Just a great book. This is a lot of work. OED and Merriam-Webster owe me
free tamale. It better be hot.
I'm probably not going to have the energy for my Trinidad slang material,
but we'll see. You just can't live without "blue food."
HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE
OF TWENTY YEARS' RESIDENCE IN SOUTH AMERICA
by W. B. Stevenson
in three volumes
London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green
1829
VOLUME ONE
Pg. 341: I have mentioned dried potatoes--they are thus prepared: small
potatoes are boiled, peeled, and then dried in the sun, but the best are those
dried by the severe frosts on the mountains; they will keep for any length of
time, and when used require to be bruised and soaked. If introduced as a
vegetable substance in long sea (Pg. 342--ed.) voyages, I think the potatoe thus
prepared would be found wholesome and nourishing. The dried potatoe is sometimes
ground into flour; this is called chuno, and is used to make a kind of
porridge, either with or without meat.
The maize, whilst green, is prepared in the same manner, by boiling the
cobs, cutting off the grains and drying them; this is called chochoca, and is
cooked like the chuno.
Great quantities of pumpkins and gourds are eaten, and form the principal
part of the vegetable food of the poor classes; they are large, plentiful and
cheap, and will keep nearly the whole year if placed in a dry room. Maize and
beans, _frijoles_, are in general use among the lower classes,...
(OED has 1909 for "chuno"--ed.)
Pg. 343: The usual breakfast hour at Lima is eight o'clock; they seldom take
more than a cup of thick chocolate with toast, and a glass of cold water
afterwards; or sometimes a little boiled mutton, fried eggs, ham, or sausage. The
dinner hour is one o'clock. It is a very plentiful meal, and may indeed be
considered the only one during the day; soup and _puchero_ are generally the
first dishes, the rest come to table indiscriminately, and fish is not
unfrequently the last, excepting sweetmeats, after which a glass of cold water is
always drunk. Coffee is often brought in immediately after dinner; but in the
higher classes the company rise from table and adjourn to another room, where
coffee and liquors are placed. Fruit is commonly introduced between the
services,...
Pg. 358: THe principal produce of the neighbourhood of Pisco, including the
valleys of Chincha and Canete, is vines, from which about one hundred and
fifty thousand gallons of brandy are annually made. The brandy is kept in earthen
jars, each holding about eighteen gallons. The vessels are made in the
neighbourhood; their shape is that of an inverted cone, and the inside is coated
with a species of naptha. The brandy, generally (Pg. 359--ed.) called pisco,
from the name of the place where it is made, is of a good flavour, and is not
coloured, like the French brandy. One kind, made from the muscadine grape, and
called _aguardiente de Italia_, is very delicate, possessing the flavour of
Frontignac wine, and is much esteemed.
(OED has 1849 for "pisco"--ed.)
Pg. 366: In Chile, according to Molina, the _mager_, a species of rye, and
the _tuca_, a species of barley, were both common before the fifteenth
century;...
Pg. 367: I have enumerated five varieties of maize in Peru; one is known by
the name of _chancayano_, which has a large semi-transparent yellow grain;
another is called _morocho_, and has a small yellow grain of a horny appearance;
_amarillo_, or the yellow, has a large yellow opaque grain, and is more
farinaceous than the two former varieties: _blanco_, white; this is the colour of the
grain, which is large, and contains more farina than the former; and
_cancha_, or sweet maize. The last is only cultivated in the colder climates of the
_sierra_, mountains; it grows about two feet high, the cob is short, and the
grains large and white: when green it is very bitter; but when ripe and roasted
it is particularly sweet, and so tender, that it may be reduced to flour
between the fingers. In this roasted state it constitutes the principal food of
the _serranos_, mountaineers, of several provinces.
(OED has 1858 for "serrano." "Cancha" and "morocho" and "chancayano" are
not in OED--ed.)
Pg. 369: After the paste is made from the boiled maize it is seasoned with
salt and an abundance of (Pg. 370--ed.) capsicum, and a portion of lard is
added: a quantity of this paste is then laid on a piece of plaintain leaf, and
some meat is put among it, after which it is rolled up in the leaf, and boiled
for several hours. This kind of pudding is called _tamal_, a _Quichua_ word,
which inclines me to believe, that it is a dish known to the ancient inhabitants
of the country.
