Horno history lesson

Have you seen beehive-shaped mud mounds in the yards of homes throughout New Mexico and wondered what they are?

These are actually outdoor ovens made from mud adobe called hornos (derived from the Latin word ‘furnus,’ horno is Spanish for “oven” or “furnace”). Using wood as the heat source, hornos were originally introduced by the Moors to the Iberian Peninsula. They caught on quickly and spread to all lands occupied by the Spanish and are still used today all throughout our state.

Check out the link below from the National Park Service to learn more, including a recipe for oven bread to be baked in an horno.

https://www.nps.gov/petr/planyourvisit/hornos.htm