theabroma

This is a new one for me, too. I've seen a lot of strange things done with cheese in Mexico, but never have I seen it made into fricos ... at least, on the street or in taquerias. What kind of cheese did they use? Cotija? Theabroma

Oh, boy! Churreria El Moro - at Uruguay & will have to check a map! Panaderia La Ideal - Calle Uruguay Bar La Opera - Cinco de Mayo Dulceria de Celaya - Cinco de Mayo Food stalls in La Merced Las Girasoles Cafe Tacuba (one of Frida Kahlo's favorites) More to come ... am in Napa and away from my notes! Regards & drools, Theabroma

Esperanza, I think that we up here in the masa=impoverished regions to the north of the Rio Grande sometimes lapse into bad form and refer to Maseca and its cohorts as masa. We know that it's dry ... masa harina, or nixtamalized corn flour, but ... there you are!. I have seen many guisos, pot moles, stews, etc . & what have you thickened with a little masa mixed with water ... or masa harina mixed into a slurry with water and added to a brothy dish to thicken it. And RG is right, it has a certain unmistakable aroma and taste that is just, well, very, very Mexican. It is only the lucky few who live in areas where there has been established a 'real' Mexican-style molino for making masa. Otherwise, we are pretty much stuck with what we can make of Maseca. Yes, he IS talking about reconstituted masa harina. Regards, Theabroma

Hooray for Mexican cheese and dairy products! I am trying to get set for my trek to Napa on Thursday, and may not be able to take the time to ask the questions I have until I get out there. But this is noticed, and so appreciated. I will be visiting a couple of 'artisanal' tamal makers in the Bay area, and am very curious as to what they're doing, who they are, and how they're doing it. Understand that one is very, very 'high-end.' Imagine! White tablecloth tamales! Regards, Theabroma

Ay! Que no, mi amor! Bite your tongue! All the teachers we need are already in Mexico, with the knowledge gushing out of their fingers in a torrent. The historians, gastronomers, writers, researchers, yes. There are some very good ones this that group enumerated by Caroline. We desperately need people to write about, often as documentarians, what goes on food wise in that country. We need, perhaps, even more Kennedys and Baylesses - the person who finds their beshert or besheret in the cuisines of Mexico, and who writes about it. The non-Mexican outside observer/participant can be, in some cases, more valuable than the native one: they notice things that perhaps are so common to the native, that they slip past notice more easily - and the reverse applies as well to people studying any cuisine outside the one they grew up on. As for the CIA, it is difficult to imagine that they could suck it up and go in to learn. Besides there are Cordon Bleu affiliates already in Mx. ... as well as some excellent culinary schools. The big culinary academies have, well, at least since DK's second book, had the opportunity to go to be introduced and to learn. Some of those writers publish in English. So there is an increasing amount of "real" and "authentic" information available for those who wish to begin to learn. There is also a whole nation, at our doorstep. Let's just go there, go to the market, and start talking to the market lady. Watch here work. Put aside the fear, and begin to learn. In retrospect, I managed to arrange a two day intensive cooking seminar for myself in Ixtlahuaco, Hidalgo, where I was stranded a couple of days last year waiting to see if my ripped open oil pan could be welded shut. I drove out of that little place in the cloudforest with more recipes, information, and training than you could possibly imagine. I know that because even now I am just realizing what Frederica taught me. NO, they need to be teaching us, not us, them. Regards, Theabroma