Sweet puddings are made from the green corn, by cutting the grains from
the cob, bruising them, and adding sugar and spices, after which they are boiled
or baked. _Choclo_, being the Quichua name for the green cobs, these
puddings, if boiled in the leaves that envelope the cob, are called _choclo tandas_,
bread of green maize, and also _umitas_.
This useful grain is prepared for the table in many diffierent ways, and
excellent cakes and rusks are made from the flour, procured from the grain by
various means. A thick kind of porridge, called _sango_, is made by boiling
the flour in water, which constitutes the principal food of the slaves on the
farms and plantations. ANother sort, similar to hasty-pudding, is common in
many places, but particularlyh in Lima; it is called _masamorra_, and the people
of Lima are often ironically denominated _masamorerros_, eaters of masamorra.
The grain is bruised and (Pg. 371--ed.) mixed with water; it is thus allowed
to ferment until it become acid, when it is boiled, and sweetened with sugar.
It resembles Scotch sowins.
A great quantity of maize is laso made into a fermented beverage, called
_chicha_. The grain is allowed to germinate, and is completely malted; it is
then boiled with water, and the liquor ferments like ale or porter; but no
other ingredients are added to it.
Chicha is the favourite drink of all the indians, and when well made it is
very intoxicating.
(OED has 1856 for "tamal." Merriam-Webster has 1854 for "tamale"--ed.)
Pg. 372: Two kinds of chicha are usually made from the same grain--the
first, called claro, is the water in which the malt has been infused; this is drawn
off, and afterwards boiled. In taste it has some resemblance to cider. The
second kind is made by boiling the grain with the water for several hours, it
is then strained and fermented, and is called neto; the residue or sediment
found in the bottom of the jars is used in fermenting the dough for bread, which
when made of maize is called _arepa_; and that of wheat, in the Quichua
language, _tanda_.
Pg. 372: Garcilaso de la Vega relates, that the manufacture of intoxicating
liquors, particularly the _vinapu_ and _sora_, was prohibited by the Incas;...
Pg. 373: Its (Chancay--ed.) market is abundant in fish, flesh-meat,
vegetables, and fruit: of the latter considerable quantities are carried to Lima; it
is also famous for delicate sweet cakes, called _biscochos_.
(Google also for "bizcocho"--ed.)
VOLUME TWO
Pg. 8: The maguey is very common;...
Pg. 8: Before the flower stem makes its appearance, if the heart of the
plant be cut out, and a hollow place made in the centre, it will be filled in ten
or twelve hours with a thick syrup, which may be used instead of sugar; when
this is mixed with water and fermented, it forms the favourite Mexican beverage
_pulque_;...
Pg. 9: In some gardens the _achote_ is cultivated; this tree is seldom above
ten feet high, the leaves are heart-shaped, and the seeds are enclosed in a
prickly capsule about three inches long; they are covered with an unctuous
matter, of the vermilion colour, and are thrown into hot water, and afterwards
strained, when the liquor is boiled to the consistency of paste, and forms the
annotta dye. The natives often use it as a spice, or as a colouring matter for
their food.
(OED has 1796, then 1866 for "achiote" or "achote"--ed.)
Pg. 9: _Mani_ is also cultivated; the plant is very froniferous, is about
two feet high, and has white flowers;...
(The revised OED has 1819, then 1846 for "mani"--ed.)
Pg. 20: When an indian celebrates the feast of some particular saint, he
provides a dinner for all who choose to partake it;...
The second course of dishes is generally filled with fowls stewed with
some kind of vegetables, but not picante, (Pg. 21--ed.) seasoned with _agi_
(Spelled _aji_ elswhere--ed.), capsicum pods; after this course follows a _pepian_,
consisting of turkey stewed with rice flour, water, onions, garlic, cayenne
pepper, and lard; sometimes peje reyes, smelts, merely laid for five or six
hours in the juice of sour oranges, and green capsicum pods are brought in; and,
lastly, the favourite dish of cuyes, guinea pigs, highly seasoned with cayenne
pepper. Between each course the chicha circulates freely, and the company
often rise pretty merry; after which they mount their horses and call for the
stirrup cup; the mistress of the feast then goes out with a large pongo,
calabash of chicha, and distributes a small one to each of the guests, who frequently
joke with her about love affairs;...
Pg. 28: I inquired into the cause of this penury, and was informed by the
cura, that their vicinity to the coast allowed them, if they could purchase a
mule, to fetch small quantities of brown sugar, _chancaca_, and fruit, and to
take them to Chiquian and other towns in the interior, to sell,...
