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Tracing Mexico's Shifting Cultural Identity through Print Media: La Cocinera Poblana... (1913)

La Cocinera Poblana o El Libro De Las Familias (1913)

Object Description

La Cocinera Poblana is a 18.5 x13.5 cm hardcover book. It is 477 pages long. The book was printed in 1913 by publisher Herrero Hermanos Sucesores in Mexico City after they received publishing rights from the original author Narciso Bassols. The copy in our collection is the eighth edition of this book. It has very minimal wear and is in good condition for viewing at the library.

La Cocinera Poblana, More Than a Cookbook

La Cocinera Poblana, or its full title: La Cocinera Poblana o El Libro De Las Familias was originally written in 1872 by author Narciso Bassols. The book was intended to serve as a manual for women to run their homes. La Cocinera Poblana is for the most part a cookbook, but it could also be described as a homemaker's manual. The book begins with a section on cooking terminology. It then moves to the recipe portion of the book, which is divided into three parts: Economía Doméstica, Cocina Mexicana, and Pastelería. Each of these sections is further subdivided by type of recipe. The recipe section is by far the largest. After the recipes, the next section is called Higiene Doméstica, which goes over common illnesses and treatments. The final two sections are called Miscelánea and Urbanidad en La Mesa. The book ends with an index for easy navigation. The book has become of such cultural importance that I have found reprints of La Cocinera Poblana from throughout the entire twentieth century,even as late as 2018.

This Copy (8th Edition, 1913)

After the breakout of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 and the subsequent end of the long lasting Porfiriato in 1911, Mexico was thrust into a period of uncertainty. In a nation struggling to find an identity, it is important to note the things that brought the people together. The food the people eat is almost always one of these things, and the food that was made in Mexico during the revolution was no exception. In La Cocinera Poblana, we can not only see ingredients and recipes, but how the people of the time classified these recipes. This is especially important when considering part two of section one, Cocina Mexicana. The first recipe in the section is a dish that is now known as the national dish of Mexico, turkey mole. Mole is widely seen as the dish that helped Mexican society come together as one because it combines indigenous ingredients with Spanish cooking techniques. The book contains approximately eighteen different recipes for mole, seven of which use turkey as the main protein for the dish. All of the turkey recipes are listed first. La Cocinera Poblana and other cookbooks like it helped to make mole the important cultural symbol it is today.

Making Mole

Recipe 1,307: Mole de Guajolote- Para un guajolote grande se emplea una libra de chile mulato, cuatro onzas de chile pasilla y otras cuatro de chile ancho; si falta chile se pueden aumentar tres onzas más al mulato. Se desvena todo y se pone manteca en una sartén con poca lumbre para que el chile se dorepoco a poco; se muelen tomates según la cantidad de chile, y se muelen mucho. Aparte se tuesta en el comal cuartilla de ajonjolí y se se muele en seco hasta que sude; se dora en manteca un realde almendras y se muelen también en seco con todo y cáscara, y se juntan con el ajonjolí. Se hace cuartos el guajolote, se lava, se seca con una servilleta, se sancochan en manteca las raciones, a que queden doradas. El día antes se cuece un codillo con retazos de carne de puerco, y a medio cocer se baja de la lumbre. Al otro día temprano se pone una cazuela con el gualolote. Cuando se quiere ya hacer el mole, se pone a calentar agua en una olla, y ya que está muy caliente se baja. Se pone una cazuela vacía en la lumbre, y después que se calentó se le echa un poco de manteca; cuando está bien caliente se le echa el chile, a que se fría bien; se le pone poco a poco agua caliente y se va desbaratando con una cuchara; una vez que está bien frita se pasa a la cazuela en que está el guajolote; del mismo modo se fríe el tomate, se desbarata con una cuchara en agua caliente, y se echa también en la cazuela en que está el guajolote. Con agua caliete se enjuaga la cazuela en que se frió el chile, en donde está el guajolote; se sancocha el codillo y los retazos en todo caldillo que se coció, y se deja dorar todo. Se pone en la lumbre ya que lo tiene todo, y se le pone agua en cantidad regular, pero que no quede aguado. El agua se ha de echar caliente, lo mismo que el ajonjolí; la almendra se desbarata con una cuchara y se echa al mole. Se tuestan en el comal unas pepitas de chile y un poco de anís, procurado que no se pase y amargue el mole, y como un poco de clavo, canela, pimienta y un cuartera de tortilla dorada en manteca. Todo se muele con agua caliente y se echa al mole can sal aguada. Para que ne quede aguado el guajolote se saca del cadillo si ya está cocido, para que no se desbarate mientras el cadillo espesa lo necesario.

La Cocinera Poblana: By the Numbers

Part One: Domestic Economy

All categories are taken directly from La Cocinera Poblana. The vertical axis shows the category name. The horizontal axis shows the number of recipes in each specific category.

Part Two: Mexican Food

All categories are taken directly from La Cocinera Poblana. The vertical axis shows the category name. The horizontal axis shows the number of recipes in each specific category.

Part Three: Deserts

All categories are taken directly from La Cocinera Poblana. The vertical axis shows the category name. The horizontal axis shows the number of recipes in each specific category.

Part Four: Domestic Hygiene

All categories are taken directly from La Cocinera Poblana. The vertical axis shows the category name. The horizontal axis shows the number of illnesses/ remedies.

Cover of La Cocinera Poblana

La Cocinera Poblana Cover

The cover of La Cocinera Poblana depicts a young woman in typical clothing for the period in which this book has been published. She is holding a basket that contains some vegetables and poultry. Next to her is a turkey. These elements may seem insignificant at first, but they help to reveal two important things about Mexican culture. First, putting a female figure on the cover instead of a male can be seen as symbolic of the expected gender roles in Mexico. Women are expected to ( and often take pride in) cooking each meal for their families. Typically, men do not cook. The turkey is also of a great symbolic importance. As turkey mole continued to grow in popularity, it also grew as a symbol of unity. Having the woman and the turkey on the cover help to signify the importance of unity and culture in Mexican society.

Discover More

The following is a list of books and journal articles that cover topics associated with La Cocinera Poblana. All citations follow Chicago style guidelines.

  • La Cocinera Poblana o El Libro De Las Familias. Mexico City, Mexico: Herrero Hermanos Sucesores, 1913.
  • Aguilar-Rodríguez, Sandra. “Mole and Mestizaje: Race and National Identity in Twentieth-Century Mexico.” Food, Culture & Society 21, no. 5 (November 2018): 600–617. 10.1080/15528014.2018.1516403.
  • Berg, Jennifer Schiff. “Gendering Mole: Masculinity and Transnational Cooking.” Food, Culture & Society 21, no. 5 (November 2018): 654–63. 10.1080/15528014.2018.1516405.
  • Pilcher, Jeffrey M. “The Land of Seven Moles: Mexican Culinary Nationalism in an Age of Multiculturalism.” Food, Culture & Society 21, no. 5 (November 2018): 637–53. 10.1080/15528014.2018.1516404. 
  • De Maeseneer, Rita and Patrick Collard. 2010. Saberes y Sabores En México y El Caribe. Amsterdam: Brill, 2010.