Apparently, you have jalapenos that are smooth, and slick surfaced, some are tinged with a dark purple, and some are covered with striations. Those striations are referred to as the chile being 'acorchado', or 'corked.' They're like any other jalapeno - generally speaking, I don't think that it is reconizably a different 'kind' of jalapeno. I believe corking is a naturally occurring thing, not something from another species or bred in by some professional hybridizer. It may result from heat and/or water stress at some point in its formation, and some varieties may be more susceptible to corking than others. Once it is established as something desirable for the table, however, you can be certain that people will begin to select and retain seeds from the best examples of size and corking, to plant for the next crop. So, in that sense, over time, it may be a little different than the 'average' jalapeno. My guess is that the drying and smoking of chiles was practiced to preserve a large fresh harvest for later use. Jalapenos, which have thick, fleshy walls, would mold and rot before they would drying out; you see the thin walled chiles like Chimayos, New Mexicos, guajillos, etc strung in ristras to dry, not the fat ones. They require some extra step, and smoke drying seemed to be the step of choice. I've read that they some fleshy green chiles like a jalapeno or serrano have been preserved in their green state by grinding the chile on a metate, and then smearing the resulting paste on a hot, flat rock in the summer sun. The resulting 'chile leather' when dry, was rolled into quills and stored to be used after the growing season ended in soups and stews. The source is from New Mexico, and certainly the dry climate and summer heat - not to mention the abundance of flat, hot rocks - makes it plausible. But that source is not the most reliable for other things, so I don't know what to say. It is both an appealing thought and technique. In markets in eastern Central Mexico there will be piles or burlap bags of chiles, with signs stuck in them reading "Mulato" or "Ancho", etc. so much the kilo or quarter kilo. When you get to the chipotle section, the signs often read "Chipotles" for the dark, dark, wrinkly red ones, and "Meco" for the big, crumply, dun colored ones. But as far as I know, only the big, corked, smoked, tan or dun colored ones are referred to as 'chile meco.' You're absolutely correct: chile names are really crazy-making, and sometimes, using the usual criteria of size, shape, etc. you wind up wondering if it's a tiny jalapeno, or a short, fat serrano (there is a small serrano that is commonly called 'chile balin', or 'bullet chile,' because of its shape and size.). These are the things that keep me fascinated and wind me up to come back for more. Theabroma

Hey, there! I came back from Chihuahua with photos of some chiles pasados hanging on little clotheslines to dry. Okay, you know that mora means 'mulberry' and 'morita', little mulberry. The general concensus is that a mora is a bluish-red as opposed to an orangey-red, small dried chile. Confusing? Just warming up. Moras are several varieties of small, red chiles, wrinkly and dark when dried. So something in the guajillo/puya family would never be called a mora because, in part, they are orangey red and do not wrinkle up when they are dried, to resemble the fruit of the mulberry tree. In some areas the morita is a small mora. However, most commonly, a morita once was a small jalapeno, bush ripened, and smoke dried. Unless, of course, it was a small chile serrano, bush ripened and smoke dried. Don't forget, however, the chile meco, another type of chipotle: a huge jalapeno with those striations on it's flesh that look like stretch marks, and are known as 'corking.' It is used ripened and smoke dried, and turn our a rough textured, tan color. This one is toasted, soaked, and stuffed. They are hot, but not so hot as the smaller, redder chipotles. These are all common names from different regions of the country, and they are exquisitely confusing. EG: chile jalapeno 'chile from Xalapa, Veracruz' and chile cuaresmen~o 'Easter chile', is the same thing, if you aren't from around Xalapa, then it's the chile that fruits around Easter time. I have a list which is an appendix from a book on chiles that I am translating - it goes on for pages and pages, all local names which the author has tied to the many fewer distinct varieties of chile. Even a chile botanist will tell you what a nightmare it is. Also remember that chiles are air pollinators and they crossbreed at the drop of a hat. So many of the chiles called pequin, tepin, tecpin, pico de pajaro, pico de gallo, chile garbanzo, chile capulin, etc. are varieties of what we know as a pequin. (I regress to the etymology, because I love this one: chile pequin or piquin is the hispanization of chilli tecpin from Nahuatl 'tecpin' or flea. Comment on its size.) From the cook's viewpoint, I find that the dried jalapeno and serrano, especially the smoke dried ones have comparable flavor, and the serrano tends to have a bit more heat. Otherwise, they are basically interchangeable. In their green state, however, they are rather different: the jalapeno, w/varying degrees of heat, and a generally grassy, vegetal flavor which the serrano tastes green, with a sharp onset of heat. The Chihuahuan chile pasado, or 'past-tense chile' is a chilaca (when dried it is the long skinny chile pasilla), roasted, peeled, slit down one side and seeded, and then literally hung out to dry. It is used in guisos. It's not a beauty queen, as you might imagine, but it has a wonderful taste and adds a great, subtle heat dimension to food. Theabroma

