Food Related Papers

Maya Foodways Undergraduate Thesis

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Reflections of Gender in Maya Food, Deities and Ideology

“Through analysis of food and eating systems one can gain information about how a culture understands some of the basic categories of its world” (Mary Douglas in Counihan 1997). It is through this lens of foodways that I would like to explore the continuation of gender complementarity from the Maya spanning from pre-Colombian times to my field work in 2007. The issue of gender parity is somewhat contentious in the academic world of Anthropology, and is therefore something that should continued to be explored in-depth with the living Maya. My field work was not exhaustive, but is an ongoing investigation. I will begin with the stories and actions I experienced in the field that spurred me to explore gender roles through food. I will then explain the historical significance of these phenomena, which will include exploration of foodways as represented in pre-Colombian Maya art, encompassing gendered numerology, agricultural and creator deities and end with current discourse on these gendered separations within the Maya culture. I will argue that as a subsistence agriculture based society, the modern Maya of the Yucatan continue in their expression of gender equality as expressed in division of labor in which the woman, and her association with the number three, has historical representation as “cooked” or culture and the man, with his association of the number four, represents “raw” or nature.

First, I would like to disclose, that the purpose of my fieldwork was not to explore this issue of gender parity. I went with the intent of exposing how globalization has affected the ceremonial recipes and knowledge of traditional Maya communities. It was during this process that I found women were excluded from many of the agriculture based rituals. My initial thought was that this was a form of oppression or prejudice against the female population and I was disheartened. However, the women did not seem affected by this separation. It is what I uncovered through research upon returning home upon which this paper will focus, but first, I would like to provide the stories that encouraged my further analysis.

During the summer of 2007, I arrived in Quintana Roo with one contact, a shaman for the Maya communities extending from Playa del Carmen south to Coba’. I spent two weeks sitting with him at his second job, tending his convenience store in a small indigenous neighborhood on the outskirts of the booming tourist city of Playa del Carmen. Here he wove stories of Maya past and present traditions before he allowed me to accompany him to a small village where he was heading to perform a thanksgiving ritual for some of his constituents. I was to purchase ingredients for Sa’ Ko’ol, a stew-like dish often used for festal purposes, which I could help prepare with the women of the community for this familial ritual.

While I was working with the local women preparing the stew, Don Luis finally answered some of my questions about food. He said the only time purely indigenous and hand prepared foods are eaten is during public ceremonies. Women are not permitted to prepare these foods due to the possibility that menstruation could contaminate food for the gods. Otherwise, women use what food may be available from the milpa and mix that with goods from the grocery store. Most typically, chicken, onions, garlic have been co-opted into daily fare to the point that there is no distinction that they are not indigenous. Don Luis says this is the reason that a shaman must provide the ingredient list and recipes for ceremonial food, because the people do not understand what is native and therefore acceptable as offerings. As this meal was not being offered to the gods, but was for familial consumption, it was acceptable for women to cook it. Also while we were cooking, I observed the use of the three stone hearth. Don Luis identified the three stone hearth as a symbol of the union of the family and states that it must be used to make ritual food. When I pressed him on any further symbolism of the number three for women or the hearth he denied knowing any tales of constellations or creation myths that pertain to the number three and women. He did provide information about the woman as a symbol of civilization and holiness via her ability to transform man’s “rawness” via food and birth. She takes the man’s raw corn and makes sustenance and she transforms his seed into humans. She is cooked, while he is raw. Don Luis says the attraction between man and woman comes from a Maya legend where man and woman were once one being, but ended up being split apart. He says, “We form a union to try and repair the separation.” He illustrated this by describing the marriage ritual he performs which reinforces the notion of man as raw and woman as cooked via the man bringing an offering of raw maize kernels and cacao beans to the altar while the woman brings masa and tortillas, symbolizing that the man will be the provider of ingredients, while the woman will process those into nurturing sustenance.

The other village I was able to visit was Señor. It is located between Felipe Carrillo Puerto and Valladolid. Here there is an organization that is trying to start an interest in “sustainable” tourism and I was able to meet with the president, Marcos Cante. He took me to a household to prepare what he called a simple, humble meal. I once again noticed the presence of the three stone hearth and asked about its significance. Marcos told a different tale than Don Luis. Marcos says the three stones are representative of the woman’s work of cooking and are reflected in the timing of the Het’z mek ceremony. For a girl, this ceremony (which I will discuss later) is performed at the age of three months where the boy receives his at four months old. Marcos said this represents the four corners of the man’s milpa and his work of farming. He also denied any knowledge of astronomical or creation myth significance of the three stones. He said that this generation has lost the importance and symbolism of corn and the other foods, but still 99% of the food eaten in Señor comes from subsistence milpas, principally corn.

After these encounters I went home and started researching the relevance of a few repeating themes. I was particularly interested in the stories surrounding the division of labor associated with food. This was apparently reflected in the three stones and four corners along with the associated theories of “woman’s work” of the hearth and “man’s work” of the milpa. This also seemed to play into the gender roles symbolized by the modern Maya rituals of the Het’z mek and the marriage ceremonies. I wanted to see if there is material or ethno-historical evidence of these associations purported by the modern Maya I encountered. I decided to start with the primary sources of the Popol Vuh and The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel which address Maya creation mythology. While the version of the Popol Vuh we have today is from the Quiche Maya of Guatemala, Christenson states that it is based on a Pre-Colombian text from the Yucatan lowlands and I therefore include it in my research (2003). Many of the stories in the Popol Vuh are thought to reflect ideal gender role behaviors (Preuss 1985). It is here that we find stories telling of the pairing of male and female creator gods; Xmucane, the “maker” is female and Xpiyacoc, “modeler” is male (Gustafson 2002). Xmucane, also identified as Ix Chel in the Yucatan, is the first grandmother who ground the corn from which she made the first humans thus identifying the first grandmother, who is in turn the first mother, as the nurturer and creator of humans on earth (Christenson 2003). Xmucane is the epitome of cultural leadership. She demonstrates the “norms” of feminine duties esteemed by the Maya including that of grinding corn, cooking and offering food, caring for offspring, healing, and giving birth which through the telling of these myths, inspires social control (Preuss 1985).

Another creation story found in The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel, the “bible” of the Yucatec Maya, the center of the world is identified as a “three stone place”, or hearth (Roys 1933). This story involves the setting of the three stones at the center of the universe. It is these stones that establish the center of the Maya universe and continue to be represented in Maya homes as the cooking hearth. This setting of the stones was the first act in creating this world and where the first fire was started (Freidel 1993). Therefore the hearth is known as the “mother of the fire” It is from these three stones that there are Classic era depictions of the maize god emerging (Fischer 1999). This combination of mythologies links maize, fertility and cooking to women from the dawn of creation. Even today meals of maize continue to be eaten around the hearth (Anderson 2005a).

At the time of creation, in the Popol Vuh, the female creator made four male lineage heads who in wandered long distances to find appropriate places in which to settle their family (Christenson 2003). This delineates men as providers, and long distance wanderers. It was four male deities who set the four corners of the universe, which was the second act of creation. This space is associated with the four cardinal directions and represents a focused area of supernatural forces upon the face of the earth (Freidel 1993). This story is also given in The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel. where the boundaries of the world are set by four lineage heads, and are representative of the four cardinal directions associated with different forms of sustenance and colors (Roys 1933). Notice that the male creator deity was not described as involved with the grinding or the producing of humans. This is because the male role was as definer of the limits of the human realm. The male creator deity Xpiyacoc, or Itzamna in the Yucatan, defined the ritual space of the human world (Gustafson 2002). Once again, this demonstrates women as central with men skirting the four cardinal boundaries of the world.

For the early Maya, there is a paucity of ethnographic evidence except what we are able to decipher from representations of male and female found in art (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1934). We must remember that art typically represents the ideal, which is often emulated but not without exception (Klein 2001). Early representations of deities tended to be androgynous, incorporating male and female traits and were oriented toward agricultural needs, such as rain, corn, storms and water. It is during this time we find more evidence of women involved in ideology and rulership (Nash 1997). Around this time frame, there is also a presence of small clay images of females grinding corn and making offerings of food, possibly this is to reinforce as “ideal” the role of woman to provide sustenance to her family and to the gods as the female creator deity gave rise to human beings (Klein 2001).

