Food Magic

The amazing novel, “Like Water For Chocolate”, focusses not only on Tita and her romance with Pedro, but food and the magic it contains. Throughout the story we come across hidden meanings within food, supernatural evolutions created through food, and abstract representations through the food. From the tears brought on by the onion to the radical sex drive brought out from a dinner prepared with rose petals brought by Pedro, we see and feel the mythical deliverance of these spectacular meals.

Many people use food as an herbal medicine. In new age practices, Native American, Buddhist, and other cultures we see this even more. Certain herbs have different meanings, for instance if someone with depression takes St. John's Wart they will create serotonin and create a more positive result. In Wicca and other nature based religions, sage sticks(or cooking with sage) can decrease or rid of you/your home of negative energies, thoughts, and spirits. And in this novel various foods, seasonings, or the thoughts in one's mind whilst cooking can create similar effects. So, with that said the “abstract” or magical aspects other readers may disregard or not take serious, actually made sense to me; because if you did know, I was raised in a new age home where things of this nature(food and herbs), do in fact hold ulterior motives. Whether in the real world it is really a case of simple cognitive thinking(or placebo effect) or it really does these things, it is still practiced and works to a certain degree.

I also, wanted to find out further information on what Mexicans or tribes in Mexico believed concerning food “magic”, so I decided to do a little research. Unfortunately, I searched for 15minutes and the most I could find(maybe I was typing in the wrong searches), was that the Aztecs had various meanings for not just plants, but food as well. Though, I cannot find any specifics except that chia is the “superfood” and corn is praised by the gods. Both were said to be brought to them by the gods(though I know for a fact chia came from the Spain). Once I decided to further investigate Aztecs food culture, I found that the majority of the recipes in “Like Water For Chocolate”, were either ancient Aztec recipes or contained elements of ancient Aztec recipes that more modern Mexicans converted into recent recipes.