CHERAN: a sierra TARASCAN village — BEALS 



53 



Peanuts are often on sale on the streets. 

 They and cooked squash are the only refresh- 

 ments accessible to the very poor. Generally 

 about a handful maj^ be purchased for 1 centavo. 



Chilacayote is a member of the squash family 

 with watery white flesh. It probably is closest 

 to what we call pie melons in the United States. 

 It is much liked. The young, immature fruits 

 are boiled with a little milk and, if it can be 

 aflforded, a little cheese. 



As mentioned previously, mature chilacayotes 

 are eaten all year but mainly in the spring. 

 If placed in the sun daily for some time during 

 dry weather, they will keep for some months 

 in storage. They are sometimes coated with 

 ashes mixed in water before storage. To serve, 

 they are cut in pieces and boiled. Usually, 

 cooked pieces may be bought on the street for 

 a centavo. 



Atapakua is made of squash blossoms and 

 sliced immature squash, cooked with chile and 

 a little flour or maize dough for thickening. 



Nopal (prickly pear) is used as a vegetable. 

 The tender leaves are skinned, cut in small 

 squares, boiled, and then usually fried very 

 lightly in lard. 



Squash greens (the tender tips of the run- 

 nel's on the vines) , which are commonly eaten 

 in many parts of Mexico, are rarely eaten in 

 Cheran. An informant had "heard" that those 

 people who did eat them boiled the greens, then 

 cooked them lightly with lard. 



Green beans are not eaten. Informants did 

 not even know a name for them. Dried beans 

 are boiled, usually with a very little salt. They 

 are often not very well done because of the 

 altitude. They are watery and tasteless to an 

 outsider, although relished by the residents. 

 They are scarce, as there are few suitable soils 

 near Cheran and most beans are imported from 

 the Lake Patzcuaro region. 



Fruits are eaten rather sparingly in season 

 in accordance with the economic status of the 

 family. Locally grown fruits are eaten rather 

 more than imported fruits. Children and 

 young people appear to eat rather more fruit 

 than do adults. Nearly every Cheran lot will 

 have at least a pear, peach, apple, or cherry 

 tree. Tunas, the fruit of the prickly pear, are 

 also eaten as fruit. 



BEVERAGES 



Milk is drunk to a limited extent in season by 

 those few who have cattle. If purchased, it is 

 used mostly for cooking.'^ 



Te de naranja is sometimes drunk. It is 

 made by steeping the leaves of a particular 

 member of the citrus family, either fresh or 

 dried. The leaves must be imported in Cheran. 

 In some other villages this is a regular break- 

 fast drink, but in Cheran it is only an occasional 

 drink. 



Cofl'ee is rarely drunk by the Tarascans. 

 Most stores in Cheran do not carry it at all. 



Aqua mid (urapi, urapiti, "white"), the 

 unfermented juice of the maguey or Agave 

 americana, is liked by some but is not very 

 popular. It is usually available in quantities 

 only in May. It is often drunk with sections of 

 peeled orange, pieces of chile, and sliced onions 

 sprinkled with ground red chile and salt. Fer- 

 mented pulque is not at all popular, and what 

 little is produced is mostly sent to Uruapan. 



Aguardiente (caranda) is the most common 

 drink. This is simply unflavored sugarcane 

 gin. 



Amargo, a popular Cheran drink, is made by 

 putting ground cinnamon bark, sugar, lemon 

 juice, and lemon rind in a bottle of aguardiente 

 for 2 or 3 days. It is taken before breakfast 

 as a remedy in certain diseases {reumas, bilis, 

 espantos) . 



Honey is produced to some extent. It is 

 used mostly in making atole bianco or white 

 atole and also as a treat for the children. 



SOME FIESTA FOODS 



Capata is made by grinding black amaranth 

 into dough and mixing with brown sugar. 

 The blackish paste is spread on banana leaves. 

 It is sold without cooking. 



Mole of squash seeds is a luxury dish made 

 only by the most wealthy and by the carguero 

 of Natividad (Christmas). The sauce is made 

 of ground squash seeds, chile ancho, tomatoes, 

 spices, and bread for thickening. Beef or pork 

 is the meat served in the sauce. 



Beer is sold in some stores, but it is not a 

 common drink. 



"In Chilchota no cheese or butter is made. Local milk is drank 

 or made into jojoke. milk thickened by heating. Cheese, butter, 

 and other milk products are imported. 



