Preserving foodways is often a key method to preserving culture and traditions.
The Mexican Cookbook Collection housed at the University of Texas at San Antonio consists of thousands of historic cookbooks, collections of Mexican spirits, and more.
The collection — the largest in the U.S. — provides a snapshot into domestic life and culture in Mexico, from 1789 to the present day.
Amy Rushing, the Associate Vice Provost for Special Collections at UT San Antonio, said the collection has grown to nearly 3,000 books.
“Over the years we saw the value in the collection in terms of teaching and inspiration for the community,” Rushing said. “It's just an amazing educational tool.”
In September, UT San Antonio held its annual Ven a Comer fundraising event for the cookbook collection.
It featured Mexican chef Pati Jinich, host of the PBS series Pati’s Mexican Table and La Frontera.
Funds generated by the Ven a Comer dinner help with preservation, digitization, and growth of the Mexican Cookbook Collection.
This year, UT San Antonio announced a special gift from the Diana Kennedy Foundation in the amount of $500,000. The gift will be used to preserve and digitize Kennedy's archive held at UTSA Special Collections, provide conservation work for her expansive library, and digitize her collection to broaden access to the collection.
Jinich said the recipes in the collection serve as a connection to different aspects of history, culture, and tradition.
“To me, there is no more noble space in sharing who we are and how we evolve than in the recipes that we cook and the food we eat,” said Jinich. “Being able to open up these cookbooks from five centuries ago (is) like being in magical realism.”
Funds generated by the Ven a Comer dinner help with preservation, digitization, and growth of the Mexican Cookbook Collection.
This year, UT San Antonio announced a special gift from the Diana Kennedy Foundation in the amount of $500,000. The gift will be used to preserve and digitize Kennedy's archive held at UTSA Special Collections, provide conservation work for her expansive library, and digitize her collection to broaden access to the collection.
San Antonio seniors can celebrate their family recipes and memories with a cookbook-making workshop Friday, Oct. 24, at 9 a.m. at the Robinette Community & Senior Center.
Click here for more information.
Disclosure: UT San Antonio is a sponsor of Texas Public Radio.
