OK, Elote is from an Aztec word (elotl) for corn. It is a major street food in Mexico City and southern Cal.
You shuck corn and grill it maybe 8 minutes. Then butter, slather with Mayo and sprinkle with cotija cheese and chili powder.
Squirt of lime if you want.
Look at this pic of charcoal grilled corn and imagine how it SMELLS!!!
Nice, Frank.
FYI, “elote” is the Mexican word for corn on the cob in all forms, not just this one.
I’ll quibble right back at you and say it’s more appropriately a Spanish word, more than a Mexican word.
At any rate it’s good stuff. I go light on the mayo or even omit it using more butter. Most of the real authentic versions leave the husks on while cooking. The kernels char a little less and the peeled back husk is a handle for eating. Guajillo chile seems to be the standard, and with that and the richness of the butter/cheese, the lime is (IMO) good. It’s also good to mix the chile with the salt so as to get an even distribution.
John, although it pains me, I think I’m gonna go with Bob’s word “Mexican.”
Why? As I mentioned in the OP, elote is from the Nahuatl word “elotl” and probably doesn’t exist in Castilian Spanish, unless as a loan word. When I went with some guys from Houston to Mexico City over Spring Break in 1966, via bus and second class rail carriage, we actually heard a fair amount of Nahuatl. Those whispery final unvoiced “L” sounds are a dead give-away.
My son’s fiancee is particularly interested in the survival of tribal languages in Central America. There are fairly large cities in Mexico where Spanish is the second language of the majority of the population, to a point where the educational system has to take the original languages into account.
As far as Bob’s gripe with my post – I didn’t say it ONLY meant this dish, did I?
Well, what I meant was Mexican as opposed to say, Guatemalan or Cuban or Spanish (as in used in Spain). It’s similar to saying “y’all” is a southern term. Natives of all three countries speak Spanish but they have different words for the same things at times. For example, a turkey in Mexico is either a pavo or a guajolote, but in Guatemala it’s a chompipe.
Well, no, but there was a pretty clear implication. 
Kinda, and it’s a trivial point. I’m a Gonzales, but via being half-Filipino, so I was not raised with Spanish. The word may have not originated in Spain, but is used there as well. But my main point really is that it is used among all types of Latin Americans, and the “tribes” or civilizations cross borders. I had up to 30 Latino immigrant employees at one point. There were points in time when amongst Latinos, only half would be Mexican. Very few spoke english so I learned “jobsite” Spanish very well. We would often sit around a lunch-truck and discuss different usages between Latinos. As you refer to, even those from different parts of Mex. use different words and pronunciations. A couple of the extremely rural guys from certain areas (like Chiapas, Oaxaca, or Yucatan) were even hard for the other Mexicans to understand.
Nonetheless, Salvadorenos, Guatamaltecos, even Hondurans, DO use the term elote. I was part ribbing Bob, but the other Latin nationals typically do not like it when things they share are referred to as Mexican. In fact, many feel SOME Mexicans display an air of superiority in making a point of distinguishing themselves from other Latinos. A word can be “Mexican” in that it is a part of that country’s language, but you’ll get a lot of reaction if you say someone is speaking “Mexican”.
Hi John
I remember that you’re Filipino – I went out and bought some “Coco jam” after you recommended it on the other site.
Interesting discussion and a good point. But I wonder if we can check with Nola about the use of the term “elote” in España??
Well Half, and half anglo New Englander. Meals at our house ran the gambit and often involved two entrees. Though we did make some killer sweet corn ice cream, and to the horror of outsiders my dad would occasionally put cheese in it.
I would agree that in Spain it’s a borrowed (from the colony) culinary term. I think they use Mazorca too.
Fwiw, when learning Spanish I always had trouble with elote. I always used “maiz” and knew I was being a hack.
If you’re interested in a related flavor, look up atol de elote. It’s a traditional beverage, very popular in El Salv. & Guat.
My 2 ¢:
Elote is indeed widespread within Central America and as far down as Venezuela. It is NOT known in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, where “maiz” is the norm.
Mazorca = cob
I wanted to ask a real Spaniard about elote, so I wrote to Nola and she asked Juan. His reply: