Food Systems Track:

Last week we were thoroughly engaged in Amy Trubek's Culture and Cuisine class. We completed a variety of activities starting with a tour of the Tlacolula market where we sought out different types of native corn, chilies and herbs. This activity helped us with our product identification with many of the differing basic spices and ingredients in Oaxacan cuisine.

We used this knowledge later in the week when we cooked comida on Wednesday. We broke up into groups and collectively created a menu and ingredient lists. We visited the market Wednesday morning and then hit the kitchen for a mastery chef experience! Our menu consisted of: beans, mole coloradito, stuffed squash, Zapotec-style rice, three varieties of salsas, tortillas, avocado ice cream and sweet empanadas stuffed with mango, banana, guayaba puree and cinnamon. During the meal, we used our newly-learned sensory evaluation skills to dissect the meal and it's complex flavors.

On Thursday we visited neighboring Colonia Reforma and a coffee cooperative called Sustainable Harvest. We learned that although there isn't much of a coffee culture here, they work to connect farmers from thirteen different countries to buyers and roasters in the U.S., Canada and Europe. We did a coffee tasting and felt very professional, once again using our sensory analysis skills to smell, taste and describe our preferences of flavor.

On Friday we visited a local market for an atole tasting, a traditional Mexican corn-based gruel drink. Some come with chocolate mixed in with the corn, some are unsweetened and some sweetened with cinnamon and panella (a native sugar with molasses). In the afternoon we ended the week with gourmet comida at Los Danzantes, a local collaboration of Oaxacan and experimental tastes influenced by the owner's time in NYC restaurants.

We look forward to our last few weeks in Oaxaca, learning about Nutrition and Health here with Jean Harvey-Berino.

Paz, amor y papayas,
Livy y Zoe