Amaranth occupied a special place in the Aztec diet. This eminently nutritious grain crop was imported into the capital in substantial quantities, but it was destined not so much for the kitchens of ordinary folk as for the ceremonial use: it was mixed with ground maize, along with honey or maguey sap, formed into idols of the great god Huitzilopochtli, and consumed in this manner on his feast days—the horror of the Spanish priests, who saw this as a travesty of Holy Communion!

Maize could be consumed not only as tortillas and tamales, but also in liquid form, as a maize gruel called atolli; another kind of maize drink called pozolli was made from slightly fermented maize dough; both could be taken to the fields in gourd containers for the repast of farmers.