caroline

Hi Fifi, Glad you find it interesting. We have precious little information about actual dishes pre-Columbus. Most of it comes from Spanish writers (Sahagún for example) who collected their information a good number of years after the Conquest from sons of the well-to-do. Hence what we have comes through the double filter of Spanish priests and one-generation away Mexican men. When more residue analysis has been done, we may know more about actual pre-Conquest dishes. But in the meantime the fact that mole means sauce in Nahuatl is not good evidence for the fact that anything resembling present-day mole was eaten pre-Conquest. Most of the stories circulating in Mexico about the origin of mole come from the time of the Mexican Revolution in the early twentieth century. There was a powerful "indigenista" movement which argued for the importance of indigenous or mestizo culture to Mexican nationhood (contra Spanish or French influences). We know it best in the murals of Diego Rivera. So there was a big push to see mole as pre-Conquest. Incidentally the notion that mole poblano is basically Islamic has not met with any quarrels with contemporary food historians, anthropologists etc. in Mexico. Cheers, Rachel

Jon, The tradition in Mexico was that women made tortillas six days a week and only on Sundays did they eat stale ones. We now keep home made tortillas four or five days in the refrigerator. I'm prepared to microwave or steam them. But Mexicans prefer them tostada after the first day. So sliced, packaged bread does keep longer. It also has the advantage that you can eat it cold. Tortillas have to be heated which may not be easy for a child just home from school or for a workman who does not have access to a bit of wood and a sheet of metal to toast tortillas, Rachel

Just a few cents worth on tortillas and Bimbo to fill out what Theabroma and others have said. Corn tortillas have always been class-based in Mexico. The poorer and more rural you are, the more corn tortillas you eat. The well-to-do ate bolillos etc. I have friends who claim they never eat tortillas though with the promotion of tortillas as part of the national cuisine following the Mexican Revolution, most people now eat some tortillas. The quality of the tortillas in Mexico is falling fast. If you use masa harina (a pretty new technology) they don't roll as well nor do they taste as good. Most of the tortillerias now use masa harina. (Though some people still nixtamalize their own corn and just take it to the tortilleria to be ground, particularly in the country). The quality issue has been exacerbated by the influx of American corn which is hybrid dent not a flour corn like most local varieties. I'm still trying to find someone to explain why you can't hydridise a flour corn for the Mexican market. But when this is made into masa harina (as I think it is) it has different properties. Most Mexicans devoutly believe that it is also the case that whole ears and not just grains go into masa harina though whether this is an urban myth I am still trying to find out. In any case, the tortillas from Mexican tortillerias, although fresher than the horrid cardboardy things in plastic bags in American grocery stores, are not very good. That means there are now two groups in Mexico who eat good tortillas. The poor who still grow their own corn. And the rich, like me, who buy hand made local corn tortillas from ladies sitting outside the markets of Mexico. Although these cost at least twice what a tortilleria tortilla would cost, it's still not worth anyone's while, except single and very poor women, doing the incredibly hard work of making these and lugging them to the market. According to those who know, the tortillerias could turn out much better products. One irony of the fact that staple foods were subsidised until recently in Mexico is that there has been no incentive to mechanize the making of good tortillas which could be done. Everyone in Mexico eats Bimbo. It was founded in 1945 by a Basque family (fleeing Franco) and decided to go with square bread so as not to compete with bolillos. It's incredibly well run, now the second biggest baking company in the world, and dominant across Latin America. The founder has just produced a fascinating business management/history of the company. Mexicans like the bread because it keeps, unlike tortillas (though that's getting easier as even the poorer families get refrigerators). It's sharing or taking over its wheat flour predecessor--the soda cracker--for packed lunches and after-school snacks. It's available in even the smallest hamlet and on every corner as the big companies in Mexico are (ironically) encouraging the opening of small corner stores to increase their distribution. Numbers have soared even as Wel-Mart has come in. and on a lighter note, Bimbo's slogan in Mexico is "con todo cariño" which means "with all my affection/love." I don't think they have that on the US trucks. Rachel

Hi Jaymes and Theabroma, Good to be chatting to you both. I've had horrendous computer problems for the last month (which I put down to wonderful Telmex) so forgive me if I have not replied to letters or postings. I was in Mexico City yesterday with some folks preparing to photograph Mexican food. Sure enough, there in the kitchen was a pressure cooker humming away cooking beef for deshebrada and cubes, frijoles, and goodness knows what else as well. My impression buying pressure cookers in Mexico is that the brands are the same as you can get in the US. Ecko and (goodness I forget, it will come to me soon) are the main cheap brands and go for somewhere in the range of $50 US. But there is usually a good selection of better quality, usually European brands (often French it seems), in Sears or Liverpool. These are more in the $100 range. Mine is a big stainless steel MAN made in Spain. I think it cost me about $80 on sale at Sears. I like it a lot. Cheers, Rachel

