Cinco De Mayo Through The Lens of Food
Courtesy of the New York Public Library, Circa 1898
Sunday is Cinco de Mayo which celebrates Mexico's victory over Napoleon's imperialist forces at the 1862 Battle of Puebla just outside Mexico City. Historically, Mexicans prepared various types of corn based tamales. At first Indians loathed the pork fat that Iberians introduced to New Spain during the colonial period. Overtime they incorporated them into regional cuisines as they learned that using them in tamale masa (dough) improved the tamale’s texture. Typically Mexicans served these tamales with chilly salsa too hot for foreigners.
