Rachel Laudan

Which fruit was the biggest illegal in the US?

By Rachel Laudan December 11, 2009 Adventures, Mainly Culinary, Globalization Then and Now, Mexican Food 1 Comment

Yup.  The humble tejocote (teh-HO-cot-ay). In a great article in the LA Times, fruit expert David Karp explains why this was and how it is changing.

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I am totally . . . wait . . . escamoles (ant eggs)

By Rachel Laudan December 9, 2009 Adventures, Mainly Culinary, Mexican Food 7 Comments

Escamoles. Palacio.  My laugh of the morning.  I know jokes are never the same when they have to be explained but this one says a good bit about Mexico and…

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Why didn’t Mexico abandon the metate?

By Rachel Laudan November 23, 2009 Adventures, Mainly Culinary, Bread, Grinding, Mexican Food 6 Comments

Third or fourth pass grinding barley on a metate Lots more questions than I can take up.  But one that several commentators have raised is “Why did the simple grindstone…

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