Pg. 44: After enjoying my nap for about an hour, I awoke, and found an
agreeable repast just ready--a _salona_, mutton slightly salted and smoked, and
equal in flavour to venison, had been roasted, an agreeable sauce of the green
pods of capsicum, _aji verde_, in vinegar had been prepared, and they were
served up with some excellent roasted potatoes;...
Pg. 136: ...a roasted kid hot, boiled turkey cold, collared pig, ham and
tongue, with butter, cheese and olives, besides which, wine and brandy, _pisco_,
and several _liquers_ were on the table;...
Pg. 181: Attached to it are four chapels of ease, called _ramadas_;...
(OED has 1869 for "ramada." Merriam-Webster has 1853--ed.)
Pg. 183: The manufacture of sweetmeats consists chiefly of marmalade and
jelly, made from quinces, guavas, and limes. It is packed in chip boxes, each
holding about two pounds, which sell at half a dollar each;...
Pg. 184: The _algarroba_, carob tree, grows in the vicinity of Lambayeque in
great abundance, and is of such utility, that a law exists to prevent the
owners from cutting them down;...
(OED has 1845 for "algarroba," from Charles Darwin--ed.)
Pg. 186: From the pods of the algarroba the indians make chicha, by merely
infusing them in water, straining it, and allowing it to ferment: at the
expiration of three or four days it is very palatable, and if proper attention were
paid to it, I believe that a very delicate wine would be procured. Small
cakes called _arepas_ are sometimes made by the indians from the pods reduced to
powder; they are certainly not unpalatable, though very coarse.
Pg. 190: I drank some of theirs, and ate some sweet cakes, which they called
_alfajor_; they were very good.
Pg. 210: The market of Guayaquil is but indifferently supplied with flesh
meat, although the horned cattle is well fed on the _savannas_ and
_gamalotales_. Before the beef comes to market it is deprived of all its fat, and cut into
shreds about an inch thick, called _tasajo_; the fat is melted and sold as
lard for culinary purposes, but this however might be easily remedied if the
inhabitants would come to a resolution not to buy the beef in such a mangled
state. Very fine ribs of beef, called chalonas, are salted and dreid in the
province of Monte Christe, and brought to this market; they are very fat, and of an
excellent flavour. The quantity of salt used in curing them being small, the
meat is not too salt to be roasted.
Pg. 211: The supply of fish is tolerably abundant, but generally speaking it
is not good; the exceptions are the _lisa_, a kind of mullet, the _vieja_,
old wofe; _ciego_, or blind fish, (about nine inches long, with only the spinal
bone) and a species of anchovies or sardinas. Oysters are very plentiful,
and the rock oysters though large are good, while those found among the
mangroves are very muddy.
The bread made here is generally of an inferior quality, although the
flour is good, both that procured from Chile, and that from the provinces of Quito
and Cuenca. Rice, _garbansas_, a species of pea, brought from Lamayeque,
beans, quinua, ;lentils, and other pulse are cheap;...
Pg. 212: The _anona_, or _cabesa de negro_, is similar to the chirimoya, but
it is neither so large nor so delicate as that fruit: _badeas_ are very large
and highly flavoured: the _jobos_ are a fruit in size and shape like a large
damson, of a yellow colour, very juicy, with an agreeable acidity; when green
they make excellent tarts: the _mameis_ are an egg-shaped fruit, with a
fibrous rind, covering a pulpy substance, of a delicately sweet taste; each contains
one or two large rough kidney-shaped seeds: _maranones_, a fruit somewhat
like a lemon; they have a smooth yellow skin, striped with red; the pulp is very
acid but agreeable, and is sucked on account of its being very fibrous; (Pg.
213--ed.) in size and shape the seed is like the cashew nut, but it is united
to the fruit where this joins the branch; the seed is more delicate than an
almond, and it is used by the confectioner as well as the fruit: _nisperos_, an
egg-shaped fruit about four inches long; the rind is brown and rough, the pulp
in some is white, in others reddish, very sweet, and somewhat resembling the
taste of a delicious pear; each contains three long hard seeds--this fruit is
in season during the whole year: _zapotes_, a round fruit about five or six
inches in diameter, having a soft, downy, yellowish rind; the pulp in some is a
very deep yellow, in others it is white, in others almost black, but the
yellow kind is considered the best; they are very sweet, but fibrous; in the centre
is a large kernel, to which all the fibres appear strongly attached.