Throughout time, several Anthropologists have explored the theory that women are integral to the domestic sphere while men reign in the natural, or wild areas outside of the “cultural” domicile or village. In the village of Chan Kom, Redfield and Villa Rojas found that men were in charge of public rituals where women were in charge of domestic ritual (1934). Sophie Coe sites patterns of cooking, where women are in charge of private, or home cooking while man performs public ritual cooking (1994). Both Gustafson (2005) and Joyce (Klein 2001) have identified gendered spheres of activity for the Maya and Gustafson even argues that in the world of the Maya, gender is defined by the type of labor one performs, not just their anatomy (2002). Anderson explores linguistic evidence that the forest is the “opposite of tame or household reared” and states that there is never a difference between man and nature (2005b). Redfield’s findings in the 1930s and 1940s where he described man’s role in regard to nature as “…nothing stands between the woods and the milpero; he deals, so to speak, directly with nature” (1941). He goes on to describe that men still perceive their world as quadrilateral and associated with the cardinal directions (1941). According to Little, today’s traditional Maya continue in this division of labor with the woman responsible for the household and the man working at anything requiring leaving the village (2004). I believe this theory ties into the man’s association with the four cornered world with the woman’s association with the three stoned hearth. Woman is central, daily, culture with man as external, ceremonial and wild. During my encounters, I found that both men and women cooked, but in different arenas and for different occasions. The woman was responsible for all food cooked on the three stone hearth, while men made ceremonial food (typically roasted meats) in public spaces or at the milpa using the pib. The hearth-cooked food was boiled and stew-like while the pib food was roasted without liquid. I found support for what appears to be today’s habitus rooted in ancient symbolism regarding woman’s association with the number three and man’s association with the number four. The shape and alignment of the world with its cardinal directions are reflected in the earth oven used by the Maya men to prepare roasted meat dishes for ceremonial use. The milpa is seen as the four cornered world of men and is located in “wild” land, that is, land outside of the domestic sphere. This is the area in which Maya spirits are most prevalent. It is this area where men dominate and perform supernatural ritual (Redfield 1941). Ritual is seen as dangerous, similar to a hunt, where conduits are open between earthly and cosmological realms (Faust 1998). Thus, this is the “wild” space of man. In this area of the world, all rituals involve food (Sullivan 1989). The woman performs her rituals using mundane foods of maize, garden herbs and vegetables collected near the home and she performs the rituals within the home near the hearth (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1934). The male creator deity set limits of cosmos, as men continue to do today by outlining and honoring their milpas (Redfield 1934, Gustafson 2002).

The division of labor by cooking methods is summed up by Lévi-Strauss when he states that:

...roasted is on the side of nature, the boiled on the side of culture: literally, because boiling requires the use of a receptacle, a cultural object; symbolically, as in much as culture is a medication of the relations between man and the world, and boiling demands a mediation (by water) of the relation between food and fire which is absent in roasting (Counihan 1997).

Building on Lévi-Strauss’ theory, I believe the Maya woman is the metaphorical receptacle of culture as she not only provides fully developed or “cooked” humans, but also the sustenance for those humans as did the female creator deity. In Gustafson, the glyph for woman is even described as “the sun sign inside an inverted ceramic water jar; the male seed inside a female vessel (2002).” Joyce describes this phenomenon via her observation that the ceramic dishes and cloth bundles held by women in monumental art represented “end point of sequences of production which transformed raw materials into culturally defined forms.” She goes on to state that men’s work provides “raw” materials where women’s work transforms these materials into culturally viable objects (1993).

These separate roles were not seen as hierarchical, they were seen as a continuation of the ideal of balance as both parts were needed to keep society functioning. While this labor is identified as separate, it is also considered as two parts necessary to make a whole, the four cornered world cannot exist without its central axis, just as the left side of the body cannot exist without the right (Klein 2001). “Male and female action, when joined together through marriage, creates an economically interdependent and complementary whole” (Gustafson 2002). This was readily evident as described in the marriage ritual described to me by Shaman Don Luis in 2007; however it brings up some of the issues anthropologists have with theories of balanced gender parity. Mascia-Lees defines functionalism as “viewing a society as an integrated whole with all of its practices and institutions working together harmoniously to fulfill individual needs or sustain the society in a state of equilibrium (2002)”. She goes on to critique this view as allowing for gender bias. I would argue that this basic idea that modern anthropologists have disregarded as too simplistic is the very view that was essential to the living Maya at the time of Spanish contact. It is evident in the Popol Vuh Chilam and The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel that the division of labor by gender allowed for “ideal” societal structure. This allowed for the man to be public, provider for the gods, and gatherer of distant food items, while the woman could stay closer to the home, be private, provider for the family and gatherer of nearby food items. This division of labor led to increased population as women could feed and rear children while the men increased their social prestige with gods and noblemen by providing food for ritual as well as food for women to convert to sustenance.

Rituals of gender role reinforcement are still in practice. Two that were discussed during my field work were the Het’z mek and, as mentioned above, the wedding ceremony is still in practice. Anderson (2005b) states, “(the) Yucatec Maya body of ritual is centered on food” and according to Counihan, many cultures define marriage as reciprocal food gifting (Counihan 1999). It can therefore be assumed that it is still important to engender the proper roles for male and females via these rituals. The Het’z mek is a ceremony in which at three months for girls and four months for boys the children are given items they are expected to use in life (Gustafson 2002). In Señor, as in published ethnographic works (see Redfield and Villa Rojas 1934, Redfield 1941, Landa 1978, Gustafson 2005, and Joyce 2000) the boy is often given miniature farming tools used in milpa cultivation and the girl is often given cooking utensils or a small ball of masa. The timing of the ceremony indicates the continued ties of female with the three stoned hearth and male with the milpa and hold on to the delineation of female vs. male work. Redfield observes that for the Yucatec Maya “food maintains relations with people and gods” (1941). This combined with the marriage symbolism of male and female work, illustrates the continued dependence on complementary dualism in gendered foodways where from infancy the role of male as milpero and public provider and female as creator and domestic provider is reinforced (Gustafson 2002).

I see this division of labor, not as a structure used to oppress women, but a cultural construct necessary in populations that are based in subsistence agriculture. Children are necessary for manual labor; therefore women must spend significant time in acculturating and caring for their offspring. By finding a pattern that allows women to stay near the domicile, this allows woman to be the central cultural influence of the family. In turn men can provide the labor that requires travel, whether for trade of agricultural products with nearby villages, or because of increased distance to their milpas due to deforestation and population growth. As many “traditional” Maya continue in some practice of honoring agricultural gods, men still hold the habitus of providing food for these public ceremonies while the women provide the food for family gatherings. In conclusion, I hold to Redfield’s belief that this division of labor is resistant to change. However, as their labor changes, so will their gender roles. The more “modernized” communities definitely show a trend away from the balanced social organization and a toward women’s loss of social capital when a household is dependent solely on wage labor. Foodways have been a particularly fruitful way to explore gender roles of the Maya, and I find, like Counihan, that gender models food activities as it structures society, history and ideology (1998).

WORKS CITED

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Anderson, E. N.; Aurora Dzib Xihum de Cen; Felix Medina Tzuc; Pastor Valdez Chale. 2005b. Political Ecology in a Yucatec Maya Community. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press.

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The Role of Food in Aztec Society

The Role of Food in Aztec Society

As in most societies, food was the impetus of Aztec culture. Food was a part of their creation myths, a part of their legendary rise to greatness, a part of their social structure and a major player in their religion. In this paper I will explore how food was a unifier of the early Aztec rise to power at Tenochtitlan in the Valley of Mexico and then evolved into a divisive agent and vehicle for social mobility once an elite lineage ruling class rose to rule the empire. The Aztecs were united by their early lake based diet and their staple of corn from the commoner’s worship of corn seeds and the elite sacrifice to the maize god. However, with the evolution of empire building and tribute, foods deemed high in tonalli such as cacao, sacrificial flesh and any intoxicant clearly began divide. Through this divide, there were paths of social mobility provided largely by talent, such as a woman’s prowess in cooking, a warrior’s ability to obtain captives for ritual cannibalism or a calpolli member’s ability to host an extravagant feast. Many of these catalysts for social mobility are rooted in consumption.

According to legend, the Aztecs started on their rise to power after settling in the swamps of Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. While the swampy area may not sound like the ideal place to foster a society, this land was full of natural resources that fed the early Mexica tribes (Coe, 2002). This abundance of natural resources led to the prolific rise in their numbers. The population increased pressure on the natural resources, resulting in domestication and agriculture, specifically chinampa farming practices (Smith, 1987). The increased agricultural intensification was a sign of cultural change for the Aztecs and their success was directly linked to this intensification (Smith, 1987). As their population continued to grow due to sufficient nutrition and surplus of resources, societal and craft specializations began to form which eventually allowed the Aztecs to become the greatest force in the Valley of Mexico. They then began to exert their influence and power over other regional polities (Clendinnen 1985). As these polities became part of the empire, the Aztecs began to exact tribute requirements on them which led to an influx of hard to get, or elite foodstuffs (Smith, 1987). I propose that food is one of the many representations of the duality of Aztec culture. It acted as a unifier and divider. The humble beginnings of the Aztec people found strength in a shared dietary heritage and maize based diet, but as their power grew, their diet expanded to include dishes of political and religious importance that were restricted to those ordained with supernatural authority and tonalli. Without the elite imposed value system put in place under the revolutionary leader, Itzcoatl, there would have been no differentiation in the Aztec diet between commoners and nobility. Both classes grew out of survival on a varied and nutritionally rich lake based diet which included items such as birds, amphibians, fish, algae, and eggs and was superior to those communities which surrounded the valley (Coe, 2002). Even as the Aztec diet shifted to agriculture with the development of the chinampas, there was little differentiation between the foods of the elite and the foods of the commoners (LeCount, 2001). However, once the pattern of social stratification was in place, tribute items began to flow into the ruling class.

