Like water for Chocolate
Fabre 1
Jose Fabre
Mr. Rodriguez
English 4, Period 1
November 17, 2014
The Importance of Food in "Like Water for Chocolate"
Louise Fresco once said "Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something holy. It's not about nutrients and calories. It's about sharing. It's about honesty. It's about identity". Food is obviously a strong part of Laura Esquirel's novel "Like Water for Chocolate". Esquirel bases her novel in telling stories with recipes. These recipes are not only formulas, they are also memories and traditions being passed down from generation to generation. Each chapter begins with a new recipe, and these recipes are used to tell Tita’s life story in Like Water for Chocolate.
Just like Fresco said "food is about identity", in Titas life food is also her identification. "In
Esquivel’s novel, the recipe that is made in each chapter is selected based on what happened in the chapter. Tita prepares turkey mole for Roberto’s baptism (65). Then later on in the novel to help Tita’s “sickness”, Chencha prepares oxtail soup to cure what no medicines had been able to cure (125). For marriage, Tita prepares a certain kind of wedding cake with icing and a certain filling. These quotes show Tita’s connection to food, which grow slowly in every chapter of the book. Tita prepares certain dishes for special occasions and at different times of the year and the food is connected to her emotions.
First, the narrator begins by telling the reader that “The trouble with crying over an onion is that once the chopping gets you started and the tears begin to well up, the next thing you know you just can’t stop!” (3). The narrator is indirectly telling the reader that food is also like
Fabre 2
emotions. As a matter of fact “Tita made her entrance into this world, prematurely, right there on the kitchen table amid the smells of simmering noodle soup, thyme, bay leaves, and cilantro, steamed milk, garlic, and of course, onion.” (Esquivel 56).
Jose Fabre
Mr. Rodriguez
English 4, Period 1
November 17, 2014
The Importance of Food in "Like Water for Chocolate"
Louise Fresco once said "Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something holy. It's not about nutrients and calories. It's about sharing. It's about honesty. It's about identity". Food is obviously a strong part of Laura Esquirel's novel "Like Water for Chocolate". Esquirel bases her novel in telling stories with recipes. These recipes are not only formulas, they are also memories and traditions being passed down from generation to generation. Each chapter begins with a new recipe, and these recipes are used to tell Tita’s life story in Like Water for Chocolate.
Just like Fresco said "food is about identity", in Titas life food is also her identification. "In
Esquivel’s novel, the recipe that is made in each chapter is selected based on what happened in the chapter. Tita prepares turkey mole for Roberto’s baptism (65). Then later on in the novel to help Tita’s “sickness”, Chencha prepares oxtail soup to cure what no medicines had been able to cure (125). For marriage, Tita prepares a certain kind of wedding cake with icing and a certain filling. These quotes show Tita’s connection to food, which grow slowly in every chapter of the book. Tita prepares certain dishes for special occasions and at different times of the year and the food is connected to her emotions.
First, the narrator begins by telling the reader that “The trouble with crying over an onion is that once the chopping gets you started and the tears begin to well up, the next thing you know you just can’t stop!” (3). The narrator is indirectly telling the reader that food is also like
Fabre 2
emotions. As a matter of fact “Tita made her entrance into this world, prematurely, right there on the kitchen table amid the smells of simmering noodle soup, thyme, bay leaves, and cilantro, steamed milk, garlic, and of course, onion.” (Esquivel 56).