If you’re still curious about the history, culture, and cookery of Central America, here is a brief listing of resources containing a wealth of extra information. Between the cookbooks and scholarly articles I hope you find something that interests you.

 

Books:

Image of cover: False Tongues and Sunday Bread by Copeland MarksMarks, Copeland. False Tongues and Sunday Bread. M. Evans & Co., 2014.

This cookbook is the result of Copeland Marks’s intensive journey to document the indigenous foodways of the Mayan people. Though the majority of the recipes hail from Guatemala, all of Central America is represented in its four hundred some pages. If you’re looking to try traditional combinations of peppers, chiles, beans, and corn, look no further.

 

 

Image of cover: Gran Cocina Latina by Maricel E. PresillaPresilla, Maricel E. Gran Cocina Latina. Norton, 2012.

It’s almost guaranteed that you’ll like the taste or technique of something in Presilla’s book. In addition to the comprehensive index of over five hundred recipes from everywhere in Latin America, it describes the historic roots, techniques, and ingredients of each in brilliant, minute detail.

 

 

Image of cover: Food Culture in Central America by Michael R. McDonaldMcDonald, Michael R. Food Culture in Central America. Food Culture around the World, edited by Ken Albala, Greenwood Press, 2009.

Anchored by the image of a metate y mano, two stones traditionally used to grind spices and vegetables into indigenous Central American food, this book is a comprehensive yet light overview of the region’s food culture. History, geography, ethnography, ingredient information, and recipes can be found in its pages.

 

 

Television/Multimedia:

Show poster: Anthony Bourdain No Reservations“Nicaragua.” Anthony Bourdain No Reservations, written by Anthony Bourdain, Zero Point Zero Production, 2005.

Framed by the political vestiges of the 1980s’s Iran-Contra affair, Anthony Bourdain’s travels in Nicaragua take him in, out, and around cities and mountain countryside. From a dump to street food stands and a family farm, the footage of the pupusas, chicharrones, and blood sausage cooking and being consumed is incredibly tantalizing.

 

 

Articles/Blogs:

Blog cover image: Latina EatsSigala, Giselle. “Latina Eats: Exploring Moles and Central American Cuisine.” The Culinary Institute of America, blog.ciachef.edu/latina-eats-exploring-moles-central-american-cuisine/. Accessed 5 Dec 2017.

Experience learning Latin American cuisine from the professionals through this blog by Giselle Sigala, a student at the Culinary Institute of America. In San Antonio for a semester to work on a Latin Cuisine Concentration, she documents the regions, dishes, and restaurants she encounters in words and exquisite food photography.

 

 

Two cups of coffee in red teacups with saucers.Brigida, Anna-Catherine. “Their Coffee is World-Renowned. Now More Guatemalans Are Actually Drinking It.” NPR The Salt, 10 October 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/10/10/555871748/their-coffee-is-world-renowned-now-more-guatemalans-are-actually-drinking-it. Accessed 5 Dec 2017.

Central America is known for its coffee, but it isn’t well known that up until 2009 close to one hundred percent of Guatemalan coffee was exported out of the country. Read about the rise of artisanal coffee shops in this brief overview of the country’s coffee culture.

 

 

Image of two pupusas.Esparza, Bill. “The State of Central American Food in Los Angeles.” Eater Los Angeles, 15 Mar 2017, la.eater.com/2017/3/15/14937930/central-american-food-los-angeles. Accessed 5 Dec 2017.

Accompanied by a beautiful interactive map of the best Central American restaurants in Los Angeles, this article gives context to the city’s Central American presence. For those who cannot be satiated by what they find there, Esparza optimistically predicts a rise in number of Central American restaurants in the future.

 

Scholarly Literature:

 

Front page of article "'If You Eat Their Food...': Diets and Bodies in Early Colonial Spanish America"Earle, Rebecca. “’If You Eat Their Food…’: Diets and Bodies in Early Colonial Spanish America.” American Historical Review, vol. 115, no. 3, 2010, pp. 688-713.

For a take on a different time in Central America’s culinary history, this article gives some surprising insights on food’s meaning in the colonial era and how it affected the diets and social structures of different people. It also features interesting anecdotes from the letters and diaries of some Spanish officials.

 

 

First page of article: "'Real Belizean Food': Building Local Identity in the Transnational CaribbeanWilk, Richard R. “’Real Belizean Food’: Building Identity in the Transnational Caribbean.” American Anthropologist, vol. 101, no. 2, 1999, pp. 244-255.

A more detailed, anthropological case study of Belize’s journey to find a national cuisine, Wilk includes specific, engrossing stories to describe the ties between food and nationhood in Belize. Between statistics and descriptions of his own meals, he paints a vivid picture of Belize’s culinary state.