From: riacmt@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Carol Miller-Tutzauer)
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Subject: Re: Authentically Correct Food (was re: Mexican Cookbook Wanted)
Date: 7 Apr 92 19:58:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1992Apr7.175527.22408@colorado.edu>, fielden@spot.Colorado.EDU (fielden j.a.) writes...
  > 
  >	
  >I think Mexican cooking can be compared to Chinese cooking. There isn't
  >just "one" kind. The Chinese have Schezuan, Cantonese, Mandarin etc.
  >Same with Mexican. I grew up along the border in El Paso and often 
  >ate in Juarez, and small border towns down  in south Texas. There were some
  >items that were offered in Mexico(like intestine tacos) that were hard 
  >to find on the U.S. side but otherwise  it was very similar. That is 
  >the cusine for _that region_. Another region deeper in the interior would

I think this is an excellent observation.  I also don't really
like the word "authentic" anyway.  I would compare use of the
word to another word (interesting), as in "My, that IS an
interesting hat!"  Doesn't mean I like it or would wear it.
Same with so-called "authentic" food.  Snake's blood is authentic
"Chinese" food, but I'm not going to drink the stuff as a
"tonic."  

Similarly, I got to thinking about "authentic" Cajun food.  The
truth is, "authentic" jambalaya is thick as glue, sticky, mushy,
and generally pretty flavorless.  My husband's father drives
at the beginning of each week from his home in New Orleans to
a small apartment in Morgan City where he works for an oil 
company.  He's been in and out of bayou country, not to mention
building oil rigs off Great Britain, Kuwait, etc.  Well, we went
home (New Orleans) to visit a couple years ago, and I made his
family jambalaya.  They LOVED it.  But my father-in-law made a
point of noting that whenever he had gotten the stuff in
"true Cajun country", you could cement bricks with the stuff.
What I was making, was a more "refined" version than the 
"backwoods" staple that most people eat -- more spices, more
bits of veggies and meat, more attention to how the rice is
cooked.  Most good chefs throughout Louisiana and elsewhere
do similar things to that "authentic" dish -- basically they
fix up the problems that most people have making it.

At the same time, if I don't have "authentic" ingredients for
jambalaya, I can make a damn tasty version even without
the specialized meats and seasonings.  After all, the original
is believed to be based on an African dish called Jollof rice.
And many versions of it are laced with thyme -- introduced to
the region by the French.  

Ultimately, all dishes that are "relocated" to a new area
(usually through migration of people) become adapted to 
incorporate the local ingredients.  Cajun food as well as
Mexican and other types of "people's" food has at its core
the use of indigenous ingredients.  So, I suppose if you
want to be "truly authentic", you'd find local adaptations
that would take advantage of local ingredients.  ;-)  Cajuns
certainly did that when they traveled from Nova Scotia to
Louisiana -- or am I wrong about the fact that crawfish aren;t
near as plentiful in Canada as in the swamps of southern 
Louisiana.  ;-)

So... Taco Bell does a good job of doing what Taco Bell is
designed to do... give you something cheap, easy & quick to
eat, laced with a few "Mexican" spices.  "Cajun seasoning"
(which really isn't truly "Cajun" at all), gives a hint
of Cajun-style spice to things like chicken and what-not
in restaurants all over the country.  Those Cajun chicken
sandwiches are still pretty tasty, even if I never had
such a thing when I lived in Louisiana.  Similarly, when
I have 15 minutes to grab lunch, Taco Bell fits the bill.
And it's a nice change from McDonald's.

And what would an "authentic" American burger be like anyway?
I'm afraid the variations are too numerous to peg a single
entity as "authentic."

Ah, well.... Just a few thoughts.  By the way, there used to
be this slimy greasy-spoon grill in Juarez that used to serve
up the most wonderful grilled steaks and chicken, to be washed
down by a cold bottle of coke.  Yum, but I was always afraid
to pay too much attention to kitchen sanitation!  Sometimes,
"authentic" means you'd better not ask!

Carol
riacmt@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu