Mixtamalization, Nixtamalization; Buen Provecho! (1846)

Wed Jun 9 06:56:38 UTC 2004

MIXTAMALIZATION, NIXTAMALIZATION

MIXTAMALIZATION--6 Google hits, 0 Google Groups hits
NIXTAMALIZATION--441 Google hits, 20 Google Groups hits

   Neither term is in the revised OED, of course.  It's mentioned in a little 
group rec.food.historic.
   From today's newspaper.

(NEW YORK TIMES, 9 June 2004)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/09/dining/09HOBO.html
Sinatra's Hometown Has a New Latin Flavor
By R. W. APPLE Jr.

Published: June 9, 2004
    HOBOKEN, N.J.
FOR many generations, the women in Maricel Presilla's family taught school. 
She herself is a scholar with a Ph.D. in medieval Spanish history who once 
taught at Rutgers. So it is no surprise that the dishes she serves at her two 
restaurants here are based on decades of delving into Latin American culinary 
anthropology, or that she can cogently explain her food to those who come 
under-informed to her tables.

"You have to understand the role of mixtamalization," she told me one 
lunchtime at Zafra, the less formal of her places, when I asked what set Mexican 
tamales apart from those of Cuba, where she grew up. "The Mexicans take off the 
tough outer skin of the corn kernels by soaking them in lime water before 
grinding them into flour. That gives their tamales an earthy taste. We don't 
mixtamalize. So our tamales, made with fresh corn, have a much sweeter flavor."

I had just begun to grasp that polysyllabic proposition when my tamales 
arrived, and I dived in.  
(...)
(Johnny Apple explains the unfamiliar term no further--ed.) 

(GOOGLE GROUPS)
Re: What is American cookery?
Yes, nixtamalization is Sophie Coe's term for using alkaline solutions
to remove hulls from corn, making hominy (in the modern sense). ... 
rec.food.historic - Sep 24, 2001 by Mark Zanger - View Thread (47 articles)

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BUEN PROVECHO!

BUEN PROVECHO--32,900 Google hits, 3,960 Google Groups hits
BUEN PROVECHO--5,000 Google "English language" hits

   One of the food terms, like 'bon appetit," that just isn't translated.   I 
found a nice citation in the book below.

TRANSCARRIBEAN:
A TRAVEL BOOK OF GUATEMALA, EL SALVADOR, BRITISH HONDURAS
by Louis J. Halle, Jr.
New York: Longmans, Green and Co.
1936

Pg. 186:  The other occupants of the hotel, a native white with spectacles 
and two young khaki officers in gold braid (everty hotel I stopped at had two 
young officers in gold braid, bent on a spree) finished their dinners before us, 
gave us "buen provecho!" each in turn, and left.  That is one of the pleasant 
and homely customs of the cfountry: in all the hotels, as you get up from 
table and before leaving the room, you call _buen provecho!_ (roughly: May your 
meal benefit you!) to the assembled diners, in a loud voice that all may hear.

(OED)
PROSIT, _int._
1846 R. FORD Gatherings from Spain xv. 182 ‘Muchas gracias, buen provecho le 
haga á usted’, ‘Many thanksmuch good may it do your grace’, an answer which 
is analogous to the prosit of Italian peasants after eating or sneezing.

(WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM)
Stevens Point Journal - 2/21/1891   
...hostess as invariably replied; "Buen PROVECHO" it do you much The missions 
in..
Stevens Point, Wisconsin Saturday, February 21, 1891  1146 k    

Daily Gleaner - 7/5/1959    
...es lo qua ei espera llevar a cabo en PROVECHO de Ja Argentina. African he 
had..
Kingston, Kingston Sunday, July 05, 1959  373 k     

Pottstown Mercury - 1/22/1953   
...had been set up the past year arid PROVECHO be popular and fair to 
everyone..
Pottstown, Pennsylvania Thursday, January 22, 1953  736 k       

Daily Gleaner - 8/2/1959    
...al Canal de Panama que resulte en PROVECHO del pais. Tatt favorables..
Kingston, Kingston Sunday, August 02, 1959  352 k       

Zanesville Signal - 5/17/1934   
...given recently at La Fonda Buen PROVECHO exclusive hostelry in the Old..
Zanesville, Ohio Thursday, May 17, 1934  1079 k     

Chronicle Telegram - 8/27/1956  
...get a hotel. Adios. muchacho, and bien PROVECHO. it you can find it." 
found it..
Elyria, Ohio Monday, August 27, 1956  786 k     

Blue Island Sun Standard - 3/11/1976    
...y que estan usando su position para PROVECHO personal. Dijo Que eso esta 
mal..
Blue Island, Illinois Thursday, March 11, 1976  400 k       

(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
    1.  THE COURTESY OF SPAIN.; As Exhibited in a Spanish Boarding House in 
New York. 
The Washington Post (1877-1954). Washington, D.C.: Apr 18, 1909. p. E1 (1 
page)"
   To his own table mates there is a polite "buen provecho;" to which each 
person responds either "gracias" or "igualmente, senor." 

    2.  How to Help Itchin' Kitten
The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959). Washington, D.C.: Mar 14, 
1956. p. 43 (1 page) :
   ..."Buen Provecho," British War Charities in Caeacas, Venezuela, The 
American Book Shop, Edificio Veroes, Caracas, Venezuela.

    3.  Embassies Cook Up New Glamour Dishes
By Dorothy McCardle. The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959). 
Washington, D.C.: Aug 26, 1956. p. F12 (1 page):
   THE Venezualan Embassy here has a big fat cookbook in its kitchens called 
"Buen Provecho" or "good eating" which uses "masa" in many different ways.

    4.  Spanish Cuisine Comes Into Its Own
Mrs. L.I.M.. The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959). Washington, 
D.C.: Oct 25, 1957. p. C20 (1 page):
   "This recipe was taken from a cookbook called Buen Provecho (Good 
Appetite) which I purchased in Caracas, Venezuela, while living there a few years 
ago." 