Rachel Laudan

Back to the Mexican dishes called moles.  Confusion reigns.  Often when talking about mole, people mean mole poblano, the rich reddish sauce of spices (including chocolate), chiles, tortillas that is made in the city of Puebla.  Sometimes they mean the famous seven moles of Oaxaca.  Sometimes they include moles made all across Mexico.  But do [...]

One objection that comes up time and again when people discuss my theory about the Islamic origins of mole poblano is this: how come, if mole was introduced by the Spaniards, it is now the celebration dish in small villages all over Mexico? Perfectly good question. And I think there is an answer to this [...]

I’m writing this in response to Juan’s interesting comment on my argument about mole. He argues that there was mutual influence. I want to say yes, and yes but . . . Here’s are the reasons why the mutual influence theory is tempting to me. Mutual influence fits with contemporary sensibilities. We live in a [...]