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Ric

Nov 30, 1919, 12:00 AM

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Put this in the category of "stirring the pot" - no pun intended - but Jennifer Rose and I traded comments on Zarela Marinez vs. Diane Kennedy on the General Forum, and I posed a question. Why is it that so few cookbooks for Mexican food are written by Mexicans? Or is it that I am looking in the wrong place? Friends and family that I have visited in Mexico don't ever seem to use a cookbook (then again, neither did my grandmother!), so is it that recipes are always handed down "en casa"? I am fluent in spanish (although more so in conversation and business and less in cooking terms) so the language barrier isn't one. If anyone has any suggestions/recommendations/comments I am interested!
Buen Provecho!

kimbo

Nov 30, 1919, 12:00 AM

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Ric, that's a very good question. I think to some extent it's an age thing.

I was brought up in England. I have a good range of cookery books, including some specifically on English cookery, and they are very good. English cookery hasn't exactly had the best press, but trust me, there is some very good stuff in it.

But my mam didn't use a cookery book. I remember her using one once, to make a Finnish vegetable soup which was actually less good than the stuff she made from memory.

So books aren't necessarily it. I, and I suspect many of my compatriots, have learnt more from watching friends (there is still a professor at the University of Leeds, England, who is known to me and my friends as The Guacamole Man).

kimbo

jennifer rose

Nov 30, 1919, 12:00 AM

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The “cookbook culture” just isn’t as developed in Mexico as it is up North. And for the same reason that there’s no Williams Sonoma or Sur Le Table. Or even Borders and Barnes & Noble. Recreational cooking just isn’t as big a deal upon those who’re apt to buy Cuisinarts and cookbooks.

Writing in “My Mexico,” Diana Kennedy references a number of antique Mexican cookbooks. There are cookbooks currently being written by Mexican authors, but there just isn’t the fan club here in Mexico. And several cooking magazines, too. But most seem to concentrate upon the basics instead of aiming for the Gourmet or Bon Appetit market. In fact, there’s even a series featuring a single ingredient, such as nopal. (BTW, it’s great in meatloaf.)

The next time you’re in Mexico, take a look at the book areas of Costco, Sanborn’s, or even a large supermarket. You may be surprised.

It’s one thing to replicate Mexican food when you live outside of Mexico, and it’s another when you live here. Most Mexicans wouldn’t dream of cooking up a pot of pozole in their own kitchens; they buy it. Even among the poorer classes, tamales are only made for special occasions. And not all Mexicans are even good cooks! My maid laughed when I read her a reference someone (who ought to really know better) that “all Mexicans make their own tortillas!” Even she buys them. And she’ll be the first to tell you she’s a lousy cook.

Ric

Nov 30, 1919, 12:00 AM

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Thanks for the feedback. I think what you-all are saying is that home cooking is home cooking and pretty much gets done without a cook book. That pretty much matches how I do it in my house! I learned to cook without using any recipes. Even now, once I have cooked a recipe once I usually adapt or alter it without looking at the book again. As for tortillas, it sounds to me that its pretty much analagous to bread in the US. How many cooks bake their own? Especially, how many would if a low-cost, fresh from the comal alternative were available!
One last comment, however. I have noticed among my Mexican friends a certain provinciality. My compadre is from Celaya and think that a lot of the citrus based dishes from the Yucatan taste " medio raro". My friend from Puebla thinks the same of some of the seafood dishes from Veracruz I have cooked. Maybe a "cookbook culture" that covers more of the regions of Mexico would break down a few of these barriers?

Emiliano

Nov 30, 1919, 12:00 AM

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I don't agree completely; we do a lot of cooking at home, including pozole. On the other hand nobody makes tortillas at home when you can buy them hot at a local tortelleria. The cost savings from the government-controlled prices to buy the massa is not worth the effort.

We do buy tamales ready-made but not much else.

On the other hand, Mexicans seem to go out to eat a lot more than we do in the US. It would be interesting to know the number of restaurants and eating establishments in Guadalajara relative to the population, it's enormous. Try going out for Sunday afternoon dinner in the states and see how many places are open-in Mexico they all are.

On the other other hand I've been disappointed by the lack of creativity in the Mexican restaurants in Guadalajara. We quickly became bored with the repetitive menus and are always on the lookout for new places to try. It seems like nouvelle mexicaine is arriving in the US before it arrives in Mexico.

Any restaurant recommendations for Guadalajara? I'm assembling a list of favorites from people and will email it out when I get a decent variety.

jennifer rose

Nov 30, 1919, 12:00 AM

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Product availability and climate factor into the development of regional taste. In Mexico, there are beef-eating regions, pork-eating regions, and areas where chicken is king. Even fresh seafood is simply fresher at its source. Mention gallina pinta to a Michoacano, and you’ll get a blank stare. Mention uchepos to a Sonorense, and you’ll get the same reaction.

Two Mexican cookbooks by Mexican authors bear mention:

Frida’s Fiestas by Lupe Rivera (Diego’s daughter) is a must-have for any Frida fan.Not so much for the recipes, but for the style.

The Mexican Gourmet by Maria Dolores Torres Yzabal and Shelton Wiseman. This looks like a coffee-table book, but it’s a wonderful resource.

And shucks, Diana Kennedy’s almost Mexican. She’s lived in Mexico since the fifties and maintains a home now just outside of Zitacuaro.

Ric

Nov 30, 1919, 12:00 AM

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Thanks Jennifer, as always you're a great resource! I'll look for the two books. I guess when you come down to it, we're all regional. Just look at the discussion on Okra under the gardening questions on the General Forum. As someone from Maine now living in North Carolina, it took years to stomach grits, and I STILL can't eat Okra (other than fried to a crisp!).

Ric

Nov 30, 1919, 12:00 AM

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Emiliano

Nov 30, 1919, 12:00 AM

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It's word of mouth, I think

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My 85 year-old Mexican mother-in-law never uses a cook book and she's just fabulous, preparing a lot of very specialized dishes at different holidays. My wife and her sisters are very concerned that they will never be able to remember everything once the old lady is gone, and my wife has started making some notes. I've never seen a Mexican use a cookbook in Mexico, although my wife bought quite a few (non-Mexican cuisine) when she lived in the US.

My own mother was given her first cookbook when she married in 1944 and always used one (in the US) but her mother never did. Maybe it's a woman thing, one generation delayed in Mexico. I've never been able to understand women anyway.