Kitchen of the Monastery of St. Rose / Cocina del Convento de Santa Rosa Founded 1708, Puebla, Mexico Photo by Carlos Varillas, 2002

In colonial Mexico, the latest improvements in kitchen design, technology, and cuisine often took place in religious institutions. As early as 1524, friars were supervising Indian laborers in the construction of mission establishments that included churches, monasteries, schools for Indian converts, and kitchens. These self-sufficient kitchen complexes included a vegetable garden, orchard, cistern, aqueduct, cold room, kitchen, bakery and refectory.

Most Mexican kitchens undoubtedly made use of a mixture of utensils from Spain and Mexico, such as the Mexican grinding stone (metate) as well as the European mortar and pestle. Mayólica imported from Spain was probably used alongside Mexican mayólica and, by the late sixteenth century, some Chinese porcelain. These vessels would have been used primarily for serving, decoration, and storage. Cooking and food preparation, on the other hand, were done in unglazed earthenware pots that continued to be made in the indigenous ceramic tradition.