Sure. here are three variants I just pulled off the shelf. (1) From Personalidades en la Cocina (a cookbook produced after the MC earthquake in 1985. This has one can condensed milk, 1/2 liter of milk, 4 eggs and a dash of vanilla. Rest of the method the same. (2) From Chepin Peralta, 25 Años en Television (1998). Long Mexico's leading TV cook. A flan de almendra with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup milk, the can of condensed milk, 4 eggs, and 100 grams of peeled and toasted almonds, all blended together, rest of the method the same. (3) From Hazme El Cazón, the cookbook put out by the Consejo de Estudios de la Historia de México (1998). A flan de coco. I litre milk, 3 egg yolks, a little bit of cinnamon stick, 3 tablespoons of coconut, 150 grams grated coconut, 1/2 tin of condensed milk, dash of vanilla. Cook milk with cinnamon stick, add rest, and proceed as in all the other recipes. So you can see the sugar can really be reduced. These are forgiving preparations. Rachel

Hi, I'd promised to post this recipe for pressure cooker flan. It's the way all Mexican flan has been made since Nestle invented their recipe for Flan Magico as they called it. this was, I think, in the 1960s, though I'd have to check. It is denser than French creme caramel. That is popular in Mexico because it means you can add pureed fruit, nuts, or other flavorings to make a zillion variations. The plain remains the most popular though so far as I can tell. Rachel Flan The signature dessert of Mexico. Condensed milk makes a wonderful flan. For those who worry about using a canned ingredient, it is worth remembering that Mexicans have been boiling down sugar with milk to make cajeta (Mexican dulce de leche) and fudges since at least the eighteenth century. The cans simply offer a handy short cut. In this recipe, the pressure cooker is not used to speed things up but because it makes a smoother flan than one cooked in the oven. 1 cup sugar 4 eggs 1 cup sweetened condensed milk 1 cup fresh milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Place the sugar in a metal flan mold or a 9 inch ring mold and heat over a low flame until the sugar turns brown and caramelizes. Stir constantly so that the mixture covers the bottom and sides of the mold. Allow to cool for an hour. Blend the rest of the ingredients, pour into the mold, and cover with flan lid or aluminum foil. Now there is a choice: (A) Use a pressure cooker for the smoothest flan. Place a metal stand or upturned saucer in the bottom of a pressure cooker. Add 2 ½ cups of water. Place the mold in the cooker, making sure the water comes well up the sides. Bring the cooker to full pressure and cook for 25 minutes. Gradually remove the pressure cap, allowing steam to escape. Take off the lid and remove the aluminum foil so that no water condenses on the flan. Allow to cool to room temperature and unmold. (B) An oven is an alternative. Heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the mold in a large pan of water. Bake in the oven 1 ½ hours or until set. Remove the lid or aluminum foil, allow to cool completely and unmold.

Hi Richard, The answer is yes even though I don't have a comprehensive listing. My neighbor, for example, stuffs mature nopal penques (paddles) with chopped tender nopales, cheese, and cooked flores de jamaica and bakes the lot. You eat the inside where the flowers make a nice texture and taste contrast to the gooey cheese and nopales. Rachel

Great class Theabroma. If I have a question it is: is there a real difference in Mexico between table salsas and cooking salsas. I think you'd say no, right? Rachel

This seems a pretty open ended discussion. But to add my south of the border comments, this is what I'd say about central Mexico. Flour tortillas are getting very popular especially with school children (quick in the microwave). They are thought of as exotic and foreign. I've never seen them on a breakfast menu. THE breakfast tortilla dish is chilaquiles. Like French toast, this uses leftovers and stuff in the fridge: yesterday's fresh corn tortillas, red or green salsa, crema, and a bit of cheese or shredded chicken. Really good stuff. Rachel

Just to throw in a couple of comments. (1) Mole is not just one thing, as many of you know. There are all kinds of moles, thick spicy sauces, and the taste and color depends of the particular ingredients. (2) The mole pretty much stands alone. When made it is a thick, thick paste that survives without refrigeration for at least a week or two. (3) Because of this, you don't cook the chicken, turkey or vegetables (romeritos and dried shrimp tortitas in mole is a traditional Christmas dish) in mole. They would burn. (4) The poaching liquid is used to dilute the thick mole paste. (5) People in Mexico often (as Theobroma says) buy prepared mole. The grocery stores have them in huge plastic buckets and in more or less good canned varieties. And every town has a street vendor who is known for her mole paste. If you do make it yourself, it's just for big celebrations. Turns out it was five comments, Cheers, Rachel

Fifi, Just reading your description makes me homesick for Hawaii. And I too love the Naniloa Surf and Hilo and the wet part of the Big Island. YOur cooking sounds great. And someday treat yourself to a few days in Honolulu (I think you can now rent condos downtown and not just in Waikiki( and indulge in the variety of stuff you can buy there. A much greater variety I think than on the neighbor islands (correct me if I'm out of date and wrong, Sun-Ki), Thanks for showing us your wonderful meals, Rachel

