To Enjoy Some of Mexico’s Best Cuisine, Think Local

The preceding post in this series described the Slow Food Movement and its focus on Mexico.

In this post,  food historian Rachel Laudan says why she thinks the movement is a poor fit for Mexico. She also offers tips on how to learn about and enjoy local agriculture there. Laudan also explains why she believes Mexico’s culture is likely to remain intact despite the recent proliferation of U.S.-based mega stores such as Wal-Mart.

Laudan, a winner of the Julia Child/Jane Grigson Prize and professor at several prestigious universities, writes about food history and food politics on her blog Rachel Lauden. She lives in Mexico.

You’ve said you’re not a fan of Slow Food. As I understand it, the Slow Food movement is about supporting local agriculture by promoting the consumption of certain types of food within a specific region. Do you disagree with the whole concept, or is it that you believe that the movement really isn’t suited to Mexico? Or something else?

I am not a fan for many reasons.  But in particular because Slow Food appears to oppose modern agriculture while embracing modern marketing and communications.

I believe that the parts of the world that do not have modern agriculture (tractors, irrigation, fertilizers, and so on deserve to have these advantages.  In Mexico, Slow Food consists of two or three groups in Mexico City.  Although their hearts are surely in the right place, they have little knowledge of the life of the small farmer in the rural areas of Mexico. I have not seen outreach programs to help small farmers or artisan producers.  they are simply irrelevant to Mexico.

Meanwhile, Mexican philanthropic organizations, university extension programs, and individuals too are starting and supporting small food businesses left, right and center.  There is a huge amount going on in the provinces.

What’s the best way for tourists to learn about and enjoy local agriculture?

If you don’t have a car and are only here for a week I would suggest two things.  One, ask when the local tianguis (street market) takes place and go to that.  And two, look for any little restaurant that advertises comida corrida (the quick home cooked lunch of Mexico).  It will cost you five dollars and give you and give you an idea of local food.

"Tianguis" means "every week."

Photo by RageForst (Creative Commons)

If you have a car, go to a small town–something of about 50,000-100,000 people and wander around the center (where the mercado is) poking in to all the local food businesses.

One site on the San Miguel de Allende-Guanajuato route that is accessible and very popular is the Conservas de Santa Rosa, a cooperative of women who make jams and preserves.  They’ve done really well and now Toks (the Denny’s type restaurant chain) is buying strawberry jam from them as part of their effort to support small local startups.

To support local economies, is it better to buy vegetables etc. at the mercados? Or are most of these people resellers?

Both in the town mercados and in the weekly tianguis, most vendors are re-sellers.  If you want growers or artisanal foodstuffs, look around the edge.  Many of the ladies sitting on the ground are re-sellers (even for very small farmers it doesn’t make sense to spend the whole day sitting in the market).   But some are the poorest of the poor (the makers of handmade tortillas) who will love it if you buy.

Where are the best places to buy fresh meat in Mexico?

The San Juan mercado in Mexico City.  If not, Superama, the up market grocery store run by Wal-Mart that sells meat from the big producers in the north of Mexico.   Or tianguis in Mexico City.

In the provinces, the slaughterhouses in the cities tend not to be up to snuff.  My local paper runs an exposé every year, but nothing gets done about the insanitary conditions.

And poor rural families keep a few cattle or goats as an insurance policy to be slaughtered if they need money when, say, a family member gets sick. There is no grass on the hills where they keep them–just acacia and cactus.  They are a mixture of zebu and long horn, very skinny, very tough.  Most Americans are not used to this sort of meat.

It seems that Mexico, like many other places are supporting the U.S.-based mega-stores like Wal-Mart and eating the same types of processed food. Besides the problems with obesity etc., do you think that these things will ultimately erode the Mexicans’ cultural identity?

Give yourself a treat and go to Wal-Mart in Mexico. It’s not just a clone of the US.  Look for the differences.  And remember whatever the class, Mexicans are better traveled than Americans, whether to the US as illegals or doing exchanges as university students.  They speak more languages than Americans.  They are not innocents when Wal-Mart arrives.

A Canadian friend once said to me “We Canadians are economically secure and culturally insecure. Mexicans are culturally secure and economically insecure.”  There’s some truth to that.

What happens now is that Mexicans who can afford it simply consume in the U.S.  Ever seen the road north to Laredo and McAllen the day after Christmas?  Wall to wall SUVs going shopping. None of my neighbors would consider buying clothes in Mexico–too shoddy, too expensive.