Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy

718 Pages·2010·31.69 MB·English

by  Diana Kennedy

OAXACA AL GUSTO

Oaxaca al Gusto
AN INFINITE GASTRONOMY
DIANA KENNEDY
Cover photo by Diana Kennedy Copyright © 2010 by Diana Kennedy
All rights reserved
Printed in Singapore
First edition, 2010
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Originally published in Spanish as Oaxaca al gusto: el mundo infinito de su
gastronomía, by la Universidad Metropolitana de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo
León, Mexico, © 2008.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Kennedy, Diana.
[Oaxaca al gusto, el mundo infinito de su gastronomía. English]
Oaxaca al gusto, an infinite gastronomy / by Diana Kennedy. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (The William and Bettye Nowlin series in art, history, and culture
of the Western Hemisphere) Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-292-72266-8 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Cookery, Mexican. 2.
Cookery—Mexico—Oaxaca.3. Oaxaca (Mexico)—Social life and customs. I.
Title.
TX716.M4K46813 2010
641.5972—dc22 2010000260
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
ABOUT THIS BOOK
PILLARS OF OAXACAN CUISINE
Chocolate, by Fray Eugenio Martín Torres Torres
Corn, by Amado Ramírez Leyva
The Chiles of Oaxaca, by Diana Kennedy
MAP OF THE REGIONS
REGIONS OF OAXACA
General Introduction, by Marcus Winter
City of Oaxaca
La Chinantla
The Coast
The Isthmus
La Cañada
Mixteca Alta
Mixteca Baja
Sierra Juárez and Mixe Region
Sierra Mazateca
Sierra Sur
The Central Valleys
ABOUT DIANA KENNEDY AND THE CONTRIBUTORS
NOTES TO THE COOK
GLOSSARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
Acknowledgments
LOCAL AVOCADOS, TAMAZULAPAN MARKET, MIXTECA ALTA/DIANA KENNEDY

This book could never have been written without the generous help of so many
people throughout the years 1994–2005. First, I would like to thank all the
wonderful Oaxacan cooks who welcomed me into their kitchens and shared their
knowledge so generously and patiently, and without whose cooperation this
book would never have come to fruition. They have been named along with their
recipes.
I would like to thank Señora Graciela Cervantes and Arquitecta Claudina
López for their generous help, both moral and financial, at different stages of
the research. I am so grateful to all those friends who have given me such
generous hospitality, either in my constant journeys to and from Oaxaca, in the
city itself, or elsewhere around the state, including Licenciado Carlos and the
late Virginia Barrios in Metepec, Señores Alejandro and Renata Danon in
Tepoztlán, Licenciado Frederic and Wendy Laffan in Cuernavaca. In the City
of Oaxaca: Señora Pina Hamilton de Córdova, Señora Beatriz Hamilton de
García, Licenciada Amelia Lara, Señores Rodolfo and Norma Ogarrio,
Licenciadas María Teresa and Rosalba Vargas. In Cuicatlán: Licenciado
Diódoro Carrasco Altamirano and la Maestra Gloria Odriozola Pacheco. In
Huautla de Jiménez: Señora Blanca Vda. de García and the Señoritas Terán
Carrera. In La Esperanza: Señor Eusebio López and his wife. In La Merced de
Potrero: Señora Agustina Santiago Ramírez. In Tehuantepec: Arquitecto
Gerardo García of the Hotel Calli. In Tezoatlán: Señores Josué and Aldegunda
Andrade. In Tuxtepec: Señora Eva Sacré de Cué. In Zicatela: Señores Rodolfo
and Norma Ogarrio and the late Señorita Josie Smith.
There were so many people that I would constantly telephone to confirm
the details of an ingredient, a recipe, or a tradition, and among them I am
especially grateful to Señora Blanca Vda. de Señor Renato García and Señores
Valente and Aurora Paraguirre in Huautla de Jiménez; Señora Clementina
Baños in Tamazulapan; Señor Alfonso García Villagómez from Yododeñe;
Señor Manuel García Isidro and his sister Señora Irma García in Tuxtepec; and
in the City of Oaxaca, Señora Kelly Bolaños and Señora Emilia Arroyo,
among many, many others.
I would also like to thank Dr. Marcus Winter and Fray Eugenio M. Torres
for their invaluable contributions to the book. Botanists Bob Bye and his wife,
Edelmira Linares, of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
(UNAM), Mexico’s National University, have always been on hand to answer
my queries; to them, and especially to ethnobotanist Gary Martin, who opened
the door to what became my particular interest in the wild foods of the Sierra
Juárez and La Chinantla Alta, my sincere thanks for their unfailing help and
friendship. My thanks also to Pesach Lubinsky, of the University of California
at Davis, who enlightened me on the vanilla of Usila, and a very special thank-
you to Señora Pina Hamilton de Córdova for her constant help through the
many years of research for this book.
Introduction
DIANA SOUTHWOOD KENNEDY—AUGUST 26, 2008
QUESO FRESCO (FRESH CHEESE)/DIANA KENNEDY

It was about 1994 that I was first asked to write a book for the governor of
Oaxaca on the traditional foods of that state, but for various reasons, politics
among them, the project was never realized. Two more frustrating attempts were
abandoned, and it did not get written until about 2003, when I received a definite
commitment from a Mexican publisher for a joint project with a U.S. publisher.
However, when it was apparent that the style and content of the book were being
severely compromised, I broke off negotiations and retrieved my material.
Another prolonged delay ensued before I was able to find a publisher that was
willing to include the text and recipes from the indigenous areas and not just the
more familiar material illustrated with the usual predictably glamorous
photographs.
Trying to record the ethnic foods as well as the more sophisticated recipes
from the urban centers presented an enormous challenge and responsibility.
Oaxaca is the most mountainous and diverse state of Mexico, with many
different cultural and linguistic groups, often living in areas difficult to access,
and with an incredible biodiversity. Like many authors before me, I am sure