第1749期:Tamales: A Popular Traditional Food in Mexico

At least three times a week, Mexico City bus driver Nicolás Cuatencos purchases a kind of tamale known as “guajolota,” or “turkey.” The food is made of corn dough and filled with meat, bean and cheese. Tamales are then wrapped in corn husks, the green leaves outside an ear of corn, or banana leaves for cooking. Cuatencos has loved the dish since childhood. “The flavor, the dough, all of that is really good,” a smiling Cuatencos said recently. But tamales are not only tasty and a good way to fuel the workday. They also carry lovely memories for millions of people like Cuatencos. He remembers his grandmother preparing tamales for family celebrations and religious events like Candlemas Day on February 2.墨西哥城的公交车司机 Nicolás Cuatencos 每周至少购买 3 次被称为“guajolota”或“火鸡”的玉米粉蒸肉。食物由玉米面团制成，内馅有肉、豆类和奶酪。然后将玉米粉蒸肉包裹在玉米壳、玉米穗外的绿叶或香蕉叶中进行烹饪。 Cuatencos 从小就喜欢这道菜。 “味道、面团，所有这些都非常好，”Cuatencos 最近笑着说。但玉米粉蒸肉不仅美味，而且是为工作日加油的好方法。他们也为像 Catencos 这样的数百万人留下了美好的回忆。他记得他的祖母为家庭庆祝活动和宗教活动（例如 2 月 2 日的圣烛节）准备玉米粉蒸肉。Tamale buying on February 2 has a connection to an earlier holiday. Mexican tradition holds that the tamale buyer on February 2nd is the person who finds the baby Jesus figure in the Rosca de Reyes cake that is eaten on Three Kings Day on January 6. Tamales date to pre-Hispanic times. Ancient civilizations such as Olmecs, Mexicas and Mayas prepared them for religious offerings and even placed them in special burial areas. Tamales are eaten in several neighboring countries under other names like “humita,” “pamonhas,” “hallaca” and “guanime.” But the number of tamales in Mexico is unmatched, said chef and food researcher Ricardo Muñoz Zurita. He has identified 25 families of tamales in Mexico, which themselves have many different kinds based on ingredients, wrappings and size.2 月 2 日购买玉米粉蒸肉与较早的假期有关。墨西哥传统认为，2 月 2 日的墨西哥玉米粉蒸肉买家是在 1 月 6 日三王节吃的 Rosca de Reyes 蛋糕中发现婴儿耶稣形象的人。玉米粉蒸肉可追溯到前西班牙时代。奥尔梅克人、墨西哥人和玛雅人等古代文明为他们准备了宗教祭品，甚至将他们安置在特殊的墓地。玉米粉蒸肉在几个邻国以“humita”、“pamonhas”、“hallaca”和“guanime”等其他名称食用。但墨西哥的玉米粉蒸肉的数量是无与伦比的，厨师兼食品研究员 Ricardo Muñoz Zurita 说。他在墨西哥确定了 25 个玉米粉蒸肉家族，根据成分、包装和大小，它们本身有许多不同的种类。The tradition comes from a time when farmers would bring their ears of corn to the church for blessings. That would bring good luck for future crop plantings. “The popularity of the tamal is so great that I don’t think they’re going to stop making them in this century because it is not an isolated dish, there is a total tamal culture,” Muñoz Zurita said. Just like his parents and grandparents did, Cuatencos said he will gather with his wife, children and other relatives on Thursday to celebrate Candlemas. “My kids found the figurine in the cake, but I will bring the tamales,” he said, adding that it is his way of passing the tradition on to his children. “Tamales are going to survive many generations because they are passed from generation to generation.”这个传统起源于农民将他们的玉米穗带到教堂祈求祝福的时代。这将为未来的作物种植带来好运。 Muñoz Zurita 说：“玉米粉蒸肉如此受欢迎，我认为他们不会在本世纪停止制作它们，因为它不是一道孤立的菜肴，而是一种完整的玉米粉蒸肉文化。”就像他的父母和祖父母一样，Cuatencos 说他将在周四与他的妻子、孩子和其他亲戚一起庆祝圣烛节。 “我的孩子们在蛋糕里找到了小雕像，但我会带上玉米粉蒸肉，”他说，并补充说这是他将传统传给孩子们的方式。 “玉米粉蒸肉会代代相传，因为它们会代代相传。”

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