Diana Kennedy and the original "Cuisines of Mexico"

[Boris Abrams]

Dear all, 

 

I was wondering if you could lend me some advice. 

 

I am a huge cookbook collector - with a special focus on collecting regional culinary bibles. If a cookbook has history/culture etc, I buy it. Basically, anything along the lines of  Claudia Roden or David Thompson (Thai Food). 

I live in the UK, and do not eat pork. So buying a Mexican cookbook has never really been on my mind. However, I do feel I ought to have at least one book by Kennedy. I have however heard mixed reviews about the updated 'The Essential Cuisines of Mexico'. Would it be worth finding a used copy of the original 'Cuisines of Mexico'? Does it have more history, anthropology etc than the updated version? I am not interested in just having recipes. 

 

Also, as a side note, what would be a good substitute for pork lard? I know it features pretty heavily in Mexican cuisine but I feel like it shouldn't be a barrier to looking to my cooking. Would olive oil work? Or should I use Chicken or Goose fat (Much in the same way I would substitute Goose fat for pancetta when making  bourguignon? Or is the pork lard absolutely essential?

 

Many thanks!  

 

[SylviaLovegren]

You could substitute almost any fat you like for the lard -- I often use a mix of butter and oil, since I rarely have lard on hand.   As to which book, someone else will have to help you there. 

[AAQuesada]

I wouldn't use olive oil in Mexican cook as a replacement for lard. Use coconut oil or shortening in place of lard. Corn oil is a good general purpose oil. Not eating pork or using lard is not a major stumbling block to enjoying Mexican cuisine. They eat lots of fish, shrimp, chicken, veggies ect...

[Boris Abrams]

Ah that is great to hear! As a rough proportion, if a dish called for 2 tbsp on lard, would that translate to the same amount of coconut oil? As I have never used it I am unaware how strong it is. 

Does the lard add some degree of flavour though? Perhaps some umami? 

[Mjx]

 Does the lard add some degree of flavour though? Perhaps some umami? 

 

Good lard is essentially flavourless (which is the reason it may be used in both savoury and sweet things). I generally use suet/tallow instead of lard; if you can get hold of some, that's another more-or-less-flavourless option to consider.

[gulfporter]

I have not seen the updated version "Essentials.." so cannot compare.  The original version is a good read.  

 

I had the pleasure of having lunch with Ms. Kennedy a few years ago in connection with a small gathering for a book-signing in a private home (I was living in Mexico at the time and writing a recipe column in an expat publication).  Her (then) new book was Oaxaca Al Gusto.  I have the Spanish language version and it is delightful, especially since we traveled to Oaxaca on 3 occasions and find that Mexican cuisine to be the most interesting.  It is available in English, of course.

[patrickamory]

Good lard is essentially flavourless (which is the reason it may be used in both savoury and sweet things). I generally use suet/tallow instead of lard; if you can get hold of some, that's another more-or-less-flavourless option to consider.

 

However. Proper manteca (lard) in Mexico is not the tasteless white block we get in many other countries - pieces of pork are deliberately left in it, and it is flecked with brown and other colors. Totally different thing, and incredibly flavorful.

 

It's not needed in every Mexican dish of course… but the ones that call for it are expecting something that is very far from flavorless.

[AAQuesada]

Ah that is great to hear! As a rough proportion, if a dish called for 2 tbsp on lard, would that translate to the same amount of coconut oil? As I have never used it I am unaware how strong it is. 

Does the lard add some degree of flavour though? Perhaps some umami

Just use the same amount of any fat solid at room temp. Don't worry about flavor loss, just jump in the deep end and cook!

[Boris Abrams]

Dear all, 

 

Thanks for all the advice! I shall start cooking without hesitation when my book finally arrives! Patrickamory, do you happen to know how one could go about recreating the flavour of  proper mantec? Maybe throwing in some duck fat instead?

 

I have brought a a product called Trex - made just of palm oil and vegetable oil (http://familybaking.co.uk/about-trex) Would this work as a lard....having a hard time working out if this constitutes as shortening or just another margarine! 

 

Gulfporter, how have you found cooking from Oaxaca Al Gusto. I have heard it is better used as a coffee table book...

