A beautiful pink and golden Mexican chicken, ready for the soup pot.
Last week's article about Mexico's dichos de la cocina (kitchen sayings) was just the tip of the iceberg. I love them so much that I thought you might like to learn more of them!
Chile relleno con frijoles negros de la olla (stuffed poblano chile served with freshly cooked black beans). Photo courtesy Conde Pétatl.
Mexico's dichos de la cocina (kitchen sayings) number in the hundreds, if not the thousands. Just like sayings and proverbs in any language, Mexican dichos usually have a double meaning: what the words of the saying are, and then how they are interpreted. In English, the phrase "the early bird catches the worm" make sense just as you read it, but it has a secondary import: if you start your endeavor sooner rather than later, you have a much better chance of success. So it is with all of these!
Pig heads at a Mexico City market, ready to buy and take home to make pozole.
Here are some of Mexico Cooks!' personal favorite kitchen sayings:
--Vale más pan con amor, que gallina con dolor. Bread eaten with love is worth more than chicken eaten with pain.
--Se cambia mas fácilmente de religión que de café. It's easier to change your religion than to change your coffee.
--Quien hambre tiene, en pan piensa. The hungry person thinks of bread.
Café con leche (coffee with milk) served with a basket of pan dulce (sweet Mexican breads).
--El que parte y comparte, se queda con la mejor parte. The one who portions and shares, gets the best part.
--Al hablar, como al guisar, su granito de sal. In speaking and cooking, a grain of salt.
--Frutos y amores, los primeros son los mejores. Fruits and loves--the first are the best.
A street vendor's fresh fruit in Paracho, Michoacán. He sells seasonal fruits, including papaya, sandía (watermelon), and mango. Enlarge any photo for better detail--in this photo, you'll see the bees.
--Guajolote que se sale del corral, termina en mole. The turkey that gets out of the yard ends up in mole.
--La vida es como una cebolla, uno la pela llorando. Life is like an onion, you cry while you peel it.
--Mata el pollo y pon la mesa. Kill the chicken and set the table.
Frijol peruano ('Peruvian' beans), ready to cook in a clay pot filled with water.
--Mentir y comer pescado quieren cuidado. Be careful when lying and eating fish.
--Nunca falta un negrito en el arroz. There is always a black speck in the rice.
--Al hambre de siete días, no hay pan duro. If you've been hungry for a week, there is no such thing as hard bread.
Champurrado (chocolate atole) at Restaurant Flor de Lis, Mexico City.
--De golosos y tragones, están llenos los panteones. Cemeteries are filled with gluttons and big eaters.
--En la forma de agarrar el taco, se conoce al que es tragón. They can tell if you're a big eater by the way you hold your taco.
--La mujer y las tortillas, calientes han de ser. Women and tortillas have to be hot.
Taco de carnitas at a Mexico City tianguis (street market).
There are literally hundreds more Mexican kitchen sayings. Sometime soon Mexico Cooks! will be back with more.
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