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Saturday, July 10, 2010

What kind of Mexican is this?

Carlos Mencia has this schtick which ribs most Americans for not being able to distinguish Spanish-speaking people from Latin America from Mexicans. Or each other for that matter. Of course, despite the commonality of the language, the use of the same word to mean different things in the closely apposed cultures only adds to the confusion when immigrants mix.

Take for example, the cemita. The Mexican cemita is a spicy meat filled sandwich. But in El Salvador, the cemita is a type of cake/bread - it's one of those hybrid situations that makes it a little too sweet for bread, but too sturdy for cake.





Notice the two toned nature of the cake, demonstrating that there are two different batters or doughs in use. Most commonly, a swirl of pineapple preserves is incorporated, although I have read of strawberry or other fruit used. Goes really well with a milky Earl Grey.

Where to get one? This slab was inexpensive at Panaderia Rio Lempa on Gessner.



1 comment:

  1. The kind of stuff they call "pan dulce" in Mexico. It's an acquired taste.

    Words for foods notoriously vary locally. When I learned Spanish in Mexico, no dictionary was of any use for food words. "Naranjo" meant 'sour orange', while "china" meant 'sweet orange', like "orange" does in English. And so on.

    I remember a joke about a truck going from Mexico to Guatemala that declared its contents at the border as "refacciones para coches". The border guards had a good laugh, because while that means 'spare parts for cars' in Mexico, it means 'snacks for pigs' in Guatemala.

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