Cuisines of Hidden Mexico: A Culinary Journey to Guerrero and Michoacn (Wiley Culinary Journeys) [Paperback]

Bruce Kraig (Author), Dudley Nieto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1995 | Series: Wiley Culinary Journeys

Based on the authors' PBS documentary, this riveting account of a journey to two Mexican states reveals how closely each region's tantalizing recipes are interwoven with its history, anthropology and folk art. Covers agriculture, food preparation, the social places of food and eating habits. Contains 75 delicious indigenous recipes along with line drawings by one of Mexico's best-known engravers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An offshoot of a 1994 public television documentary about the people, history and culture of Guerrero and Michoacan, this collection by the show's coproducers has the air of an afterthought. Among the 75 indigenous recipes are plenty of interesting dishes, such as Picaditas de Venado, a dish of venison steaks with tomatillos, and Guerrero's famous Pozole, a soup of hominy and pig parts. The writing, however, is frequently clumsy and the recipes often confusing (in the recipe for Atole de Grano, it is not clear how many pots of water are boiling at once). While details about the filming are often interesting, descriptions of markets visited and meals eaten read as though they were lifted from a detailed diary and lack immediacy here. Experienced cooks eager to create dishes rarely seen in the U.S. and willing to track down unusual ingredients (many recipes call for hard-to-find items, e.g., huitlacoche, a trufflelike corn fungus, or iguana) will most appreciate this effort.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The way to a culture's heart is through its stomach, as kitchen-chair travelers will discover here. Focusing on the Mexican states of Guerrero and Michoacan, the authors give food a historical flavor but also makes history digestible. Here they provide detailed descriptions of how food is selected, prepared, and consumed, and also cover scenic places to visit, local dishes to sample, the history and social place of food, and eating customs. Seventy-five authentic recipes introduce the use of exotic, traditional ingredients such as banana leaves, avocado, and cilantro. School and academic libraries should consider buying this unique and informative book, as teachers will appreciate its usefulness in preparing multicultural lessons, relating the early Old World consumption of iguana, dog, and grasshoppers, as well as the later influence of Spain. For comparison, see Raymond Sokolov's Why We Eat What We Eat, LJ 9/1/91). [See also Nancy Zaslavsky's A Cook's Tour of Mexico, reviewed below.?Ed.]?Valerie Vaughan, Hatfield P.L., Mass.
-?Valerie Vaughan, Hatfield P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471121290
• ISBN-13: 978-0471121299
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,182,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some strange, many wonderful recipes with fun travel stories, August 23, 1998

By 

Frederick Oherron "Rickfrom1989" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cuisines of Hidden Mexico: A Culinary Journey to Guerrero and Michoacn (Wiley Culinary Journeys) (Paperback)

"Cuisines of Hidden Mexico" is at first, a fun travelogue with the authors driving all around Mexico, telling colorful tales of the pople they meet along the way. The travelers have adventurous tastes as they sample various delicacies such as insects, iguana and other funky critters that are too daring for most tastes!

As for the recipes themselves, there are several excellent ideas for just about anyone who wishes to try something different whether it's appetizers, main courses, salsas or desserts. My particular favorite is the "burnt chipotle salsa", which is out of this world. Once you try it, you'll be hooked for life.

A fun book with some good recipes you'll never get anywhere else.

4.0 out of 5 stars A CULINARY JOURNEY!, August 5, 2011

By 

Wolfee1 (CALIFORN-I-A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cuisines of Hidden Mexico: A Culinary Journey to Guerrero and Michoacn (Wiley Culinary Journeys) (Paperback)

Cuisines of Hidden Mexico, A Culinary Journey to Guerrero and Michoacan, a Book Documentary about food , it's history and uses among the people from this two beautiful Mexican States. It is more about the Ecology, Environment, Folk Customs and Art and also about Religion, Social Organization and the whole history of the Mexican People, with a little bit of Food...but not much!

With some black and white illustrations and few recipes scatter throughout the Pages of the Book.
From Gorditas, Chilaquiles, Hongos con Salsa (mushrooms with sauce) Guacamole, Shrimp and Fish recipes, Chicken, several Sauces and Salads many Specialties from Guerrero and Michoacan, some Desserts such Flan de Elote (Corn Custard) and Flan de tres Leches (Three Milk Custard) and also Churros

And of course my Favorite Nieve de Pasta, which is sort of Whipping Cream, Ice Cream, made with evaporated milk, condensed sweet milk, sugar regular milk and other Ingredients, it is very sweet and in some European Countries they add Chopped Glazed Fruits, like Cherries, Pineapple some people also add nuts to the mixture and they call it, Tutti-Frutti Ice-Cream...so Good, to find out this recipe here, made this Book totally worth it! and I am not even Mexican nor Italian. Thank You

4.0 out of 5 stars A excellent book for any Mexican Cookbook Collection, November 5, 2009

By 

Nathalie Herling "creativeclaycooking" (Brooklyn, NYC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cuisines of Hidden Mexico: A Culinary Journey to Guerrero and Michoacn (Wiley Culinary Journeys) (Paperback)

I like cookbooks that put food in relationship to the culture around them. Hidden Mexico achieves this very well. Yes it's a travelogue. But I like that. I found excellent recipes that were directly collected in Mexico by the cooks themselves. I found this book a good source for comparing my own favorite recipes and offered me some unusual, good recipe options. Not that I want to actually eat or plan to make... an authentic Iguana Mole...how it was presented in the book was very interesting culturally and the basic recipe had practical applications to other recipes. Many other hard to find and great to cook recipes are in the book.
I am definitely thrilled to have Hidden Mexico in my Mexican cookbook library. Historians of food will find it good reading. If you are into glossy photo cookbooks this is not the book for you. If you are into content.. an excellent choice. I am planning on reviewing some of the recipes [...] if you would like to compare notes please comment.
I also recommend Food for the Ancestors . Another Bruce Kraig and Jan Lambert production. Food for the Ancestors