Love, books & Mexican food.

Rocio Carvajal
Jul 27, 2017 · 5 min read

Poets and writers have long paid tribute to real and even fictional food, and what to say about painters who have captured food and our relationship to it through the centuries, the fact is we like food so much, that we can’t stop thinking about it even when we are not eating.

Since ancient cultures, humans developed a multidimensional relationship with food, beyond the survival imperative, we have created a series of meaningful connections, some emotional, others social, spiritual and even artistic, and that system of relationships and beliefs are passed on to new generations who inherit these practices as part of their identity.

Migrations, invasions, natural events and technology amongst many other factors, have all had an impact in the way we perceive our food, but we tend to adapt very quickly to whichever circumstance we are presented with, after all, refusing entirely to eat another thing to that we are used to, even when there’s nothing else available can only lead to one inevitable result and yet it has happened many times in the history of mankind.

But many of the reasons behind our food choices are deeply emotional, regardless even of our own hunger, and when we evoke the foods that for some reason have become vividly fixed in our memory, those thoughts tend to be evoked with a particularly intense emotions.

Poets and writers have long paid tribute to real and even fictional food, good examples of this would be Marcel Proust’s memorable madeleine and tea passage on Swan’s Way, or the scene when Edmund Pevensie gorges on Turkish delights in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the obsessive tension between abstinence and greed experienced by the fictional mayor Comte de Reynaud who succumbs to his desires and eats all the irresistible creations of Chocolatier Vianne Roche in Chocolat.

Mexican literature also pays great homage to food, and today we’ll take an imaginary walk into the kitchen of an all-female family in northern Mexico during the Revolution in the first decade of the 1800s, in a little house in the middle of a hot dry valley surrounded by towering mountains.

Subscribe to: Pass the Chipotle , a delicious show I produce, discovering Mexico’s gastronomic history. Listen on iTunes & Stitcher.

http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/pass-the-chipotle

This is the landscape in which a bittersweet story takes place, “Like water for chocolate” is one of my favourite foodie novels written by Laura Ezquivel, this novel inspired a whole generation of cooks, writers, and cinematographers to take a closer look at the intimate life of a Mexican family kitchen.

Like water for chocolate, recaptures a nostalgic view of rural Mexico with all the right elements of a timeless tale of hope, food, and love.

The story follows the lives of Widow Mama Elena and her three daughters who live in a remote isolated house in the middle of the arid northern valleys near the US border and their otherwise uneventful lives then change forever as the Mexican revolution draws closer to them.

Rosaura the eldest who is aware of being her mother’s favorite, Gertrudis, has an adventurous and carefree spirit and Tita the youngest is a cooking prodigy. The story portrays the burden of old-fashioned oppressive traditions ruthlessly imposed by Mama Elena who after the death of her husband had to harden up and concealed every emotion to bring up her girls and run a farm on her own.

Tita played by actress Lumi Cavazos,, preparing quails in rose petal Sauce

From her birth Tita was rejected by her mother and was in turn brought up by Nacha, the family’s cook and nanny who became the only motherly figure of Tita who from a young age showed an uncanny culinary talent. Realising the extent of Tita’s skils Nacha warned her about the dangers of pouring her emotions into the food she prepared as the consequences could be disastrous for those who were exposed to it.

The coming of age of the sisters and their awakening to romance reveals the high price their generation will pay for questioning and refusing to follow unreasonable traditions.

When Tita reveals her romance with Pedro the family doctor’s son she then learns that according to tradition, the youngest daughter cannot marry until her mother’s death as is her duty to look after her. Instead, Pedro is offered the hand of Rosaura which he accepts.

Heartbroken and shocked, Tita is persuaded by Pedro to keep their mutual love alive and secret which only brings grief and pain to all. But food and moreover the preparation and enjoyment of it becomes the most eloquent and powerful language for Tita to expresses her deep love for Pedro.

Perhaps the most emblematic dish of the story is: quails in rose petals’ sauce, the sensuality and passion poured into its preparation are a turning point in the story as it unleashes a storm of emotions that will forever change everybody’s lives.

Like water for chocolate only has one cinematic adaptation but this is one of those novels you really want to read and enjoy it at your own pace, especially as the book comes with all Tita’s recipes for you to cook along.

On my website I’ve published a family recipe of one of my favourite comfort soups: Sopa de tortilla, every time I prepare this tortilla soup it takes me back to the many times my grandmother Rebeca used to make this for me, I can clearly remember her voice calling me to sit at the table and seeing how she would sneak an extra spoonful of cheese into my bowl so it would melt as I ate it.

Click here to get this recipe

Rocio Carvajal

Written by

Food researcher, cook & author. Editor of SABOR! This is Mexican Food Magazine. Producer of Pass the Chipotle Podcast. www.passthechipotle.com

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade