Who are the women of Humo?
They are in charge of preserving and spreading the aromas and flavors of the Totonaca region. They have been in charge of rescuing the traditional recipes of Totonacapan, in the state of Veracruz, which are of ancestral knowledge. They bear the name of women of smoke as a tribute to the women who spend their lives in front of a stove.
The House of Traditional Cooking (Pulakgkaxtlawakantawá) is where the Women of Smoke meet. The coordinator was appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote Totonacapan cuisine around the world.
The Mujeres de humo train constantly, travel nationally and internationally, representing their community and, several times a year, give courses and workshops, such as when the Day of the Dead approaches and they teach how to make pan de muerto, tamales and chocolate figures.
During the Tajin Summit, they receive dozens of students, gastronomy students and world-renowned chefs, with whom they share their traditional dishes and experiences.
In 2010, traditional Mexican cuisine was inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
History of the Mujeres de Humo
They started with only four members, among stoves, bread ovens, comales, metates, clay pots and wooden spoons, which form an intimate and mystical space, where people speak both Totonac and Spanish, always full of smoke whose aroma not only foreshadows the delicacies that will feed the stomach, but also the soul and the memory.
The kitchen is always the part of the home that can build an identity and fill that house with memories.
Corn, beans, chiltepín, tomato, avocado, cilantro, epazote and yerbabuena are some of the many ingredients they use in the more than 500 recipes of typical dishes that the Mujeres de humo have rescued.
In 2018 their first book, “Mujeres de humo. Recetario de la cocina espiritual Totonaca”, which contains several recipes of Totonaca food, seasoned with a myriad of experiences and culinary secrets of its authors and the excellent photography of Alejandra Cerdeño Lance.
Food
The most common stews in their cuisine are pulacles, pork tamales with cilantro, beans in huatape, gasparitos with eggs or beans, fried nettle flower, pipian de flor de izote, fish cakes with egg, crabs in chileajo, grilled fish with a touch of vanilla, mole de guajolote, pork or shrimp mole, bocoles stuffed with various stews, red, green or pipian enchiladas and of course Zacahuil.
For drinks, corn coffee and a great variety of atoles are customary: purple corn, sweet corn with chili, called bolitas, jobo, capulín, burnt tortilla and bean and corn.
The most exotic dishes they prepare are those cooked with the chaca mushroom. During the rainy season, they go together to pick the mushrooms and cook them.