[Twyst]

http://smile.amazon.com/Mexico-Cookbook-Margarita-Carrillo-Arronte/dp/0714867527/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416459462&sr=1-1&keywords=mexico

 

 

This rather new book is the closest thing I have seen to David Thomson's Thai Food when it comes to Mexican food as far as being a comprehensive book. It doesn't have quite the amount of history/regional information of Thai food, but its still a great book to thumb through.   I have not cooked from it yet, but having looked through it it seems it may be just what you are after.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Twyst (log)

[thayes1c]

Schmaltz has that same animal fat fullness of lard and adds a little flavor like lard does. It is different, but I think that if you dont eat pork but want to get close to type flavor that's the way to go. I have the updated book, and it's alright, but I think Rick Bayless's Authentic Mexican is more approachable and wider ranging.

[Maedl]

I think I would use schmaltz or duck fat as a substitute for lard. I use lard for pie crusts and I think it adds a nutty tone to the pastry--I don't think it is without flavor. However, I am not saying these fats would be a good substitute for lard all the time. I think which fat you choose should depend upon what you are making.

[Boris Abrams]

Yea, I hear that. I guess I'm thinking of adding lard to more of the stewed/bean dishes. Im not such a pastry chef (as much as I'd like to be!) 

Thanks for drawing my attention to the Bayless book. I was in a dilemma as to buy the Kennedy or Bayless. It seemed most people favoured Kennedy, so interesting that you prefer Bayless! 

 

Tywst, I have seen that book. It looks like a great source of recipes but the lack of accompanying info to the recipes, at this stage away, really bothers me. Let me know how the recipes turn out!  

[patrickamory]

Yes Boris - I think chicken or duck fat should do the trick.. with some of the cracklings...

[Jaymes]

Dear all, 

 

I was wondering if you could lend me some advice. 

 

I am a huge cookbook collector - with a special focus on collecting regional culinary bibles. If a cookbook has history/culture etc, I buy it. Basically, anything along the lines of  Claudia Roden or David Thompson (Thai Food). 

I live in the UK, and do not eat pork. So buying a Mexican cookbook has never really been on my mind. However, I do feel I ought to have at least one book by Kennedy. I have however heard mixed reviews about the updated 'The Essential Cuisines of Mexico'. Would it be worth finding a used copy of the original 'Cuisines of Mexico'? Does it have more history, anthropology etc than the updated version? I am not interested in just having recipes. 

 

 

For me, this question is something of a two-parter.  For starts, you say you're a "huge cookbook collector - with a special focus on collecting regional culinary bibles."  In that case, I cannot possibly recommend Diana Kennedy's first cookbook, "The Cuisines of Mexico," published in 1972 strongly enough.  There's no doubt that her first book was the original "regional culinary bible" of Mexican food for much of the English-speaking world; most certainly for me.  I was a young bride in the early 70's and was gifted with that book.  It had the same transformative effect on me as did Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."  It's not a stretch to say that whole worlds opened to me through the words, insights, instruction, imagery of each. 

 

And I've been told that "The Cuisines of Mexico" was also the "regional culinary bible" of much of the higher classes of Mexicans, because, up until Ms. Kennedy began to sing its praises, the prevailing opinion was that the foods of the working classes, peasants, farmers, etc., of Mexico was vastly inferior to the foods, cooking, cuisine of Europe.  It was the fashion in the best homes in Mexico to hire chefs from France and Spain.  When Ms. Kennedy first went to Mexico, she immediately noticed that, and some of her hosts and hostesses were openly puzzled when she spent much of her time in their kitchens chatting up the local hired help, inquiring into what they cooked and ate in their own homes.

 

I'm sure it's less-than-helpful to tell you that, in my opinion, there's no such thing as too many Mexican cookbooks, so if there are some that I don't own, it's just because I haven't heard of them yet, and I have very big ears.  I do own every cookbook Ms. Kennedy has written, including all the revisions and compilations, and "Oaxaca Al Gusto," in both English and Spanish.  None of Ms. Kennedy's books, in my view anyway, suffer from a "lack of accompanying info to the recipes."  Her goal, from the beginning, seems to be exactly the opposite: to offer the reader a complete and whole and detailed and nuanced picture of the incredible history, culture, variety of the Mexican peoples and their food.  In fact, that's the main criticism I've heard of Oaxaca Al Gusto - not a practical guide of recipes and cooking.  I heard somewhere that she said that was just what she intended.  She wanted it more as a reference book about Oaxaca - to document the ingredients, the styles, the history.  I believe what she said was something akin to, "I wanted to get it down so people would know, especially before it disappears."  But it is a stunning book and I have cooked from it with great success.  However, I've made things that call for ingredients that are readily available to me here in Texas.  I haven't tried to source anything that I've been told is not available outside of Oaxaca, so I don't know about that.  Supposedly there are not a lot of "substitutions" listed in the book but, again, I wouldn't know because I haven't personally felt the need to look for any.