That was fascinating. I have nibbled around the edges of Dallas' Koreatown, and now I have a focus and direction for a deeper visit. I am looking forward to it. And btw, speaking of Spam: I think we in Texas have some catching up to do. In Austin there's the improperly Spam-reverent Spamarama.each spring. Maybe Hawai'i needs to send a team to Austin and set them straight. Spamarama Theabroma

Makes all the sense in the world ... and beats the hell out of soaking and drying it. Hey, high protein crispy marshmallow treats, just in time for Dia de los Muertos! Slick. Theabroma

Ha! Did it!! I was driving north on the coast highway between San Blas and Santiago Ixcuintle, Nayarit, Mx, when I saw this going on in a field by the road. Just kinda said a prayer, made a hard right, and drove into the field. Got a series of photos, and talked to the people. They were smoking a small jalapeno, known in its smoked, dried stage as a 'chile morita.' The elevated 'sidewalk' is about one meter off the ground, and the wood is a combination of mangrove and amapa. The ripe, picked chiles are dumped at one end of the sidewalk, and gradually shovelled and turned down the surface. The material looks like really heavy duty plasterer's lath. This takes a day or so, and then the chiles are shovelled into the large wicker baskets, which are carried a few feet away where the ground is covered with many plastic tarpaulins. The chiles are dumped and spread on the ground and left for 4-5 days. They are turned by foot, which is to say that an elderly man in a rather oddly colored pair of Nike's shuffle-walked through the chiles creating furrows, which the next day he would 'turn over' by shuffling through them again. The dried chiles are bagged in 20 kilo jute sacks. The head 'dude' was sitting under the palm thatch palapa in the background, drinking beer, and urging everyone on. Theabroma

Can someone explain to tonta moi, step by step, how to post a photo from an album? I have a picture of chipotles being smoked. Thanks, Theabroma

Squeat, Dear Didn't take your post as a sermon. Here in Texas most of us don't know what a 'tamale' is ... here they are 'hot tamales.' (The edibles, and then waggishly by extension, any curvaceous young lady.) I hear you when you say it grates, that's how I am about something prepared 'almondine.' It is so rare that I get to dip into what's left of the linguistics training that it's kind of a treat. I was motivated to do that 'research' not by what you said, but by the public unshucking I got from the woman at the conference in Puebla. So, I say that we call them what we're most comfortable with, or else get out of denial and call them what they are: world-class, seductive Calorie Bombs. What I really want to hear you say is where you get tamales, and what you think makes a good one. I'm all ears ... Theabroma

