Culinary Mestizaje: An Afro-Latino Collective Sensory Memory

On the premise that culinary mestizajes express the complexity and often contradictory histories reflected in cultural values, this study examines historical, cultural, and symbolic stories that inform the foundation of a variety of Latino cuisines, with particular emphasis on African culinary influences on Latino food preparations. The purpose of the study is not to trace the history of any single food, but to consider the mnemonics of collective palate memories embedded in lived histories, and articulations of Claude Fischler’s idea of a “principle of tastes.