Description
Book SynopsisThis book examines the history, archaeology, and anthropology of Mexican taste. Contributors analyze how the contemporary identity of Mexican food has been created and formed through concepts of taste, and how this national identity is adapted and moulded through change and migration.wing on case studies with a focus on Mexico, but also including Israel and the United States, the contributors examine how local and national identities, the global market of gastronomic tourism, and historic transformations in trade, production, the kitchen space and appliances shape the taste of Mexican food and drink. Chapters include an exploration of the popularity of Mexican beer in the United States by Jeffrey M. Pilcher, an examination of the experience of eating chapulines in Oaxaca by Paulette Schuster and Jeffrey H. Cohen, an investigation into transformations of contemporary Yucatecan gastronomy by Steffan Igor Ayora-Diaz, and an afterword from Richard Wilk. Together, the contributors demonst
Trade ReviewThis ambitious volume brings together an international group of scholars to explore cultural and historical factors that have shaped both the taste of Mexican foods, as well as Mexicans' tastes. * Heather Paxson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA *
This is an original work that makes a significant contribution to the discussion on taste and its cultural and political construction. * Rachel Black, Connecticut College, USA *
A welcome addition to an engaging and timely topic. Its interdisciplinary approach has the potential to extend and build upon existing scholarship in thoughtful and critical ways. * Emma-Jayne, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, USA *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Introduction: The Politics of Taste and Identity Matters of Taste. The Politics of Food and Identity in Mexican Cuisines
Steffan Igor Ayora-Diaz Section I. Tasting the Past in Mexican Foods 1. A Touch of Pre-Colombian Maya Flavor
Lilia Fernández-Souza 2. Gastronomy and the Origins of Republicanism in Mexico
Sarah Bak-Geller Corona 3. Alcohol Consumption Patterns among Different Social Groups during Yucatan’s Gilded Age
Héctor Hernández Álvarez and Guadalupe Cámara Gutiérrez 4. The Flavors of Corn: A Unique Combination of Tradition and Nature
Mario Fernández-Zarza and Ignacio López Moreno Section II. The Identity and Politics of Mexican Foods – And the Politics of Identity 5. A Taste for Agave: The Emerging Practices and Politics of Mezcal Connoisseurship
Ronda Brulotte 6. Making and Changing Yucatecan Taste in Yucatán: Innovation and Persistence in Yucatecan Gastronomy
Steffan Igor Ayora-Diaz 7. The Life Delicious: Taste and Politics in Merida, Yucatan
Gabriela Vargas-Cetina 8. To Eat
Chapulines in Oaxaca, Mexico: One Food, Many Flavors
Jeffrey H. Cohen and Paulette Schuster Section III. Taste and Displacement. Mexican Food in the World of Consumption 9. The Taste of Oaxaca: It’s to Die for!
Ramona L. Pérez 10. Dos Equis and Five Rabitt: Beer and Taste in Greater Mexico
Jeffrey M. Pilcher 11. Diffused Palates: The Evolution of Culinary Tastes of Jewish Mexicans Living in Israel
Paulette Schuster 12. Defining Sanitized Taste and Culinary Tourism in Cozumel, Mexico
Christine Vassallo-Oby Postface Is there Mexican food? Taste and the Politics of Cultural Identity
Richard Wilk Index