Oranges, limes, lemons, paltas, lucumas, palillos, tamarinds, guavas, coconuts, and
other intertropical fruits are also in very great abundance.
Pg. 258: On our arrival at this village we were met by about forty indian
boys, _cholos_, fantastically dressed; and the little fellows danced along the
sides of the street as we passed to the house prepared for our reception.
(OED has 1851 for "cholo," from Herman Melville--ed.)
Pg. 274: Among the delicacies found in Ambato is excellent bread, equal to
any in the world, and several kinds of cakes, particularly one called
_allullas_, of which many are made and sent to Quito, Guayaquil, and other places.
Pg. 315: The truth is, that the distilling of rum is a royal monopoly in
Quito; whereas that of brandy is not so in Peru; thus, for the purpose of
increasing the consumption of rum, which augments the royalo revnue, brandy is one of
the _pisco_ or _aguardiente_, contraband articles.
Pg. 315: Quito is famous for the delicate ices and iced beverages which are
made by the inhabitants; a service of ices, when a dinner or supper is given
to a large party, is considered the greatest ornament of the table. These ices
are generally prepared by the nuns, who, for the (Pg. 316--ed.) purpose, have
pewter moulds, amde to imitate several kinds of fruit; these are in two
pieces, which are first united with wax and tied together: at a small aperture at
one end the liquor is poured in, a fluid prepared from the juice of the fruit
which the mould is made to imitate; when full, the hole is closed with wax, and
the mould is put into a heap of broken ice mixed with salt, and allowed to
remain till the liquor is congealed; the two parts of the mould are then
separated, and the solid contents placed on a dish: thus a service of ices is made to
consist of perfect imitations of pine-apples, oranges, melons, figs, and
other fruits. When milk or cream is iced it is poured into a mould formed like a
cheese. These imitations, placed on dishes, and ornamented with leaves &c.
are with difficulty distinguished from fruit, and when fruit is mixed with them,
I have frequently seen strangers completely deceived.
(The whole next page is also worth reading--ed.)
Pg. 318: This may partly be accounted for from the number of dishes made
with potatoes, pumpkins, gourds, maize, wheat, and many other kinds of vegetables
and pulse mixed with cheese. As the custom of eating toasted cheese is
prevalent, a whole one, weighing from three to four pounds, is generally placed on
the tables of wealthy citizens both at breakfast and supper;...
Pg. 353: ...this is of cotton, and is generally no more than a _toldo_,
mosquito curtain, in the shape of a small tent, under which they sleep, besides
one or two sheets of the same material.
(OED has 1760-72, then 1852 for "toldo"--ed.)
Pg. 366: The masato is made yb boiling a quantity of ripe plantains till
they are quite soft; these are reduced to a pulp by beating them in a trough;
this pulp is then put into a basket lined with vijao leaves, and allowed to
ferment two, three, or more days; when it is wanted a spoonful or more is taken out
and put into a tutuma bored full of holes like a cullender, a quantity of
water is added to it, and the whole is rubbed through the holes of one tutuma
into another without holes, which serves as a bowl to drink out of; or small
tutumas are filled from it, and handed round. I was highly pleased with the
masato, and scarcely took any thing else for my breakfast; the taste is a sub-acid,
but remarkably agreeable.
Pg. 371: Anoher fermented beverage, as well as spirit, is prepared from the
yuca; the root is boiled, reduced to a pulpy substance, and placed in baskets
to ferment, in the same manner as the plantains are for the masato; when mixed
with water and strained, it is called _kiebla_, and the spirit distilled
from it _puichin_.
(OED has neither "kiebla" nor "piuchin"--ed.)
Pg. 379: IN the Emeraldas river and in many of the tributary streams there
is a variety of delicate fish, as well as ion the sea on the neighbouring
coast. The most delicate in the rivers are the lisa, _dama_, _sabalo_, and
_sabalete_; in the sea the lisa, corbina, chita, mero, and tollo; besides these there
is a small fish resembling a shrimp, not half an inch long, which makes its
annual appearance in February, or in the beginning of March; it is called
_chautisa_, and is really a great delicacy when prepared by the natives.
(OED has 1889 for "sabalo." OED does not have "chautisa"--ed.)
Pg. 385: Another kind of cocoa is found here, called _moracumba_;...
VOLUME THREE
(No citations. "Serrano" and "aji" are mentioned in the Arica passage on
page 328--ed.)