The good table. The art of cooking (Tucumán, 1880-1920)

Abstract

Food is one of the distinctive features of a culture along with its table traditions, language and beliefs. The act of eating includes aspects such as food preferences, the variety of products available, the way of eating and what is eaten. This work reveals aspects of Tucumán’s gastronomy and cuisine of the late 19th and the early 20th century. Although this is a compendium that mixes flavours and textures of dissimilar origins. This article analyses, on the one hand, the luxurious table of the upper classes influenced by the French movement that also had an impact on fashion and architecture and, on the other hand, the regional or “criolla” cuisine with flavours of Hispanic and indigenous heritage.

This article links food and history, revealing aspects of daily life, cultural forms and ways of thinking. Here, you will be able to recognize a series of traditions and flavours, as well as the changes of a dynamic society.