TAP Program Notes 2000: Mexican Cooking

CORN, CHILIES & BEANS: STAPLES OF MEXICAN CUISINE
with Chef Agustín Gaytan

Mexican chef and food historian Agustín Gaytán will discuss ingredients, traditional cooking tools and techniques that date back to pre-Columbian Mexico and are still in use today. His presentation will focus on two staple foods—corn and chilies—as he demonstrates the preparation of corn tortillas and a salsa of fresh and dried chilies. This is a special program in honor of Mexican Independence Day and Hispanic Heritage Month.

Program Dates: September 16, 2000
Program Notes: Jennifer Michael
Photographs: Jennifer Michael

2000 listings | index to online archive | TAP calendar | TAP home

Agustín Gaytan shows young audience members
how to make fresh corn tortillas using a press

Dried corn and black beans--raw materials for this demonstration	A metate or stone grinding table is a key tool in traditional Mexican cooking
Chef Agustín Gaytan grinds the corn into a paste, called masa, which will be pressed into tortillas and fried.	The prepared masa (background), along with corn kernels that have been soaked in a solution of water and lime (center left); tomatillos to be made into salsa are in the foreground.