Ian Jacobs' Mexico and other matters: To fry or not to fry? Food as history.

The ancient Mexicans never fried their food for the simple reason that they had no ready access to cooking oils or fats. There were no animals such as pigs or cows, from which Spaniards made tallow, butter and lard, and no olives to make oil. The staple crop was maize, from which today we make corn oil, but the Mexicans did not use their staple crop for this purpose. Mexican cooking, therefore, used two basic techniques: boiling and dry roasting on a flat ceramic plate called a comal.

Cooking on a comal, Paricutín, Michoacán, 2018

The Spanish who conquered Mexico in the early 16^th century, became lords of a territory that was several months of hazardous journey from home. Distance, peril and cost did not deter them from importing their favourite foods. They had already brought livestock to the Caribbean islands, so these were quickly brought to New Spain, as they called their new land. As many of the native peoples died from disease, cows, pigs, sheep and goats munched abundant pasture and reproduced rapidly to form enormous herds. Chickens were also brought over, although Spaniards also ate the local turkeys. So, they soon had meat, milk, cheese, cream, and animal fats. Plants were rapidly introduced: 16^th-century documents describe the cultivation of wheat and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. The documents mention oranges, lemons, melons, radishes, lettuce, turnips, cabbage, aubergines. Grapes did not grow well, so wine had to be imported from Spain, or from Peru where there were soon 130 wineries. Olives and olive oil (from Spain), wine (from Spain or Peru), chickpeas, capers, and other home favourites were transported in ceramic jars called botijas. In no time at all, a hungry conquistador could satisfy his craving for a good old fry-up.

An Andalusian botija (photo by Saúl Alberto Guerrero Rivero(

Huamúchiles

Spaniards did, of course, eat locally produced foodstuffs. You would have to be a food philistine not to enjoy Mexican chocolate, tomatoes, avocadoes, chiles (of many varieties). There were also plenty of sweet potatoes, squash, amaranth (now a trendy super food) and fruits such as huamúchiles, zapotes, pineapples. And Mexico had plentiful fish for Fridays, shellfish, venison, turkey.

16^th-century Mexican cooks were soon making new dishes that combined local and Spanish ingredients. And after the discovery of the route across the Pacific to the Philippines in 1565, Asian foods, spices and methods were added to the mix. 16^th-century Mexicans invented pan-European-American-Asian fusion cuisine centuries before the idea occurred to trendy 21^st-century chefs.

We displayed some images from Mexican history and of our family in Mexico

Jan and I were conscious of the ways that food holds a mirror up to history as we prepared our now annual neighbourhood Mexican takeaway to raise money for our son Chris’ charity, Pasitos de Luz. The menu this year was:

Tinga sauce

Tinga de pollo, a chicken stew first devised by nuns in a convent in Puebla. The first step is to boil chicken, just as an ancient Mexican would have cooked turkey. A sauce is then made by frying in oil, Spanish style, chopped chorizo, onion and garlic (the Spanish ingredients), then adding plenty of tomatoes (native to Mexico), and chopped parsley and coriander leaves (herbs that originated in southern Europe). The key ingredient that gives tinga its depth of flavour is a generous dose of chopped chile chipotle, a smoked jalapeño chile, one of the most delicious gifts of Mexico to global cuisine. The chopped or shredded chicken is then warmed in the sauce.

Ceviche Acapulqueño

The non-meat offering was ceviche Acapulqueño. A white fish such as swordfish, hake or coley is briefly boiled, then left for a few hours to marinate in lemon or lime juice, dried oregano and chopped red onion. The fish is then dressed with a combination of olive oil, tomato juice or passata, white wine, and olive oil. Then tomatoes, pickled chiles, green olives and capers, coriander leaves (all chopped finely) are added. The dish then marinates again for several hours before being served at room temperature with avocado. The ingredients are Spanish and Mexican, but the method of marinating in lemon or lime juice is Asian, imported through Acapulco, where the dish was invented.

Next on the menu was frijoles de olla, beans (a staple of the Mexican diet) boiled with chopped onion.

Ensalada de ejotes, plus peas and broad beans (lockdown supply problem)

A salad of ejotes (green beans), pimentos, red onion chopped parsley or coriander, dressed with a simple vinaigrette is a purely Spanish dish.

Jan’s dessert was arroz con leche (a rice pudding, but nothing like the British equivalent). Rice is

Cooking arroz con leche

cooked in water with cinnamon sticks (the Asian ingredient) and a few pieces of lemon peel. It is then cooked a second time with a combination of milk and condensed milk. Because of lockdown shortages, Jan improvised with evaporated milk and coconut milk, to delicious effect. A Mexican chef would add a lot of sugar at this stage (Mexicans have a decidedly sweet tooth), but our taste was about half the traditional quantity.


Ready to serve

Neighbours collected their meals in lockdown style, from a table in our driveway, at an allocated time slot, bringing their own bowls ,and retreating while we served.