{"id":9737,"date":"2015-02-24T17:27:13","date_gmt":"2015-02-24T17:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=9737"},"modified":"2023-03-31T10:30:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T14:30:14","slug":"one-of-my-familys-favorite-foods-tamales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/one-of-my-familys-favorite-foods-tamales.html","title":{"rendered":"Tamales: One of My Family\u2019s Favorite Hispanic Foods"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega searches old newspapers to find recipes for one of her family\u2019s favorites: tamales. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.<\/span>\u201d
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Every now and then my family goes out and purchase tamales to have for dinner. It\u2019s one of those Hispanic food traditions we look forward to. While some families like ours purchase the tamales, others have a generational tradition of getting together and making dozens of tamales for family and friends. Eating tamales is one example of a family food tradition that\u2019s been passed down through the generations.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Photo: tamales. Credit: the author.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What Are Tamales?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Never had tamales? Tamales can be traced way back to 7000 B.C., when Aztec women accompanied men into battle to cook for them. Today tamales, depending on where and who is making them, can vary ingredient-wise and what the tamale is wrapped in. In fact, tamales even differ regionally in the United States. Tamales are made from a corn-based meal that is stuffed with fruits, meats, cheese or chili peppers, and then wrapped in a corn husk, banana leaf, or parchment paper and steamed. Some people serve the tamales covered in a red or green sauce, while others may eat them without a sauce topping. Tamales may be spicy hot, made with no chili peppers, or even be sweet. People may think of tamales as a traditional food made at home but actually, in the United States, tamales have been sold since the late 1800s.<\/p>\n

Tamale <\/strong>Recipes Anyone?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe store bought\u00a0tamales aren\u2019t good enough, and you want to try cooking your own homemade. Preparing tamales can be a lot of work \u2013 but so worth it! Here\u2019s one recipe from 1899 for chicken tamales.<\/p>\n

\"tamales<\/a>
Daily Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi), 11 June 1899, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another tamale recipe provided by famed New York food writer Craig Claiborne not only provides a recipe but includes the family history behind it. Mable Grimes talks about using her mother\u2019s recipe during the Great Depression and making 150-200 a week to sell for 50 cents a dozen.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), 27 May 1971, section E, page 15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tamales for Sale<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like I mentioned before, making tamales is hard work; that\u2019s why some people prefer to purchase them instead of cooking them from scratch at home. Buying them pre-made doesn\u2019t seem to be a more recent idea; here\u2019s an advertisement from Idaho in 1912.<\/p>\n

\"tamales<\/a>
Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho), 21 December 1912, page 9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Probably my favorite advertisement for tamales is this 1893 one from Southern California that includes a poem:<\/p>\n

Tamales, they say, are hotter today,
\nHotter than they were last week.
\nTo have them just right
\nYou must try them each night,
\nTamales each night you must eat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"tamales<\/a>
Riverside Independent Enterprise (Riverside, California), 24 September 1893, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That tamale maker doesn\u2019t just want to sell you tamales once in a while; he wants to sell them to you \u201cevery evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Else Is for Dinner?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What other foods are served with tamales? In our family we typically serve pozole, a hominy and pork-based soup, but you might also want to add marzipan, bu\u00f1uelos (a fried dough ball), champurrado (a chocolate-based drink served warm), and turron (a honey-based candy) to the dinner table. A holiday food served around Christmas time is Rosca de Reyes (a sweet, round bread decorated with candies or crystallized fruit to celebrate Epiphany).<\/p>\n

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Seattle Daily Times (Seattle, Washington), 8 December 1971, page 53<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GenealogyBank\u2019s Hispanic American Newspaper Archives<\/a>\u00a0include English- and Spanish-language newspapers from across the United States. You can find traditional Hispanic recipes printed in these newspapers for all types of foods.<\/p>\n

For example, are you looking for a recipe for bu\u00f1uelos? Browsing the San Antonio, Texas, newspaper Prensa<\/em> we find these articles: \u201cBu\u00f1uelos de Molde en Forma de Rosa\u201d (12 February 1944); \u201cBu\u00f1uelos de Manzanas\u201d (9 November 1935); and \u201cBu\u00f1uelos de Viento\u201d (1 November 1925). In this column below, \u201cRecetas de Cocina,\u201d there is a recipe for Bu\u00f1uelos de Queso Fresco (Fresh Cheese).<\/p>\n

\"recipe<\/a>
Prensa (San Antonio, Texas), 28 December 1925, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whether you serve tamales with pozole, and bu\u00f1uelos for dessert, or something entirely different, here\u2019s wishing you many happy family food traditions and memories.<\/p>\n

Related Recipe Articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n