In the beginning of Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs were unified by their ability to adapt to marine and estuary resources that other groups in the Valley of Mexico had not yet harnessed, then, as they grew and shifted to agriculture, corn became their cultural bond. The original diet of the Aztecs can be traced back to their meager beginnings in the Valley of Mexico. Relegated to unwanted swamp lands the Mexica tribes were forced to eke out their existence with what was available for hunting and gathering on Lake Texcoco and its margins. Fortunately, this area was teeming with life, such as water insects, fish, aquatic birds, frogs, tadpoles, lizards, snakes and their eggs as well as algae from the lake all of which provided adequate nutrition to sustain and grow the life of the Aztecs (Coe, 2002). As their population increased, agriculture was needed to support the increased pressure on the natural food supply. Some of the first evidences of public works indicating stratification were chinampas, agricultural terracing of the hills surrounding the valley and irrigation systems necessary to keep these areas watered (Smith, 1987). Chinampas were built in the swamps by dredging the fertile lake bottoms for mud, then piling that mud up above the water level. These beds were held in place by planting trees whose roots held the soil in place. They were extremely fertile plots of land (Smith, 2003). These intensively farmed areas provided the growing city with maize, beans, avocados, tomatoes, squash, amaranth, chia and chile peppers (Smith, 2003).

Of these staples, the primary food source, eaten by all levels of society at every meal was maize (Coe, 2002). Maize was the major unifying element of the Aztec diet. It came in many varieties and each variety had its own specific use (Sahagun v. 11, 1951). Maize was so important to society that it was not only a food, but a religion. The creation myths of the Aztec discuss the belief that humans of this world come from maize and therefore it can stand in as a human or blood sacrifice. In this vein, maize is a suitable food not only for commoners, but for all strata of society, including gods, as it represents fertility and sacrifice. Maize illustrated the circle of life and death -- as maize comes from the ground, people eat it and are therefore made of maize and then when they die they are returned to the ground to be re-born (LeCount, 2001). Due to its importance, depictions of maize are often found in Aztec art, but mainly in context with the worship of a maize or agricultural deity such as Tlaloc, Cinteotl or Chicomecoatl. According to Sahagun, these deities were worshipped not only in public temples but also at home altars indicating that maize was a unifying food item of Aztec culture. It was as accessible to the poorest resident of the empire as well as a daily food item of the emperor (Coe, 2002). Because of the Aztec dependence on agriculture as life, weather was a major concern (Smith, 2003). Therefore agricultural themes are present in state and domestic ritual and religion, and evidence of these rituals can be found in the archaeological record (Coe, 2002).

Along with corn, the other staples of the Aztec diet were combined in a variety of ways to produce many dishes. The basic unit of the diet was the tortilla, formed from dried and nixtamalized corn ground on the metate and cooked on the comal (Barros, & Buenrostro, 2002). The most basic diet of a commoner consisted of tortillas dipped in chile water (Coe, 2002). Another daily meal of all classes was atolli. It was also corn based, but the ingredients varied based on one’s social standing. It could range from a thin gruel of chili and corn, to a more elaborate thicker drink of corn, flowers and fruit or even chocolate (Coe, 2002). The basic diet of the Aztecs consisted of some sort of corn flavored with some sort of sauce. The sauce is what delineated one’s social status (Coe, 2002). According to the Florentine Codex there were over 10 types of tortillas and 27 types of salsas (Barros & Buenrostro, 2002).
As time progressed, the agricultural surplus grew and times of abundant rains continued. This led to the Aztec people’s support of the empire which grew and expanded its reach (Smith, 2003). As it amassed new polities into its society, tribute systems were put in place as was common in Mesoamerica (Smith, 2003). These tribute systems led to exotic food and food related items coming into the Aztec elite. However, this new variety was not available to all members of society at Tenochtitlan. The city had grown into the capitol of a massive empire and within this empire, there was a rigidly stratified between heredity based nobility and commoners since the time of Itzcoatl’s reign (Clendinnen, 1985). In between these two main classes existed a middle class of merchants, warriors, artisans and priests. The nobility mainly concerned itself with maintaining positive reciprocal relationships with the gods, especially those associated with agricultural fertility. These ritual activities often entailed the consumption of flesh, chocolate, pulque and other items associated with high levels of tonalli. The lower classes concerned themselves with attempting to gain social status. There were a few routes possible to both men and women to move up in status. Good cooks, warriors, and hosts were some of the people able to move up based on consumables. One could also climb the ranks of society if they studied to become a great warrior, priest or merchant (Smith, 1987). Individual successes led to increased access to tribute which could then be re-distributed to friends and family (Clendinnen, 1985).

Before discussing the relationships with the gods and restricted consumables, there is a need to define a cultural construct important to the stratification of the Aztec empire, tonalli, defined by Furst as “life force” (2003). The Aztecs held the belief that this life force was present in all items of the universe from rocks, to humans to the sun. However, the amount of tonalli an item possessed could differ. In humans, the amount of this life force could be determined by the status a human had achieved, the more elite one’s status, the more tonalli. This was an important concept regarding human sacrifice and cannibalism. The victims were dressed in the finery of the gods before sacrifice; therefore the decoration bestowed upon the human the vital life force of the god. Only those who already possessed high tonalli could expect to receive more tonalli (Furst, 2003). Therefore, only those of high rank could expect to eat human flesh. This same thought was applied to chocolate, hallucinogenic mushrooms and pulque. All of these consumables were considered to open a conduit to the gods, and only those strong enough in their tonalli could successfully withstand the responsibility that came with that communication (Coe, 2002).

Some of the deities with which the rulers communicated were Tlaloc, Tlalteuctli, Tonatiuh, Cinteotl and Chicomecoatl who are all associated with agricultural fertility. Tlalteuctli, the earth lord or earth monster was acknowledged at feasts by participants dropping pieces of food to the ground before they ate (Coe, 2002). Tonatiuh was the god of the sun which provided the warmth needed to provide crops with their life force and he was honored with human sacrifice (Furst, 2003). Tlaloc was the god of storms who was honored by child sacrifices, as the tears of the child were thought to bring forth the rains (Sahagun v.2, 1951). The maize god had several incarnations, two of which were Cinteotl and Chicomecoatl and this god was honored in many ways from the commoners who addressed corn kernels directly before planting, and women who would gently warm them with their breath before adding them to the olla for cooking, to the nobility who would honor them with sacrifice, great sculptures and the playing of the ballgame (Clendinennen, 1991). Of these deities, the prevalent ones represented in Aztec art are Tlaloc and the maize god. Tlaloc was the main deity of sustenance as he represented rain and storms and therefore agricultural fertility. He often is associated with water, lightening and maize. Tlaloc was considered the provider and one of the sides of the Templo Mayor was dedicated to him (Miller & Taube, 2003). Most recently, a huge stone monument has been discovered in Mexico City, in front of the ruins of Tenochtitlan’s Templo Mayor that appears to be an altar or tomb with Tlaloc on one side and the maize goddess on the other (Lujan, 2006). This would incorporate the two main Aztec deities related to agriculture and such a monumental piece would place significant elite value on their relationships with the gods who provide sustenance. The maize god’s incarnation of Chicomecoatl, is a goddess of food, especially maize (Miller & Taube, 2003). Cinteotl is the masculine incarnation of the corn deity. He is typically depicted in Aztec and Maya art with a double line that runs vertically down his face and jogs at his temple (Miller & Taube, 2003). The Aztec emperors accepted it as their duty to maintain relationships with these gods through sacrifice, bloodletting, fasting, feasting and offerings in order to maintain agricultural fertility which led to continued support by their constituents. Much of their day was spent in reflection and ritual to appease the gods as their success as a ruler was often judged by the success of the harvest as a reflection of their relationships with these gods. According to Furst, commoners could not afford the great sacrifice of human life; they constructed offerings of food that typically involved maize, since maize was considered a representation of human flesh (2006). Food made from maize and maize god effigies were taken to tribal temples in the calpolli and in the homes of commoners (Sahagun v. 2, 1951). In the Aztec belief system, both the commoner sacrifice of corn and the elite sacrifice of flesh fulfilled the cultural responsibility to feed the gods, so, one could argue that this unifies the classes, however, because the life force provided by blood and flesh yielded greater tonalli for the elite, the classes remained divided.

