"William Jennings" > wrote:
>I'll bet those Mexican cookbooks are mostly in English. In other words
>transcriptions of Mexican recipes one time removed from the source. Most
>Mexicans have never used a cookbook. Mexican cooking is mostly an oral
>tradition passed down from chef to apprentice, from mother to daughter. In
>Mexico most good cooks will say "the secret is in the hands".
Isn't that how Diana Kennedy got her recipes, by living in and
traveling around Mexico, talking to people and cooking with them ?
Read "A Culinary Education" or just about any recipe in the "Cuisines
of Mexico" and she mentions who taught her what, different
interpretations, etc.
Putting the oral tradition down in writing, not an unusual technique
for historians or cookbook authors.