Document Type
Pre-Print
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
The Archives and Special Collections Library at the University of Texas at San Antonio holds more than 3000 historical Mexican cookbooks, providing a rich resource for understanding Mexican foodways. I selected 20 recipes from the collection, dating from 1808 to 1930, that include avocado leaves or fruit as an ingredient. Over several months, I adapted the handwritten recipes for a 21st-century kitchen and cooked the historic dishes using traditional ingredients and culinary tools. This paper will report the lessons learned from the cooking process, the use of avocado as an ingredient in different forms, and insights into the recipe creators and domestic cooking processes of the 19th century.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1558/aff.33231
ISSN
2154-8389
Repository Citation
Mathews, J. P. (2026). Guacamole and Beyond: Reflections on Cooking 19th-Century Avocado Recipes. Archaeology of Food and Foodways. https://doi.org/10.1558/aff.33231
Publication Information
Archaeology of Food and Foodways