Besides the ability to consume human flesh, there were specific consumables also associated with the tonalli force such as cacao and pulque. Of these, cacao was the main elite tributary consumable. It could not be grown in Central Mexico and so was a highly valued tribute item. Cacao grew in demand as it became a source of currency for the poor and a prized beverage for the elite (Rust). Commoners, especially those at the low end of the spectrum had little access to cacao, except as they could scrounge for it in Tapir feces (Sahagun v.11, 1951). Otherwise it trickled down from the nobility who received 980 troxes of it per year (a troxe contains 8,000-10,000 bushels), (Coe, 2002). Cacao could also be purchased at markets but commoners were restricted to using the beans for money, not consumption. Commoners were restricted from consuming cacao due to the belief that cacao was an intoxicant and would therefore create a conduit between the drinker and the gods. It was the Aztec belief that only those of nobility and training could open themselves to the gods without repercussions (Clendinnen 1991). Along with the import of cacao, came the import of cacao related serving vessels such as the decorative cacao pots and batadors (Barros & Buenrostro, 2002). The batadors were whisking utensils used to give the chocolate beverage its much prized head of foam. The cacao drinks were prized for the amount of froth that could be produced on them and the skill of producing this foam was prized and held by women (Coe, 2002). The drinking of cacao was reserved for use by the elite in rituals and in feasting (Coe, 2002), however, the nobility could provide cacao to other highly regarded people such as valued warriors or favored long distance traders (Rust). In Mesoamerica, according to LeCount, cacao was used more in private political and social displays of power and reciprocity than in public religious rituals (2001). Possibly this was due to the Aztec myth that depicted the powerful Aztec leaders returning to visit their ancestors in their homeland of Chichimeca. There they were chastised for their use of cacao, the ancestors saying it had made them soft, weak and heavy, for they could no longer walk in the sands of their homeland without sinking (Coe, 2002). Perhaps this was a warning of overindulgence; perhaps it was a warning to the Aztecs to not forget their humble beginnings based in hunger and exile now that they were great rulers with such luxuries.

Another of the stratifying consumables was pulque. While in the outskirts of the empire, there was ample access to the maguey plant, from which pulque was made, within the confines of Tenochtitlan, it was strictly regulated. Pulque was used primarily as a medicinal treatment for the elders to cure their “cold blood” (Coe, 2002). Pulque was a vitamin-rich milky liquid and was believed to be derived from the milk of the Earth Goddess. (Miller & Taube, 2003) In fact, pulque was popular liquid in which to stew a snake ragout which was thought to produce a strengthening effect for the elderly. (Coe, 2002) At feasts, of those the middle and higher classes only old men and women were allowed to indulge in the mildly alcoholic beverage (Coe, 2002). Coe goes on to state that it was reserved specifically for old women and men over seventy who had children and grandchildren. Even then, only a few small cups were allowed. “Drinking was acceptable, intoxication was not” (2002).

The most sacred and restricted of all elite consumption came in the form of cannibalism. Contrary to sensationalized colonial accounts, human flesh was not considered a part of the diet, but a ritual act of consuming life force (Furst, 2003). While emperors and nobility were always included, only the friends and family of those wealthy enough to afford slaves to be given as sacrificial victims or warriors fierce enough to capture victims could expect to be included in the ritual consumption of human life force (Furst, 2003). The captors of the sacrificial victims were given a portion of flesh based on their involvement in the capture. They then took the remains and stewed them with maize and salt. No chiles were included in order to preserve the idea of the human body as pure corn. By the time they had divided this stew amongst their friends and relatives; it amounted to one half ounce per person and was not regarded for its flavor (Coe, 2002).

Another stratifying food event was feasting. Idyllically, feasting was seen as a way to increase social standing for lower classes, but mainly it was another mechanism used to reinforce the separation of the commoner and elite classes. Many of the elite from polities surrounding the Aztec empire willingly joined the empire in order to benefit from the power of Tenochtitlan via the redistribution involved with tribute and feasting within the empire (Smith, 1986). Feasting was a way to accomplish religious, political and social goals in Aztec society (Clendinnen, 1991). By lavishly eating in times of drought or when stores are depleted before planting season, the rulers are showing their faith in Tlaloc and the coming rains that will give the crops success (Clendinnen, 1991). By sharing food within a calpolli, neighbors are establishing a hierarchy and sense of community as well as re-distributing goods. By inviting nobility from other polities, Aztec rulers were also establishing a hierarchy and promoting unity among the noble classes of the empire (Smith, 1986). Even the serving utensils used at feasts served as a reminder of class delineation. At times, there was not a large differentiation in the types of food served by commoners and elites, but in this case the high quality polychrome vessels used for serving were used to reinforce wealth and division (Brumfiel, 1987). While all classes may have resorted to serving a slurry of corn in hard times, the elites would have served their guests with fine pottery while the commoners would have used gourds (LeCount, 2001).

For the poorest of commoners, especially within the confines of the urban environment of Tenochtitlan, life was difficult. Access to food was restricted to the marketplace, and there were those who could not afford to purchase foodstuffs. These people were dependent upon the kindness of neighbors and of the government. Clendinnen discusses that food gifting and sharing were common and resulted in a sense of community during the smaller rituals (1991), Smith and Sahagun also describe several types of redistribution. There are depictions of people of all societal levels offering others containers of food and drink in the illustrations of the Florentine Codex (Sahagun v. 11, 1951). Smith discusses several large scale ceremonies that acted as redistributive devices to unify the nobility of outlying areas who had less access to tribute (1986). The Florentine Codex outlines at least one specific feast given in honor of the poor. It was called Uei Tecuilhuil, “Great Feast of the Lords”. It lasted for seven days and was intended to show the generosity of the emperor during a famine-prone time of year. It was given when dried maize was running out at the end of the dry season. In the morning, each person was allowed to bring their own vessels, as big and as many as they could carry, to fill with the atolli of lime, sage and honey supplied by the ruler. They could take as much as they could but could not return for a second time. Later in the day, they were fed as many tamales as they could carry in one hand (Sahagun, v.2, 1951). These types of feasts however, were the only ones that were intended as welfare and not involved in the reciprocal idea of feasting that was the norm in Aztec society. According to Clendinnen, those who could not afford their own feasts were not invited to the feasts of others, and merely had to wait by the margins to scavenge on leftovers and were mocked and humiliated (1991). It is this level of society that suffered most as they were unable to work their way up to be a part of society and for them, there was no real notion of community or charity (Clendinnen, 1991).

Contrary to popular thought, the Aztec woman had the ability to move between social classes independently of her male counterpart. Where men could move up by becoming a soldier or priest, the woman could move up by being a merchant, a healer or a cook. Women’s societal success in Aztec culture was defined by her ability to feed people (Kellogg, 1995). Upon birth, a female baby’s umbilicus was buried under a metate and a prayer was given to the goddesses to make her a good cook (Coe, 2002). A woman could progress through the ranks of society by actively pursuing her responsibilities of hostess of feasts or by becoming a respected cook (Kellogg, 1995). Not all women were chosen to be cooks for royal feasts. Some were considered “inedible” people, a judgment of not only their food but their character (Coe, 2002). Others were able to progress as “edible” and some even were able to cook for the feasts of the emperor (Coe, 2002). Cooks in the home and the market place were women, and those who were successful, could become part time or full time specialists (Coe, 2002). Of those, a few were selected to be professional cooks for imperial feasts. The most highly prized cooks were those who could beat a great foam on top of the cacao beverages (Coe, 2002).
By the time of Moteuczomah II, the demarcation between commoners, rulers and gods had its roots in diet. According to Coe, the Tlaxcalans sent to Cortes’ men:

…five slaves, incense, domestic fowl and cakes, so that if he was, as they had heard, a fearsome god, he could feed on the slaves, if a benevolent one, he would be content with the incense and if human and mortal he would use the fowl, fruit and cakes that had been prepared for him… (2002).

Moteuczomah also provided diet related tests to decipher Cortes’ status by sending food along with chocolate beverages to test the Spanish. He presumed if they drank the chocolate, they were royalty (Coe, 2002).

For the noble classes, there were many responsibilities in regard to food, not only were they responsible for the redistribution of tribute via feasting, but included in their inherited right to rule was the inherited responsibility to maintain relationships with the gods, especially those gods who were related to weather, agriculture and fertility. Elite monumental Aztec art such as architecture and altars were created to reinforce these relationships, in fact, the tzompantli and sacrificial stones were all symbols of this relationship that remain today in the archaeological record. The artistic accounts signifying the commoner’s relationship with food comes from colonial codices.

