Food, Gender and Cultural Hegemony - Kennesaw State University

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Cualli 141 childhood. Thus class in this case becomes a matter of taste as well as education. Jack Goody speaks of high cuisine as a level of art that is a product of the combination of a wide variety of foodstuffs, some imported, and the cooking traditions of several regions. In his view this really only comes to pass when literacy makes it possible to collect the food traditions of various areas. According to Goody, high cuisine is also distinguished (as for Bourdieu) by being desirable because of the pleasure of consuming food, rather than because of hunger. Thus for Goody, “the higher cuisine also incorporates and transforms what, from the national standpoint, is the regional food of peasants and the cooking of exotic foreigners…Thus the higher cuisine inevitably had to acquire ingredients from 'outside',” (Goody 98-105). The relevance of this theory about a distinctive elite (or national) cuisine becomes clear when we remember that both the Nahua and the Spanish were hierarchical peoples, with fairly rigid social rules. Interestingly enough, it may be that this similarity of the cultures was important in the development of what was a recognizable national Mexican cuisine by the end of the eighteenth century. Over the colonial period the Nahua peoples quickly adopted oranges, chicken and pork into their diet, but never developed an affinity for wheat or for wine. The Spanish against their will were forced to engage in wheat farming because of indigenous resistance to this crop, which was much less productive than corn or cassava. Corn, beans, squash, and chiles continued as the center of Nahua food culture. Much of the Nahua aristocracy was eliminated, or, if female, was incorporated into the class of Spanish conquistadores. The Spanish improved their diet in the New World through much greater incorporation of vegetables into their ubiquitous stews. Chiles as well became a common element, along with corn and squash. Some indigenous foods and spices were first incorporated into the European diet for their alleged medicinal properties (Acosta 177-78; 180-182). The fact that both the Nahua and the Spaniard primarily built their meals around stews and some roasted meats made this gradual approximation of the two food cultures much easier. The high cuisine of the Nahua represented by the more complex stews, and the use of chocolate was gradually [Type text]
Cualli 142 insinuated into Spanish food culture through occasional "inventions" for ceremonial occasions. By the end of the sixteenth century the day was normally begun and concluded with hot cups of chocolate, now permitted for all classes. Corn, beans, squash and chiles were an established part of the creole kitchen. The presence of indigenous women in Spanish kitchens no doubt helped immeasurably. Pulque also became generally available, and was gradually commercialized. 1 III. The Story of Mole: Genesis of a National Dish Turkey mole is commonly claimed as the "National Dish" of Mexico, and also as an "indigenous food." The origin or provenance of turkey mole is more than slightly controversial, though it really comes down to which ingredients are viewed as critical to the essence of the mole. Nahua women made their most important contribution through the "expert blending of chiles to create subtle flavors, a skill that Spanish nuns learned from their American sisters. Moreover, the metate remained the mole-making utensil of choice until the twentieth-century invention of electric blenders," (Pilcher 26). Its identity as a fiesta or ceremonial food for many occasions increases the proprietary sense of ethnic and regional groups about this celebrated food. Scholars disagree, pointing to the broad spectrum of ingredients that can be included, and the many regional variations in its preparation (Friedlander 96) 1 . 1 Mole even appears in Europe, in the cookbook of Pope Pius V by 1570, and became known as an elegant banquet food but not extremely expensive (Vargas and Casillas 167). In a way it is this disagreement about origins and essence that permits both Nahua and Spanish to see mole as essentially theirs, and allows Turkey mole to be seen as a national cuisine. We know from Sahagun that the Nahua prepared turkey as a kind of stew with various chile sauces. Some also included various nuts, squash seeds and vegetables. Such a dish is illustrated in the Codex Mendoza (Codex Mendoza 86). Also, Spanish cuisine featured stews with a variety of Arabic and East Asian spices. The existence of these dishes in each culture already gives each culture a reason to claim the mole as theirs. The first prominent Mexican story about the origins of the dark Mole Poblano (which Jeffrey Pilcher refers to as a legend) is that in 1680 the Dominican [Type text]
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Page 3 and 4: Cualli 128 The Spanish conquest of
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Page 11 and 12: Cualli 136 beverage (Soustelle, 196
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