When I wrote my thesis for graduate school, on a Jewish topic, one of the questions I frequently pondered was, should I translate Hebrew words in the English manuscript? If so, how often, and if not, how else would I ensure that readers understood everything?
Recently, reading Ilan Stavans and Margaret E. Boyle’s brand-new cookbook “Sabor Judio: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook,” I instantly noticed, and appreciated, the way in which the Table of Contents switches between English and Spanish words and doesn’t provide translations. Not only does the emphasis on “The” in the cookbook title make the cookbook truly feel like the authority on Mexican Jewish cuisine, but so too does that natural weaving in of the Spanish language throughout the entire cookbook.
As a result, recipes feel more authentic, and instead of a writer explaining their culture to us, we must use context clues and work harder to gain an understanding. If you ask me, more investment in learning is a good thing.
Additionally, the back and forth between two languages mirrors an important aspect of Mexican Jewish life. Mexican Jews immigrated from all around the world, having Ashkenazic and Sephardic identities, and the dinner table of Mexican Jews is multilingual in Spanish, Hebrew, Yiddish, Arabic, Persian, and English. “Food was often the way to connect through language gaps.”
The different places where Mexican Jews lived has influenced flavors as well. From a Cilantro and Mint Salad for Shavuot celebrations, which serves as a counterpart to dairy centered meals, to Bourekas con Queso Blanco, which uses puff pastry, “a staple of Sephardic cooking,” (page 78) to a Tzimmes with Panela and Pumpkin which brings Latin American flavor into a common Eastern European Jewish dish, the Jewish connection to these flavors is made abundantly clear in the recipes.
The authors of “Sabor Judio” express that “the joy of eating and the art of critiquing go hand in hand. Is there anything more Jewish?” Therefore, while the cookbook is a wonderful read into the history and culture of Mexican Jews, and the numbered cooking instructions are decently easy to follow, I will add that the filled-to-the-brim pages of small print words, and the overall length of the cookbook, sometimes makes it feel like it belongs more on a bookshelf, or as a book to read by the fire, than as a guide to utilize in the kitchen.
Moreover, the two authors, and the change between first and third person, can also be slightly confusing at times, as can the absence of photos from many recipes. I found myself regularly trying to remember names so that I could piece together which recipe creator was related to which author, and I yearned for a visual representation of certain foods.
Yet, the cookbook does provide that true window into Mexican Jewish life. The inclusion of jokes such as “and on the eighth day, exhausted and in a spell of hunger, God created tacos de brisket,” allows readers to grasp how important humor is to La Comunidad (the Jewish community in Mexico). Stavans and Boyle even share that each year Mexican Jews hold tournaments to see who “can create the most delicious tacos — and who can eat the most. The trophy comes in the form of a taco-looking Torah.”
Beyond the humor, numerous Ladino songs and poems about Mexican Jewish food are interlaced between the cookbook’s stories and recipes, demonstrating how poignant food and storytelling are to Mexican Jewish values. A poem indicates that handfuls are a measurement in cooking, and a Ladino song, “Si savesh la Buena djente,” highlights that a “tomato and eggplant engage in a battle for supremacy” – while in the recipe for Saucy Cheese Stuffed Eggplant the two ingredients coexist in harmony.
Overall, one of the best aspects of this cookbook is the way it doesn’t leave us hanging. Sabor Judio provides numerous recommendations for further reading on Mexican Jewish cuisine and life, and cites actual movie names to watch at home. The recipes remind us that “specific dishes are anchored in our minds to the emotions we felt while eating them.” We get a glimpse into family history through the food that people eat, but the cookbook has a very practical element as well. It is a fantastic resource for everything you wish to learn about being a Mexican Jew.