My dear, you be the Sexto Sol!!! Theabroma

Cher, you're sounding like the woman I met at a conference in Mexico. Must've had a severe dietary iron deficiency, because she kept eating the liver of anyone who said 'tamale'. That was, apparently either her samba-ji-uma-notche - the totality of her culinary wisdom - or the club with which she beat the northern barbarian invaders senseless. I required intensive therapy before I could speak of the little suckers in the singular again (of course, this also meant that I HAD NO CHOICE but to order them in multiples!!!!). After some checking reference work, the following seems to be good coin: chil- from 'chilli' and -potchli or smoked gives chipotle. The actual formation of the word following rules of assembly observed by Nahuatl, language of the Mexica/Azteca at the time of the conquest, and still widely spoken today. In any event, Spaniards heard it through the filter of their language, and set it on its way as 'chipotle.' It is currently undergoing a second realignment at the hands of the English speakers: 'chipolte', largely because the 'tl' combination is uncommon in English phonology. tamale is also from 'tamal', or food that is wrapped in a leaf and cooked, especially corn masa flavored with sauces. The Nahuatl plural is tamalli. Spanish doesnt like to end abruptly in sounds like 'l', but prefers vowel sounds, thus 'tamale' and 'tamales'. My undergraduate degree is in linquistics. This kind of follow the word etymology has always fascinate me. It is equally fascinating and disheartening to find the intense wars waged over it. I am uneasy with seeing 'chipolte' on a menu that I feel is trying to cash in on a trend it has no understanding of, no desire to learn, and generally speaking, disrespect for the culture of its origin. But I also go into orbit when I see things like 'trout almondine' on a menu. As for tamale, I have usually said tamal when speaking Spanish, or to people who are hard core food types, and tamale to all others here in the States. Often they do not know what you are talking about, or else seem to feel somewhat ashamed of their stupidity for not knowing the "correct" word. I will leave "off with their heads" language snobbery to the French. I find in teaching cooking that there are far too many people out there beaten into submission like so many abalone steaks, so afraid of their stoves, their knives, and their ability to do things 'right' in their own kitchens, that I hardly take any pleasure in further reducing them to pap by assaulting their pronunciation of a foreign word. There are few feelings that are quite as warm and happy as watching a bunch of students open and eat their own tamales. They actually walk out the door taller. Sometimes they call me up to tell me of their new kitchen adventures. That is the best feeling. And if I can gently nudge a further awareness of what the native inventors of tamales called them, well, great. But nothing beats watching people summit a personal culinary Everest. Theabroma PS: Don't have further references handy at the mo'[, but remember that other indigenous groups in Mexico and Central America from different cultural and linguistic traditions also made tamales. The fact that we do not call them commonly by a name other than that given to them by the Nahuatl speaking people is an accident of history ... or a comment on the military and exonomic power-that-was. T.

Just checking in on the Wonderful World of Fats! BTW, had occasion to do some research on smoke points of various oils. Found the replacement for that nasty MelFry ™: avocado oil! Has a smoke point of over 500F! Whod'a thunk it? Now, if we can just knock over Ft. Knox, we might be able to fill the FryDaddy with it. Is this a great subject, or what?? Regards, Theabroma

Rancho Gordo - sorry, I had some more info entered for you last night, and the computer crashed (!) while I was trying to send it. Basically, aguamiel is the clear liquid which collects in the bowl made in the heart of a maguey plant when the top leaves are removed. It is siphoned off and fermented to make pulque. But it is sweet, and reduced by boiling, will make a syrup. The recipe I have managed for excavate (so far) is from Elogio del Dulce (Elegy to Sweets, or Candies) by Carlos Zolla. It is not basically a recipe book, but it includes the following guidelines: 250 grams of amaranth seeds, soaked for about 6 hours, and then allowed to dry (I am presuming that this treatment both removes extraneous matter, and leaches out any bitter or off flavors. It may also help whiten them, and add some moisture to make them really pop. Just a guess) Toast them on the comal, until they "thunder" (I think snap, crackle, and pop will do), and take on a whitish color (must be a sign, like, but less obvious than, popcorn, that the seeds have popped. Bring 250 grams of honey to a boil, and add the toasted seeds, stirring gently to ensure the mixture doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. You can also at this point add a bit of pure anis flavor and some color, if you want. It is common to see alegrias for sale on the street which have toasted pumpkinseeds and raisins mixed in (Aztec trail mix?). Before the syrup begins to cool, pour the mixture into oiled pans (cake, brownie, loaf, etc) and gently press to fit pan. Allow to cool to the touch, and then cut into serving pieces with a warm knife. This is quoted in Elogio as coming from Presencia de la comida prehispanica, texto y recoleccion by Teresa Castello Yturbide, 1986. To substitute piloncillo syrup for honey: probably 1 cone of piloncillo, crushed or hammered, in a heavy saucepan with 2.5 cups of water. Boil until it reaches about 235F or so on the thermometer. Pour off about 9 fluid ounces for the 250 grams of seeds. I'll see what else I can find that give clearer times and proportions. Theabroma

