Mexican Name Finder
IngredientSpanishcentral Mexico

Cecina

"salt-cured dried beef"

Say it

seh·SEE·nah

Where it comes from

Spanish cecina, probably from Latin siccus (dry)

What Cecina means

Cecina is a Mexican ingredient name of Spanish origin meaning "salt-cured dried beef". It comes from Spanish cecina, probably from Latin siccus (dry). It is pronounced seh-SEE-nah, and it is most associated with central Mexico.

The Latin route through siccus, dry, is probable rather than proven. Yecapixtla in Morelos is the town most associated with it in Mexico.

This is a site about what Mexican words mean, so there is no recipe here. For the name itself: The words that appear inside dish names: the chiles (ancho, guajillo, pasilla, chipotle), the corn words (nixtamal, masa, tortilla, elote), and the tools (comal, molcajete, metate). Learn these and most menu items decode themselves.

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Cecina means salt-cured dried beef

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