Cisco Bay. It would seem that the
cuisinaire most indelibly stamped on the taste of the old
San Franciscan would, therefore, be of either Spanish
or Mexican origin. That this is not a fact is because
among the earliest comers to California after it passed
from Mexican hands to those of the United States, were
French and Italian cooks, and the bon vivants of both
lands who wanted their own style of cooking. While
the Spanish did not impress their cooking on San Fran-
cisco, it is the cuisine of the Latin races that has given
to it its greatest gastronomic prestige, and there still re-
mains from those very early days recipes of the famous
dishes which had their beginnings either in Spain or
Mexico.
There is much misconception regarding both Span-
ish and Mexican cooking, for it is generally accepted as
a fact that all Mexican and Spanish dishes are so filled
with red pepper as to be unpalatable to the normal
stomach of those trained to what is called "plain Ameri-
can cooking." Certain dishes of Mexican and Spanish
origin owe their fine flavor to discriminating use of chili
caliente or chili dulce, but many of the best dishes are
entirely innocent of either. The difference between
Spanish and Mexican cooking is largely a matter of
sentiment. It is a peculiarity of the Spaniard that he
does not wish to be classed as a Mexican, and on the
other hand the Mexican is angry if he be called a Span-
iard. But the fact remains that their cooking is much
alike, so much so, in fact, as to be indistinguishable ex-
cept by different names for similar dishes, and fre-
quently these are the same.
29
BOHEMIAN
The two famous and world-known dishes of this
class of cooking are tortillas and tamales. It is generally
supposed that both of these are the
IMPRESS product of Mexico, but this is not the
OF case. The tamale had its origin in
MEXICO Spain and was carried to Mexico by
the conquistadors, and taken up as
a national dish by the natives after many years. The
tortilla, on the other hand, is made now exactly as it
was made by the Mexican Indian when the Spanish
found the country. The aborigine prepared his corn on
a stone metate and made it into cakes by patting it with
the hand, then cooked it on a hot stone before an open
fire. It is still made in that manner in the heart of
Mexico, and we could tell a story of how we saw this
done one night in the midst of a dense tropical forest,
while muleteers and mozas of a great caravan sat
around their little camp-fires, whose fitful light served
to intensify the weird appearance of the shadows of the
Indians as they passed to and fro among their packs,
but this is not the place for such stories.
Page 15
Presented as published in 1914. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Cisco Bay. It would seem that the cuisine most indelibly stamped on the taste of the old San Franciscan would, therefore, be of either Spanish or Mexican origin. That this is not a fact is because among the earliest comers to California after it passed from Mexican hands to those of the United States, were French and Italian cooks, and the bon vivants of both lands who wanted their own style of cooking. While the Spanish did not impress their cooking on San Francisco, it is the cuisine of the Latin races that has given to it its greatest gastronomic prestige, and there still remains from those very early days recipes of the famous dishes which had their beginnings either in Spain or Mexico.
There is much misconception regarding both Spanish and Mexican cooking, for it is generally accepted as a fact that all Mexican and Spanish dishes are so filled with red pepper as to be unpalatable to the normal stomach of those trained to what is called "plain American cooking." Certain dishes of Mexican and Spanish origin owe their fine flavor to discriminating use of chili caliente or chili dulce, but many of the best dishes are entirely innocent of either. The difference between Spanish and Mexican cooking is largely a matter of sentiment. It is a peculiarity of the Spaniard that he does not wish to be classed as a Mexican, and on the other hand the Mexican is angry if he be called a Spaniard. But the fact remains that their cooking is much alike, so much so, in fact, as to be indistinguishable except by different names for similar dishes, and frequently these are the same.
The two famous and world-known dishes of this
class of cooking are tortillas and tamales. It is generally
supposed that both of these are the
IMPRESS product of Mexico, but this is not the
OF case. The tamale had its origin in
MEXICO Spain and was carried to Mexico by
the conquistadors, and taken up as
a national dish by the natives after many years. The
tortilla, on the other hand, is made now exactly as it
was made by the Mexican Indian when the Spanish
found the country. The aborigine prepared his corn on
a stone metate and made it into cakes by patting it with
the hand, then cooked it on a hot stone before an open
fire. It is still made in that manner in the heart of
Mexico, and we could tell a story of how we saw this
done one night in the midst of a dense tropical forest,
while muleteers and mozas of a great caravan sat
around their little camp-fires, whose fitful light served
to intensify the weird appearance of the shadows of the
Indians as they passed to and fro among their packs,
but this is not the place for such stories.