Did I miss mention of the Mexican bar with the powdered chipotle? The packaging is luxe, the price is positively blood thinning, and the chocolate is, well, nice. I do not have the pleasure of knowing Klc, and what goes into his definition of "gimmick," but I am afraid I am inclined to agree with him. There is a lot of flotsam passing as pearls of knowledge floating around about exactly how the Aztecs and Mayas took their chocolate. My tendency is to consult works by Sophie a/o Michael Coe (True History of Chocolate, etc.) and Bernadino Sahagun (History of the Things of New Spain/Florentine Codex) on the anthropological and archaeological use of chocolate, and then defer to the botanists, chemists, and certain pastry and chocolate adepts - most principally Torres. This requires hip waders, as there is a lot of hooey out there on the subject: Yes, it was sometimes sweetened, but with sweetener from plant sources other than sugar cane; yes it was consumed hot, cold, spicy, peppery, or bitter. I believe that at least one of the Vosges owners trained/worked/staged w/Albert Adria - whether at El Bulli, or at the ChocoVic school, I do not remember. I have always taken that as the 'reason' for the flavors. But those chocolates seem off the mark from the trajectory of Adria. Theabroma

What are you popping it in? Traditionally people use the clay comales, which heat eveny, and without having such a searing surface as metal. Also, they use the little escobetillas to sweep the amaranth around the comal so it doesn't crisp up too much or burn. Heat shouldn't be too high, especially in/on a metal pan or grill. Keep the tiny seeds in near constant motion, and try to use only a single layer's worth when you start popping. Amaranth will not pop as large as popcorn - relative to its size, of course. The traditional syrup was aguamiel cooked way, way down. Now the traditionalists and rural people use piloncillo. The uptowners, cane sugar. Try it with a bit of toasted, powdered chipotle in it ... puts a whole new level of alegre in the alegrias. Theabroma

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment Oh, Esperanza! I LOVE it! Theabroma

Okay, you are duty bound to report on Izote. And if your schedule and purse can bear it, got to Tezka and report! I would imagine that you can call CONACULTA (Concilio Nacional de Cultura y Artes) or the Museo de Antropologia. It seems that the event will be at the museum, sponsored by CONACULTA. My guess is that there will be a notice of some sort in La Jornada. Regards, Theabroma PS: You lucky dogs!!!!!!! And I am SO glad to hear that you are OK!

Okay, you are duty bound to report on Izote. And if your schedule and purse can bear it, got to Tezka and report! I would imagine that you can call CONACULTA (Concilio Nacional de Cultura y Artes) or the Museo de Antropologia. It seems that the event will be at the museum, sponsored by CONACULTA. My guess is that there will be a notice of some sort in La Jornada. Regards, Theabroma PS: You lucky dogs!!!!!!!

Caroline, I just read your reply - must have happened when I was posting. I, for one, would be very interested in knowing why you have reservations. I know your feeling about food in Mexico, so I really, really would like to hear what you think the downside will be. Otra vez, Theabroma

Heavens! If there were ever an excuse to slaughter the piggie bank, this is it! I have long said that should there ever be established a museum to Mexican gastronomy, that the Museo de Antropologia would sink into the ground in shame over its unworthiness. This is really, really major news. Cristina Barros, and her writing partner, Marco Buenrostro (is he really handsome?) and their weekly column 'Itacate' in La Jornada, are two of my heros. Who else will be there? Please, please Caroline, fill us in on this. Are you thinking of going to the DF for this ceremony? How fantastic!!!!! Besitos, Theabroma

Humor an old Austin hippie who's currently stranded in Dallas: for which outlet does Mr. Rice scribble? Theabroma PS: Nobu is slated for an early 2005 opening here in Dallas at the Crescent Court. I am wondering what the fuss is about. I look forward to finding out. To date, high end chains, are, well, chains. The difference between Armani Couture and A/X. I prefer work in and support the independents. But that's just me. T

Sur la Table sells a line of Japanese knives - but at this moment I do not recall the brand. Kazy's also has a few. However, to find any realistic and meaningful selection of Japanese knives you will have to check places like JB Prince in NYC (www.jbprince.com), or some other major culinary and professional supplier. Your sushi chef should be able to refer you to a source. I do have a catalog listing the knives available from the top Japanese mfgs, but it is currently on lone to a friend. I will get hold of it and refer you to its source. In particular, what kind of knives are you seeking? Dual edge, for Western style use, or single edge for fish work? Regards, Theabroma