Call Number:

Ms. Codex 2399

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

1 volume(s)

Language:

Spanish; Castilian

Preferred Citation:

Mexican cookbook, circa 1750-1799, Ms. Codex 2399, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

circa 1750-1799 (inclusive)

Form:

Cookbooks and Codices (bound manuscripts)

Abstract:

This cookbook contains 342 recipes and was written and compiled by an unidentified individual in Mexico in the mid- to late-18th century.

The creator of this volume is unidentified but was active in Mexico in the mid- to late-18th century.

Though likely not the creator, the name Mercedes Castoren appears in this volume. The closest reference found to a Mercedes Castorena is a 1807 church record for a Spanish man named Jose Gil Rodriguez from Las Minas del Magistral, Mexico that lists his parents as Domingo Esteban Rodriguez and Merced Castorena. While a conjecture, this may indicate that the volume's creator could have been a Spanish settler, criollo, or travelled in Spanish circles.   

In 1519, the Spanish began colonizing Mexico during the conquest of the Aztec Empire. The colonized land became known as New Spain and Mexico remained under Spanish rule until 1808. 

The culinary heritage of New Spain combined ingredients introduced by the Spanish colonizers, such as wheat, rice, and certain livestock, with ingredients indigenous to the region, such as corn, chiles, and beans.

This cookbook contains 342 recipes and was written and compiled by an unidentified individual in Mexico in the mid- to late-18th century.

The volume is bound in full leather with original leather fasteners. The handwriting is neat and legible. Most of the volume is used, except for a few blank pages (p. 47-54, 123-127). It appears to have been written in one hand apart from a name, Mercedes Castoren, written in pencil (p. 128). This does not appear to be the name of the creator.

Examples of recipes include escabeche de Veracruz (p. 7), pollos rellenos (p. 9), albondigas gachupinas (p. 13), asado de carne (p. 21), sambumbia para beber (p. 20), salsa del papa (p. 31), mole Francés (p. 43), mermelada de membrillo (p. 55), huevos cauzados (p. 63), leche de boca de Dama (p. 80), manjar blanco Portugues (p. 85), cajetas de melon (p. 97), chicaronnes fingidos (p. 101), quesadillas para chocolate (p. 104), and sol de China (p. 115).