forums: Specific Focus: Mexican Kitchen: Ceniza (ash) or tequesquite

    Ceniza (ash) or tequesquite 1919

  • I have a recipe for some cookies that calls for ceniza (ash) or in its absence tequesquite.

    Ceniza (ash) or tequesquite 1919

  • _tequesquite_, and regularly collected by the Indians.

    Anahuac : or, Mexico and the Mexicans, Ancient and Modern Edward Burnett Tylor

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.