I'm just leaving for the US. Will post a pressure cooker flan once I arrive. And I'll have some of those little tools with me if you want. They're definitely rough folk art, Rachel

A new tool is just appearing in the markets reflecting the increasing use of sopes, huaraches and other molded masa snacks. It's a little wooden platform with a metal strip round the edge. You put your masa in this and then smooth it down with a little wooden mano. About $3 apiece. I'm not sure it's very necessary but it's a nice addition to odd ball specialist cooking tools, Rachel

I've never seen the frozen walnuts in Mexico though I'd love to come across them. I have seen the fresh ones in the ritzier markets in Mexico City. You can buy not just shelled but with the thin bitter inner skin peeled off. I can't remember what they cost but they are not cheap. Which makes me suspect that many purported chiles en nogada aren't. Rachel

Mexicans have a short, clear answer. Give us a blender and a pressure cooker and we can do everything. The blender makes the cremas (pureed vegetable soups) that start so many meals, the base mix for sopas secas (rice and noodles), and all the salsas except guacamole. The pressure cooker does beans and meats and chicken to give broth and deshebrados (shredded meat to be cooked in a sauce or used in all the family of taco dishes). And it makes the best flan. For me: the lime squeezer, the molcajate for all kinds of spices, and . . .the blender and the pressure cooker, Rachel

My goodness, I'm no expert on Mexican chasers. My impression is that sangrita was created when tequila became respectable as an alternative to margaritas, perceived as gringo. But that could be quite wrong. Sangritas always seem to be red, slightly sweet, slightly hot. Mot I suspect come from the bottles. The predominant tradition seems to be orange or pomegranate juice with chiles: the secondary tomato juice version which has a more furry texture. I'll ask around. But I'll be traveling for the next ten weeks so information may be slow trickling in. Rachel

I think one reason (not the only one) is that foods were much less refined. Just getting the stuff through the system was a problem. I'll have to root around in my filles for figures but we have some of the smallest stools in the world. I'll have to think and chat to a few people about Mexicans on digestion. Rachel

Hi Ludja, I've enjoyed your posts. And here's my take on sangrita (roughly a little blood). Yes, it's a chaser for tequila. And since tequila has only risen to respectability in Mexico in the last couple of decades, the chasers are in rapid evolution. It's now common before the big midday meal at 3 to have a tequila and chaser. There are nifty little wrought iron holders for a shot of tequila and a shot of chaser. There are various on the market of varying degrees of niceness and nastiness. Usually they are named after some fictitious widow (viuda sanchez we have in the fridge right now though that's not to say I recommend it). As the name suggests, sangrita has to be red. Sometimes they are just bloody mary take offs with tomato juice, orange juice and chile. The better ones (I think) are pomegranate juice, maybe orange juice and a puree of chile anchos. But this is a topic I have wanted to pursue for ages. So more fairly soon, though this may take a while. Rachel

Goodness, I love all these photos. Do they still have those plastic gallon jugs of fresh blood? Sometimes they were visible, sometimes not depending on how recently a health inspector had been round, Rachel

We have to get Swiss Miss in on this. She has a great line on the use of Coke in cooking. Rachel

And Jason, as a Hawaii enthusiast and convert to a huge number of the foods there, two I never learnt to appreciate were loco moco and manju. Cheers, Rachel

You bet. Rachel

Miguel, I second what Markovitch says. It's guacamole not guacamoles unless you are referring to several kinds of them. The term comes from Nahuatl (ahuaca, testicle and by extension the tree and the testicle-like fruit it bears and molli, to grind). It's made dozens of different ways. It's very fashionable at the moment to add bits of citrus fruit. Not one of the greatest variations, to my mind. The one point where I might differ from Markovitch is in the presence of red tomatoes (jitomates) as basic. My impression is that the use of red tomatoes has grown rapidly in Mexico in the last two or three decades ( a highly speculative claim I'd need to check). Of course they're a delicious addition. I think tomates (tomatillos) cooked with green serrano chiles and ground would have been the basic in the past. I often make it here by simply adding the salsa verde (tomates, serranos, cilantro) that is always in the refrigerator. And, incidentally, the primary use here is as a sauce and not as a dip for chips as in the US, In any case, it's a great dish. Enjoy any which way, Rachel

My goodness, I am only just realizing how lucky I am. Here in central Mexico, my pomegranate tree gives fruit almost continuously. If I can pick the ripe ones before my gourmet four footed friends get there, I can make juice all year round. I find about half juice, half water makes a nice long drink. And they are basic for sangrita to go with tequila, Rachel

That festival has really grown in the past decade. It used to be just a block or so. Do they still have those wonderful Chinese donut-y things, hollow, I think of mochi, and sprinkled with sesame seeds? And I love the fact that there are Costco cashews. So much for international big box chains leading to the homogenization of food. And best of all we can now put a face to you Sun-Ki. It's reassuringly like the face I imagined, Rachel