From ethno historical accounts in the Mesoamerican codices and archaeological evidence of carved monuments, utensils, serving items and seeds, we have evidence of food use in Aztec culture. It begins with the legends of the adaptable and tenacious Mexica who eked out their existence in the margins of society and rose to become a superpower. United in their general diet and religious use of food, they were divided in the details. It was the Aztec elite’s love of embellishment that separated them. While the staple diet was accessible to all levels of society, it was the manner in which these staples were served that delineated one’s stratification. The commoner’s plain maize cakes served from gourds were juxtaposed with the elite maize cakes drenched in rich sauces and served on beautiful pottery. While the entire society shared the responsibility of feeding flesh to the gods, it was the level of tonalli involved in the offering that divided, flesh from the elite far outweighed maize as the representation of flesh from the commoner. While food could restrict one’s societal reach it could also provide a vehicle by which one could ascend levels of society. For males the capture or purchase of a sacrificial victim and its following consumption by family and friends allowed warriors to move up in the military and merchants ascend in the hierarchy of their calpolli. For women, success in the market place and society was judged on the quality of her hosting, cooking and generosity. The ability for her to feed the community led to a chance to become a full time specialist for the royal court or her lack of skills led to her failure and relegation as an “inedible” member of society. The dual aspects of food as uniter and divider of cultures was commonplace for the Aztecs just as it is today in modern society. Access to certain foods continues to be restricted by religion, cost, culture and availability just as it was then. The “elite” goods have changed, but the idea of tonalli lives on in human discourse as class and privilege.

Works Cited

Barros, Cristina, and Marco Buenrostro. Cocina Prehispanica Recetario. Ed. Enrique Vela. Spec. issue of Arqueologia Mexicana 12 (Nov. 2002).

Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. “Consumption and Politics at Aztec Huexotla.” American Anthropologist 89.3 (Sept. 1987): 676-686. JSTOR. American Anthropological Association. 13 Oct. 2006 .

Clendinnen, Inga. “The Cost of Courage in Aztec Society.” Past and Present 107 (May 1985): 44-89. JSTOR. Oxford University Press. 30 Oct. 2006 .
- - -. “Local Perspectives.” Aztecs: An Interpretation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. 45-83.

Coe, Sophie D. “The Aztecs, Aztec Ingredients, Aztec Cooks and Menus.” America’s First Cuisines. 1994. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002. 66-120.

Furst, Leslie McKeever. “Food for the Gods Or, You Are Who You Eat in Ancient Mexico.” Expedition 45.2 (2003): 26-29. EBESCO Publishing. 27 Oct. 2006 .

Kellogg, Susan. “The Woman’s Room: Some aspects of Gender Relations in Tenochtitlan in the Late Pre-Hispanic Period.” Ethnohistory 42.4 (Fall 1995): 563-576. JSTOR. Duke University Press. 30 Oct. 2006 .

LeCount, Lisa. “Like Water for Chocolate: Feasting and Political Ritual Among the Late Classic Maya at Xunantunich, Belize.” American Anthropologist 103.4 (Dec. 2001): 935-953.

Lujan, Leonardo Lopez. “Aztec House of the Eagles - Digging the Underworld in Downtown Mexico City.” Art History Guest Lecture Series, Department of Art and Art History, the Department of Anthropology, the Mexican American Studies Center, the Mesoamerican Center, and LILAS. ART 1.102, University of Texas. 24 Oct. 2006.

Miller, Mary, and Karl Taube. An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2003.

Rust, Randi L. “A Brief History of Chocolate, Food of the Gods.” Athena Review 2.2: 1-4. 22 Oct. 2006 .

Sahagun, Fray Bernardino. The Florentine Codex. Vol. 2, The Ceremonies. Santa Fe: The School of American Research and The University of Utah, 1951.

- - -. . The Florentine Codex. Vol. 11, The Earthly Things. Santa Fe: The School of American Research and The University of Utah, 1951.

Smith, Michael E. “Archaeology and the Aztec Economy: The Social Scientific use of Archaeological Data.” Social Science History 11.3 (Fall 1987): 237-259. JSTOR. Duke University Press. 30 Oct. 2006 .

- - -. The Aztecs. 1996. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2003.

- - -. “The Role of Social Stratification in the Aztec Empire: A View from the Provinces.” American Anthropologist 88.1 (Mar. 1986): 70-91. JSTOR. American Anthropological Association. 27 Oct. 2006 http://www.jstor.org.content.lib.utexas.edu:2048/?sici=0002-7294%28198603%292%3A88%3A1%3C70%3ATROSSI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Z.

Monthly Seasonal Spotlight June 2005

June 2005

June’s Seasonal Spotlight

Eight Ball Squash

It’s June…that means the Austin Farmers’ Markets are abundant with produce.  All of our favorites are there: tomatoes, peaches, blueberries and corn but today I’m going to introduce a little known variety of squash that is rising to popularity in other parts of the country and grows well here in Texas. It’s a fist sized blackish green ball called an Eight Ball squash from the zucchini family.  It can be eaten the same as a zucchini or even hollowed out to make little serving bowls or to stuff and bake. 

Nutritionally, the Eight Ball squash is rich in valuable antioxidants. Plus it contains beta-carotene, vitamin C, folic acid and calcium. It is also a good source of fiber (4 grams per cup).

The Eight Ball squash can be found at the Austin Farmer’s Market or the Westlake Market this season.

Today we’re using it in a soup recipe (a variation of a Oaxacan soup called Sopa de Guias).  This recipe also utilizes the tomatoes corn and chilies starting to peek into the market.  The epazote and squash blossoms can also be found in the markets this summer.  If you have trouble at the market, try a Mexican grocer.

Following the soup recipe, there’s a great frosty peach cocktail to cool you down in the kitchen.

Summer Squash and Corn Dumpling Soup

For the Soup:

1 medium white onion, roughly chopped

1 small head garlic, finely chopped

4 fresh ears of corn, cleaned and sliced in rounds 1 inch thick

4-5 small round Eight ball squash (1.25 lbs)

1 handful Epazote (Mexican herb that can be found fresh or dry in most specialty stores)

2.5 Cups Squash flowers, cleaned and torn in half

Salt to taste

For the Salsa:

3 Fresh chile serranos

3 large ripe plum tomatoes

5 garlic cloves

½ lime, juiced

Salt to taste

4 limes cut in 8-10 wedges

For the Dumplings:

1 Cup Masa Harina

1 Tablespoon lard or vegetable oil

½ teaspoon salt

For the Soup:

In a large stockpot, heat 4.5 quarts of water with the onion and garlic to boil.  Lower the heat and add the corn rounds and cook, covered for 30 minutes.

Cut the squash into 1 inch thick wedges.

Add the squash and squash blossoms to the soup.  Cook covered 30 minutes, season with salt.

For the Salsa:

Toast the chilies, tomatoes and garlic on a pan or over a grill flame until skins are ready to peel off.

Remove skins from chilies, tomatoes and garlic.

Blend chilies and garlic in a food processor or blender until smooth, then add the tomatoes and lime juice and pulse to a relatively chunky consistency.  Salt to taste.

For the Dumplings:

Mix masa with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water until you have a soft dough.

Let sit covered with damp towel for 15 minutes.

Mix in the lard or oil and salt.

Roll the dough into small balls (approximately 50) and make an indentation in each one with your finger.

When soup is cooking with the squash, add the dumplings and cook approximately 5 minutes, or until firm.

Taste soup and adjust seasonings in the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Serve soup in hollowed out squash bowls or in soup bowls topped with salsa and a squeeze of lime.

Serves 8-10.

For Frozen Peach Cocktail:

4-6 Very Ripe Peaches, peeled and cut in medium chunks

Raw sugar or simple syrup, to taste

1 C. peach schnapps

2 limes, juiced

Ice

1 bottle sparkling wine

Cut peaches and place in blender with sweetener, lime juice and schnapps. 

Blend to smooth consistency.

Fill blender with ice and blend to smooth consistency.

Fill half of chilled champagne flutes or margarita glasses with peach mixture and then fill remainder with champagne, stir lightly.

Enjoy the bounty of the season.

Amber O’Connor

Foodways Spanish Tapas Event

Foodways Spanish Tapas Meeting

First, I’d like to introduce Foodways, a group that meets once a month to focus on a specific region’s cuisine and traditions in regard to that cuisine. Membership costs $17.00/year and there is usually an extra fee for each meeting. They can be contacted via their website http://www.main.org/foodways/. I attended my first meeting this past Sunday, October 19, 2003.

While at Trish Bales’ home last Sunday we were treated to a presentation and tasty array of Spanish style tapas. Tapas are small, usually salty treats served in throughout Spain at Tapa Bars. This is a very social way to eat and try many different items in one sitting. Authentic tapa bars do not have a set menu, just a display of that day’s fare.