 

Your second issue seems to be a desire to actually begin cooking some Mexican dishes.  Because I started with Cuisines of Mexico so long ago, and I did just fine, I don't hesitate to recommend it for that purpose as well.  But Rick Bayless does a terrific job, too, and, Authentic Mexican (mentioned above) is excellent.

 

If you were not a "huge cookbook collector," I suppose I'd say that whichever book you decide upon should get you off to a delicious and informative start.  But since you are a "huge cookbook collector," I'd say that sooner or later, you're going to have to have a Kennedy book anyway.  And, from just a collector's perspective, I'd tell you to get the original.

 

Regarding the lard thing...  I know lots of folks that recoil from even the mere mention of ooooooh-lard-ooooooh, as though it were the devil's own sputum, but happily eat a few rashers of bacon with breakfast, seemingly unaware that it's the same thing.  Lard has fallen into such disrepute that I often see Mexican products that boast on their labels that they are "lard-free" - tortillas, canned refried beans, etc.  And I have Mexican friends that don't eat pork or pork products for religious reasons.  Honestly, that shouldn't hold you back at all.  Like others in this thread, I have used various other fats successfully.  I'm sure you can, too. 

 

And there are some very traditional Mexican dishes that reflect the influence of the Spanish Moors, that call for olives and olive oil -  like Snapper Veracruzana, my personal favorite:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/veracruz-red-snapper-huachinango-a-la-veracruzana-recipe.html

[AAQuesada]

I personally wouldn't sub duck fat or schmaltz for Lard. Totally different flavor, don't over think it just use any shortening/fat that is solid at room temp. Keep in mind that this REALLY is not a big deal.  You won't lack for flavor. Once you start cooking you can ask about specific recipe subs, but really Mexican food does not depend on Lard so much that is cant be replaced, especially if you aren't eating pork anyway.

[Boris Abrams]

Thank you all for the advice regarding the lard. I shall happily start cooking Mexican, knowing that I am not compromising the flavour too much. Ill experiment with Coconut oil and chicken fat for starters, and try with some vegetable shorting (though I havent got access to such great brands near me) . For bean dishes, I wonder if adding some veal bones would create a thicker, gelatinous  consistency (I imagine that lard has this affect in bean dishes, as it does in some Cuban bean based recipes). 

Thanks again for all the advice folks! 

 

[heidih]

Once you start adding bones to get a gelatinous quality in the beans it seems you are moving away from the "food of the people".  Beans well prepared can be creamy and delightful with nothing more than water. Start simple and realize that very often flavors are layered at the table with a wide variety of condiments. Toasting and charring of ingredients adds other complex flavors. Don't overthink - cook

[AAQuesada]

for everyday beans or frijoles de la olla the mark of a good cook is your bean liquor. I don't use anything but beans, water and green onion (salt towards the end) because that's how mom does it. You can put a tablespoon or two of corn oil in at the end and reduce the bean liquor if you want. Truly this style beans will be better the next day. Not that it lasted that long growing up, this was the classic after school snack with some sour cream and extra salt  with a corn tortilla and butter Yum.

[Boris Abrams]

Thanks everyone for all your help! I have since brought the book and love it! 

And now I want more., 

 

I was was just wondering if someone could tell me a little bit more about this book? I now have the original 'Cuisines of Mexico' and the 'Art of Mexican Cooking'.

How does this book differentiate from the other two books? Are there many similarities and overlaps? I looked at the index of recipes briefly and there does not seem to be that much. Does this book have the usual anthropological/historical details? Or is it more like the typical run of the mill recipes with the odd note here and there? I ask as I seem to be able to find very little reviews of this book. I am looking to buy the March 1985 edition (I believe there was a revision done after this?)

If anybody knows, Wikipedia seems to show that this book was only updated from 'Recipies from the regional cooks of Mexico' to 'Mexican Regional Cooking' in 1990. I would rather get the latter as the Eat Your Books index seems better. Is there a mistake on Amazon's part/the market place. I am looking to buy this copy: 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mexican-Regional-Cooking-Harper-colophon/dp/0060911662%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAJ7GYHFBU6QYY4JZQ%26tag%3Deayobo-21%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0060911662

 

Many Thanks!

 

Many thanks,