UVM Oaxaca 2016: Food Systems; Sorry if this is Corny

The Food Systems track kicked off the program with Professor Teresa Mares by eating comida at Itanoni - a restaurant located in Colonia Reforma that is committed to celebrating the diversity of corn. They use combinations of heirloom corn varieties that create extraordinary tortillas that you can watch them make on comales in front of the restaurant. (P.S. we heard it’s Alice Waters' favorite restaurant in Oaxaca!!!)

Kate with a blue corn bear chip

Next, we headed to Tlacolula Market. Our senses were tingling!!! So many sights, smells, sounds, at this massive market. Established before the arrival of the Spanish, Tlacolula is the longest running in North America. We got to chat it up with various vendors on our scavenge for chiles and herbs and other ingredients central to Oaxacan cuisine, all whilst dodging the masses of gringos coming to visit the famous market.

Continuing the market adventures, we visited Mercado Sanchez Pascuas. A muy tranquilo market to walk around and make field observations of who’s there, what’s available, when’s, where’s, and why’s. There were many fruit stands, comida corridas, dry goods sections, and small convenience stores. We ate tasty postres, drank fresh jugo, and were able to talk to vendors about their products.

Then we got to visit Yukuyoko. This village is even better than its name. The van ride up to the Mixteca region was long and bumpy, but well worth the trip. Phil and Kathy have been very helpful to our group in the past, explaining all of the work they do with CEDICAM (Center for Integral Small Farmer Development in the Mixteca), and we felt very fortunate to be welcomed into their home, as well as to share a simple, but delicious pre-hispanic comida dedicated to Madre Tierra. The inspirational day consisted of discussions of food system challenges, demonstrations of efforts combating these problems, and a super chido composting toilet.

Más mercados orale! We went to Etla Market with a mission to find a food we’ve never seen, observe customers, and identify pre-Hispanic/Spanish/Mestizaje cuisine ingredients. After a quick stop to buy pepitas y garbanzos con chile snacks, the chicas of the Food Systems crew headed to Las Quince Letras to share a traditional Oaxacan comida. Some of the delicious dishes included enfrijoladas and a trilogy of moles. We have been learning about the cultural importance of mole in Oaxaca and how big of a part it plays in the national identity. It most certainly is the “land of the seven moles”. A wonderful day of food and people watching indeed.

The Trilogy of Molea at Las Quince Letras

Thursday in Huayapam was a wild day spent in a quaint little pueblo with rich water resources, known for its tejate, or a corn-based drink with cacao. At la casa de Rosy y Miguel, Rosy gave us a great demonstration of her elaborate art of tejate making, a practice dating back to pre-hispanic times. We all got to help with some of the preparation, as well as taste the delicious, frothy drink. After a brief discussion, an avocado harvest, and a walk through the town, we made our way to Miguel’s brick-oven pizzeria, where he made a special-order pizza comida for the group. Unfortunately, we came to learn the hard way that Vanessa is allergic to tejate when we were at the pizzeria. Nevertheless, her food systems crew saved the day by bringing her a couple of slices to go.

Tejate!

Friday was the wrap up class! We finished up our glossary and product identification of the many different ingredients we acquired at the market over the past week. Our Professor Cynthia joined us for a sensory evaluation of food at La Olla, a restaurant that takes traditional Oaxacan dishes and gives them a modern twist. Cynthia instructed us on the steps of tasting food and to take notes while tasting. We are now quite the connoisseurs of tasting menus! It was a lovely way to end the first part of the Food Systems track.