Our buffet consisted of Manchego with quince paste, a very traditional sharp cheese contrasted with a sweet-tart fruit paste. My favorite item from our meeting was Papas Bravas, which are roasted or fried potatoes coated with a spicy tomato sauce topped with aioli. A potato and egg “tortilla” which is similar to an Italian frittata except that it is finished on the stove instead of in the oven was served warm, where typically it would be room temperature or served in a sandwich at the tapa bar. There was also a typical mélange of olives, jamon Serrano, chorizo, sobrasada, seasoned almonds and rustic breads with garlic and tomato toppings. All in all it was a delicious sampling of traditional Spanish food items garnered from places like Phoenicia bakery, Central Market, Whole Foods and Grapevine Market along with some of their own recipes from their travels in Spain.

Dia de los Muertos

Dia De Los Muertos
by Amber O’Connor

While the children in America traditionally dress in costumes and go trick or treating on October 31st every year a different tradition occurs in Mexico. Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead is celebrated November 1st and 2nd every year. This holiday is used to honor the deceased. Offerings of food, candies, flowers and even sometimes tequila are left at the graves of friends and family members. Often, members of the family will hold vigil all night in the cemeteries with lit candles. If a family member is unable to go to the gravesite, altars are made in the home using la calaca, or the skeleton to represent the departed.

While any of the favorite foods of the deceased can be used, in honor of this holiday, here are some traditional Dia De Los Muertos recipes from the Mayan culture. One look at these recipes and it is easy to see the care and love involved in honoring one’s relatives on this holiday.

PIBIWAH – BU’ULIWAH (Bean Tamales)

Masa:
8 Cups Masa Harina
2 t. salt
2 C. lard
1 hot green chili, finely chopped
2 C. chicken broth

Place masa and salt in large mixing bowl
Beat lard until fluffy
Stir in the broth and add to the masa
Blend ingredients well and add chili if desired

Bean Paste:
22 oz. black beans, dried
12 C. water
1 hot green chili, toasted
1 bulb garlic, toasted
½ C. lard
1 onion, toasted and chopped
Salt to taste
4 limes, halved
2 hot green chilies, chopped

Wash beans well, add water, and soak overnight.
Change water and add to cover
Add toasted chili and garlic; simmer 2 hours adding water as needed
Heat lard in skillet, sauté onion until translucent, add to beans.
Cook for an additional hour or until done, add salt if needed
Remove the chili and garlic.
Place beans in blender and blend to puree.

Tamales:
8 – 10 inch banana leaves or parchment paper
Banana leaf ties or string
Favorite chili salsa
1 Recipe Masa Harina (above)
¾ C. pumpkin or squash seeds, toasted
Water as needed
½ C. honey
1 Recipe Black bean puree (above)

Line up the banana leaf pieces, side by side.
Pat out 8 fat tortillas using ¼ C. of masa for each one.
Place each of the tortillas on a leaf.
Mix pumpkin seeds with enough water to make a thin paste. Spread a layer of pumpkin seed paste over the top of each tortilla.
Pat out 8 more fat tortillas and place them on top of the first layer. Spread on a spoonful of honey.
Add a 3rd layer of tortillas. Spread on a heavy layer of the Bean Puree.
Add the fourth layer of tortillas.
Make 4 indentations in the top of each tortilla. This symbolizes the four winds. Spread a layer of pumpkin seeds in each of the indentations.
Fold over the edges of a banana leaf and wrap it as if it were a package.
Tie the tamale with string to secure the contents.
Do this with all the tamales.
Place in steamer and steam for 1 – 1 ½ hours
Unwrap and serve with salsa.

TSAH BI YAX IK (Enriched Green Chili Salsa)

1 small onion, toasted and chopped
2 cloves garlic, toasted and chopped
5 fresh green hot chilies, toasted and chopped
2 T. lard
¼ C. juice from sour oranges or limes
Salt, to taste

Toast the onion, remove skin, and chop
Toast the garlic, remove skin, and chop
Toast chilies and crush them in a molcajete or grind them in a food processor.
Heat lard in heavy skillet and sauté onion and garlic until the onion is translucent.
Add the chilies and sauté for another 2 minutes.
Mix in the sour citrus juice.

X – TANCHUCUA (Porridge of Chocolate and Corn)

2 T. cocoa (unsweetened and preferably the Aztec chocolate)
4 T. sugar
1 T. masa harina
6 C. water
½ t. cinnamon
¼ t. vanilla

Mix the cocoa, sugar and masa together in a clay pitcher or heavy saucepan.
Stir in ½ C. of the water and whip with whisk until all of the lumps have dissolved.
Cook on medium-high heat while adding the remaining water, a little at a time.
When the porridge is steaming and has thickened somewhat, turn off the heat, strain the chocolate and serve.

Recipes from: Mayan Cooking: Recipes From the Sun Kingdoms of Mexico, Hamman, 1998

Nebbiolo Article

Nebbiolo - Piedmont

A popular legend explains the origin of Nebbiolo. A monk had a small garden near his hut. He also tended a vineyard that just produced enough wine for his personal consumption. One morning, he found the garden and vineyard were hidden by a thick fog. He thought this was a sign that the Lord was angry with him and ceased cultivating the earth to dedicate himself to prayer. When the harvest time arrived, he was rewarded by the fog dissipating and revealing clusters of ripe grapes that gleamed like gems in the sunlight so he named them after the mists. Nebbiolo translates to “Foggy One”.

Nebbiolo is a member of the triad of Italy’s finest wines the others are Barolo and Barbaresco which are all made from the Nebbiolo grapes.

It is grown in Lombardy and Piedmont Southwest of Alba.

There are only 3000 acres dedicated to Nebbiolo, probably due to how picky it is about its location. It must be grown where there is morning fog and warm sunny days, so it is mainly grown on slopes with Northern and Eastern exposure. It is very hard to grow and is considered the “most labor intensive grape”.

Nebbiolo is typically harvested in October after a long ripening. It is not typically blended with other varietals.

It must be aged a minimum of 24 months and can continue to develop in flavor for decades. It is mostly aged in oak to help mellow its fruit.

The reward for the patience needed to grow this grape is high. Because it is such a magnificent wine, people are willing to pay top dollar for it. Prices are usually upwards of $65.00.

Younger wines made with Nebbiolo tend to have cherry, chocolate, raisin and herb flavors.

Older wines (minimum of 3 years aging) taste more of truffles, earth, licorice and smoke.

Wines made from these grapes pair well with the hearty Northern Italian cuisine, matching the intensity of ragouts, red meats, stews and Sottocenere, a cow’s milk cheese aged with slices of black truffle throughout it.

Recados Speech

“Recados”

Introduction

I. Marinades, seasoning blends, dry rubs, chili pastes…we’ve all used them, but where do they come from? Who’s heard of recados? According to Reed Hearon, author of La Parilla: The Mexican Grill, the word recados literally means “complements”. They are the predecessors of our pre-packaged seasoning mixes.

II. I first became familiar with these flavorful ingredients of Mexican cuisine when I was researching how to re-create the Conchinita Pibil. It was a dish I had several times while visiting the Yucatan peninsula, but had never made at home until recently.

III. Now, I’d like to introduce you to recados by reviewing their history, three of the main types and their availability.

[ First, let’s begin with the history and a basic description of recados.]

Body

I. Recados have been around for a very long time. Just how long seems to vary depending on the author. I’ve read such non-specific dates as “Pre-Colombian” and “prior to the Spaniards arriving in the New World”.

A. Hamman states in her book, Mayan Cooking: Recipes from the Sun Kingdom that recados may have been the first convenience food, a pre-Colombian pre packaged mix.

B. According to the Gerlach’s (a couple who are avid collectors of Mayan recipes and research) state that recados are the most famous seasoning from the Yucatan and that they were developed long before the arrival of the Spaniards in South and Central America.

C. While the traditional method of preparation varies based on the type of recado that is desired, there are ingredients and methods common to each.

1. Basic ingredients include but are not limited to cinnamon, allspice, black pepper, oregano, cumin, annatto seeds, cloves, chilies and garlic. I’ve brought annatto seeds whole and ground into a paste for those of you who have not seen them before.

2. In general, all of the ingredients are coarsely ground by hand, toasted and then re-ground by hand in a mortar and pestle then mixed with water or vinegar to form a fine paste.

a. As you can see, the annatto seeds are very hard. They are difficult to grind into a fine paste even when using a blender or a spice grinder. I would say this is the most difficult part of making a good recado.

b. According to Cherry Hamman, it takes even an experienced recado maker about 45 minutes to completely grind this paste to the right consistency due to the toughness of the annatto.

[ Now I’d like to review the pay off for making the recados at home is worth it, if only for the variety.]

II. There are many types of recados for the home cook to attempt, but the three main ones are Red, Green and Black.

A. We’ll start with my favorite, Recado Rojo, which is also the most popular here in the states.

1. Recado Rojo also known as Achiote or Colorado sauce is the flavor behind Conchinita Pibil whose main ingredient is annatto seeds. I take the recado, and rub it on a pork shoulder, marinate overnight, and then roast until the meat falls apart it is so tender.

B. There is also a green recado known as Recado de Bistec. It is a more vinegar based recado.

1. The name, Recado de Bistec tells us that this paste is typically used for a beef marinade.

2. However, it is also used to pickle vegetables, and results in the side dish, Escabeche, relish that includes pickled peppers, carrots and other vegetables

C. Finally, there is a black recado called Chilmole, it is often confused with mole sauce due to its name as well as its glossy dark appearance.
1. Each of my sources agree that Recado de Chilmole gets its distinctive color and flavor from pouring alcohol over dried chilies and letting them burn. The Mayans started this process and it is still adhered to today.
2. Chilmole is typically used as a sauce poured over turkey.

[ As you can see, this is not a process that fits into our faster paced life. The alternatives are convenient bulk and pre-packaged recados available at Mexican markets. I’d like to address the quality and variety of these options next.]

III. The best quality and variety of recados is found in the markets in the Yucatan or freshly made at home. The pre-packaged pastes are not recommended for authenticity.

A. The Gerlach’s recommend purchasing recados ready made in markets in the Yucatan by the kilo. There they are sold in bulk. For example, Diana Kennedy, today’s foremost writer on Mexican cuisine states that she found these pastes formed into balls for purchase in markets in and around Merida in the Yucatan.

1. While it is not always accessible to travel to Mexico to get these pastes, know that according to Hamman, these can be brought back into the United States without customs difficulties.

B. I have found prepackaged recado pastes in Mexican markets here, such as Fiesta Mart, however, I do not feel that these pastes have the full flavor that I look for. They taste muddier and milder than any I’ve had in Mexico.

C. Basically, I’ve found that to replicate the true flavor of the Yucatan, you have to take the time to make recados at home.

1. After trial and error, I recommend using the annatto paste to ease the difficulty of making a recado at home. Combining this paste with my own toasted and crushed spices and fresh ingredients creates an acceptable simile to authentic recados.

2. Also an important consideration for easing home preparation, Hamman states that a properly made recado paste can keep up to one year in the refrigerator, so after finding a recipe that works for you, make it in bulk and all the work is done for the next year.

Conclusion

I. In summary, we’ve learned a little about the history, type and availability of recados. If you are a fanatic about authentic Mexican food, learning how to make recados can greatly influence the quality of your finished product.

II. We have a responsibility as future chefs to really learn the history and traditions of our ingredients, not just mimic what other chefs and recipes have done before. Studying the true origins of recados has definitely given me a greater respect for the indigenous people who created Mexican cuisine as well as given me the drive to seek out the correct ingredients. By taking the time to seek knowledge, we will create better food.

Bibliography

Gerlach, Nancy and Jeffrey. Foods of the Maya: A Taste of the Yucatan.
2nd ed. Albequerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2002.

Hamman, Cherry. Mayan Cooking: Recipes from the Sun Kingdoms of Mexico.
New York, NY: Hippocrene Books, Inc, 1998.

Hearon, Reed. La Parilla: The Mexican Grill. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle
Books, 1996

Kennedy, Diana. From My Mexican Kitchen: Techniques and Ingredients.
New York, NY: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2003

Shop Locally Speech

“Shop Locally”

Introduction

I. Five thousand, one hundred and sixty-eight dollars. We’d all like to have that much money. What is the significance of that number? It is how much money Austin loses per year per 1000 square feet of chain restaurants.

II. Why do I know this? Well, in the last 10 years of living in Austin I’ve gone from someone who bought clothes at the mall and groceries at HEB to someone who has done the research behind where I spend my money. So should you.

III. In this time of economic strain, we should invest our money locally for many reasons. The three I’ll address today are: first, the return of locally spent money to our community, two, the availability and diversity of local products and finally, the degree of responsibility local merchants hold.

[ But first, let’s stick with that ever important subject sensitive to everyone, money.]
Body

A. Let’s revisit that number I mentioned in the beginning. These numbers come from an economic study presented to the Austin City Council. Civic Economics, who are the economic consultants that researched local companies versus “big box” companies such as Wal-Mart and other chains, conducted the study and how it impacts Austin’s economy.

B. The details are that national chain restaurants, specifically those that are franchised cost Austin, that’s indirectly you and me $5,168 per year per 1,000 square feet. That is every Subway, McDonalds, and Burger King, among others in Austin.

C. What this breaks down to is for every dollar spent at a chain, only 13 cents stays in Austin because basically large chains pay minimum wages and only that labor cost stays in Austin. How can we fix this?

1. For that same dollar spent at a local merchant, at least 50 cents stay local.

2. Another solution proposed by the Austin Independent Business Alliance and supported by News 8 Austin was for everyone in Austin to shop locally for just one day. This would result in fourteen million dollars staying in Austin that would otherwise leave our community.

[ Ok, so we’ve heard the money argument, what about availability and quality? Austin is still a relatively small town right?]

II. I used to think the best way to buy my groceries were from the big retailers since I could get basically everything I needed in one place. Now, I urge you to break this habit and open your eyes to what Austin has to offer.

A. Let’s get real, why is it a good idea to buy raw meat and fresh produce from a place that stores it in the same stockroom as they store Drano? Do we really need things to be that convenient?

B. The Austin Chronicle did a study on the availability of interesting ethnic ingredients in Austin.

1. The food editors purchased a book called The Appetizer Atlas. It had hundreds of recipes from twenty-eight different culinary regions.

2. Every single item for every single recipe was found in Austin at a locally owned merchant.

3. I’ll pass around a listing of some of these merchants for those of you new to Austin and willing to explore.

C. Along with availability, diversity of what is available should be explored.
1. We have all heard the argument that chain restaurants are good because people can visit any city and eat what they eat at home.
a. My first question would be why are you leaving home if you aren’t looking for a new experience?
i. I say go beyond your comfort zone and sample what each new place has to offer.
b. Also, in this day when 40 percent of the money spent at restaurants goes to the top 100 chains, I say demand local availability as well as variety and spread the wealth back into your local communities.

[ So, we’ve tackled money, and availability, what does buying food locally do for you in the short term?]

III. Buying locally means you can hold an individual responsible for their actions.

A. According to Gary Paul Nabhan, a MacArthur Fellowship winning ethno-botanist, “The food we put into our mouths today travels an average of thirteen hundred miles from where it is produced, changing hands at least six times along the way.”

1. Buying locally means eating locally. Not only does the money you spend at a farmer’s market go directly back into the farm, you can actually meet the person who grew it, packed it, and sold it to you.

a. This means you can ask him what was done to it and if it makes you sick, you can contact him about it.

B. Buying locally means supporting local causes.

1. There are several local businesses including the farmer’s markets that donate their left over food to Caritas, the Austin Food Bank, Salvation Army and other soup kitchens.

2. In 1998, a Community Action Network report counted 9,000 low-income Austinites who seek food daily from emergency sources such as food banks.

a. Since then, the Green Corn Project supported by Austin’s Boggy Creek Farm has not merely donated leftover food, they have volunteered with others to start home gardens for people who cannot afford food, but have a plot of land. What national chain based out of another state care enough to do this for our community? None.

Conclusion

I. Summary statement: In summary, we’ve covered how to financially support your community by shopping locally, the diversity and accountability of locally grown food, as well as how the local business helps support our community.

II. Call for Action: Now that you are armed with this information, I urge you once again to challenge your comfort zone. Don’t buy out of convenience; buy using your conscience. Just because Randall’s has all the things you normally buy, where is your money going? Where is the food from? How was it produced? Who is accountable? Until you can answer these questions, you should not support them with your dollar.

Bibliography

Civic Economics. Economic Impact Analysis: A Case Study Local Merchants vs. Chain Retailers Executive Summary. LiveableCity. Austin, TX. December 2002.

Green Corn Project. “Planting the Seed”. http://www.greencornproject.org/history/background.html. 7 November, 2003.

Mitchell, Stacy. “Independent Businesses, Unite”. In Business. July/August 2003. p. 16-18

Nabhan, Gary Paul. Coming Home to Eat. W. W. Norton and Company. New York, NY. 2002.

News 8 Austin. “Local Businesses Push to Unchain Austin”. http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/?secid=278&arid=89598.
17 November 2003.

News 8 Austin. “Farmers’ Market Ends Successful First Year”. http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?arid=90247.
22 November 2003

Public Revenues from Local Business. “Local Stores Create Triple the Economic Activity of Chain Stores”. http://www.sanlorenzoexpress.com/revenue.htm.
23 November 2003.

Vann, Mick. “Around the World…”. The Austin Chronicle. 28 February 2003: Cuisines.

Enduring Mayan Foods and Their Preparations

Enduring Mayan Foods and Their Preparation

In thinking of a lush jungle full of pyramids, high priests, many gods, and conquest, one typically thinks of the Nile river valley and the Egyptians, however, the Maya also held such a place in the world’s history. In fact the Maya are responsible for foods that are a major part of our culture today. Because the Mayan empire was already in decline by A.D. 800-900 and they were not invaded by the Spanish until the 1500’s, there is little recorded history. Most of the early documents from the Spanish invasion were of a strictly military nature, so much has been filled in by bits and pieces found by archeologists and other scholars.

The methods of preparing ancient Mayan meals are the topic of great interest to many archeologists, anthropologists and food experts. One of the main sources of Mayan history is Diego De Landa’s cultural documentation of the Mayans in and around the Yucatan peninsula in 1572 while he was the Bishop of that area (Coe 133). Current research comes from many sources; from people who traveled to live among the Maya as well as scholars of their history. The main staples of the Mayan diet haven’t changed much over the years. Throughout history maize, beans and chilies have been daily fare interspersed with meat for special occasions, ceremonies and some daily consumption.

One item all sources agree upon is that maize was and continues to be the staple of the Maya diet. The story goes “In the beginning the gods made people out of wood. The stick figures did not give satisfaction, and the gods destroyed them. Only when the gods made people out of maize dough were true human beings created” (Coe 9). Maize pollen has been found dating as far back as eighty thousand years ago, but the next oldest maize found was near Oaxaca in Mexico dating to 5000 B. C. (Coe 10-11). Ancient preparations of maize based foods were very difficult and performed solely by women. In fact, women accompanied most military expeditions solely to grind maize. The Maya ruler, Kanek’ of Tayasal, took one woman for each fifteen-man squad to grind the maize, make the dough and form it into tamales or tortillas. These women had raw and festering hands and fingers from this laborious work (Coe 131).

The process to prepare the dough has changed little over the years, but there are modern conveniences that save time and the women’s hands. To this day in most Mayan villages the process begins with trips to the cenotes and wells, the only sources of fresh water in the Yucatan. Ocean water is purified by limestone caverns and the cenotes are like natural wells where the women travel with buckets to obtain water for cooking, cleaning and drinking. After collecting water, the masa preparation begins. The main maize crop is dried and stored to last the Maya until the next harvest. In ancient times, this hard, dry grain was made into a rough dough by using the nixtamal method which is a method that involves first soaking and then cooking the maize with ashes from the hearth or ground limestone. This not only softened the grain to ease grinding, but increased the protein content of the grain (Coe 14-15,147). It was then hand ground on ca’ which is a smooth stone using a k’abka’ – a stone rolling pin, or literally, “hand of the ca’“(Hamman 85). This was all done by women for their families. Today’s Mayan women still rise pre-dawn to grind that day’s maize. Now, if the women live in larger villages, there is a central grinding machine, or molineria, where they carry the nixtamal in bowls on their head to wait in line for their turn using the communal grinder to create masa dough (Hamman 18). In smaller or poorer villages, most families have a small, hand cranked grinder which also eases preparation of the masa for the days tortillas, tamales and posole. The most popular modern food item that comes from the Maya is the tortilla, and was a great staple of their daily menu.

In ancient times, the morning meal was a liquid beverage of masa mixed with water. This was sipped throughout the men’s day at the milpa, or field, where they tended the vegetables and maize. Tortillas, rolled by hand and grilled over the fire on a stone comal, were present at the larger late afternoon meal upon the men’s return and were used to scoop up the vegetable or bean soups and chili rescados present at these meals. Tamales sometimes took the place of tortillas, but had no fat in them; they were basically just steamed tortillas. They had no filling except for on special occasions and were wrapped in maize or banana leaves and put in the coals to cook. The soups were simmered over a fire on top of three stones and the vegetables for the rescados were roasted in the coals under the soup. The evening meal, if anyone was hungry for it, was leftovers of the midday meal (Hamman 11).

Today’s rural Maya consume a similar diet. Breakfast consists of tortillas with a thick soup of masa and chilies, or tortillas with a bean cream which is basically a creamy bean soup. The men still take the masa beverage out to the fields and return for the late afternoon meal of tortillas or tamales and vegetable soup, possibly containing some meat for flavoring. These soups are still prepared at the hearth over a fire and items are still roasted on coals for a meal such as this. The tamales are more likely to have some sort of fat and filling, but some are still prepared more simply than their modern Tex-Mex counterparts (Gerlach 31-35). The traditional wrap is the banana leaf as brooms are now made from dried maize leaves and stalks. The tortillas are now pressed in a tortilla press instead of rolled by hand, but are still grilled on a comal.

The most complex and interesting part of the Mayan diet comes from chilies. Chilies were typically eaten after roasting outdoors over a flame. Chilies were roasted outdoors in order to avoid the acrid smoke given off by the roasting process (Hamman 20). They were then mashed into a rescado with other ingredients such as roasted onions, tomatoes and garlic or ground into a liquid and mixed with masa and water. Both of these were served with tortillas as a meal or alongside a meal. Chilies were also dried and used in the vegetable and bean soups as a flavoring. The most popular chili in ancient times was an xcatic. It is still used today, but is difficult to find outside of the Yucatan. A banana pepper may be substituted in American versions of these recipes. Now, in the Yucatan the habanero is very common. It is used in many ways such as: dried and ground, made into a condiment with lime, salt, garlic and carrots, roasted in rescados, diced into salsa frescas and just plain on the side for the brave eaters. Chilies add the excitement and variety to the otherwise simple Mayan diet. Many varieties are used since chilies grow well in the warm tropical climate of the Yucatan.

Meat has always been a part of the Maya’s diet, but in a very different quanity and aspect. In ancient times, the men would sometimes return from their day at the milpa with wild game such as turkey, boar or deer. Back then, the priests had the first pick of the kill so they could sacrifice the appropriate parts of the meat to the gods. Then, the men were required to share the meat with families whose men could not hunt so that no one in the village went hungry. Meat such as venison, iguana, crabs and turtles were cooked by the men on a very basic grill called a barbacoa. The barbacoa was a framework of sticks over a fire. Meat was typically roasted this way immediately after the hunt in order to preserve it for the long trip back home. To preserve the meat, it was re-roasted daily (Coe 157). Men did all of the outdoor cooking except for roasting chilies. Bones found by archaeologists indicate that poultry was steamed or stewed, but never cooked with direct heat. The assumption is that the wild pheasants, turkeys and chickens were too tough to cook without slow moisture (Coe 155). After cooking the meat, it tended to be used as flavorings to soups, or fillings for tortillas and tamales. Having an abundance of meat was rare and when it was available, it was typically used for sacrifices to the gods. Fat was unappealing to the ancient Maya and was typically used to rub on the body as a sort of primitive lotion so that no part of the animal went to waste. In no way was lard used for their tamales.

In modern times, turkeys are domesticated as are chicken, but turkey seems to still be the poultry of choice. Venison and boar are now rarer in the wild. The favorite dish of the Yucatan Maya is Pibil, made of turkey, chicken or pork (Gerlach 20). This preparation would be an extravagance reserved for special occasions to the ancient Maya since entire pieces of the meat are used. They are seasoned with achiote, “a red coloring and flavoring derived from the greasy coating on the seeds of Bixa orellana” (Coe 59) wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in the hearthstones or a Pibil, an underground oven, until very tender and consumed alongside vegetable and bean dishes with corn tortillas. Seafood is widely available and prepared in a multitude of ways. One of the most popular being ceviche, whose preparation includes cooking the fish in an acid, typically lime juice. Refrigeration is still not prevalent in smaller outlying villages, so meat is eaten quickly or preserved in a process similar to making jerky. It is then hung and used for soup flavorings. Today there is a thriving beef industry in the Yucatan, but it has not become a part of the Mayan diet in any prevalent way. The beef is mainly raised for the tourists to the peninsula.

While today’s Mayan diet varies little from that of their ancestors, the additions of interesting sauces, spiced meats and the modern machines have improved upon what came before them. Preserving the ancient methods of cooking is important so modern culinarians can respect and learn from their history, however today’s embellishments have made the ancient foods more palatable to the masses. Ancient Maya are the grandfathers of food mistakenly labeled as “Mexican”; the tamale and the corn tortilla. Without them traditional Mexican fare would be sorely lacking in these staples. The Mayans were a proud and advanced society destroyed by the fervor of the Christians during the 1500’s who felt the need to transform the ancient heritages into that of their own. With that genocide, much of Mayan history was lost. The least that can be done is acknowledge the Mayans for what we know they have contributed to our modern lives, their cuisine.

Bibliography

Coe, Sophie D. America's First Cuisines. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.

Gerlach, Jeffrey, and Nancy Gerlach. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1994.

Hamman, Cherry. Mayan Cooking: Recipes from the Sun Kingdoms of Mexico. New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1998.