If you absorb only a minute fraction of what Nora's grandmother taught her about Oaxacan cookery over the course of about four decades, you'll leave with not only a fount of knowledge about ingredients and techniques, but also a profound understanding of the history and geographical variation of all that's Oaxacan cuisine today, and of course completely satiated by the end of your gourmet meal.
Oaxacan Nora Valencia enraptures her students with informative stories and humorous anecdotes peppered throughout her class about her abuelita's insights into food preparation and ingredient combinations. But she also confesses, while walking from the market, that hers was a long journey in arriving at a "classroom" environment upwards of ten years ago: "What my grandmother and mother taught me wasn't nearly enough. My coming of age as an instructor required a lot of research and travel, in the nature of sociological and anthropological investigation, some chemistry and physics, and even botany. And I always tried to get my hands on as many old books as possible about Latin American foodstuffs, and wherever possible concerning Mexican and Oaxacan plants and herbs and pre-Hispanic recipes. There's one book in particular I still need, called ‘Conquista y Comida'; maybe you'll come across it at a local book fare and let me know."
The lesson day begins at 9:30, with students meeting and chatting briefly with one another and Nora, in a relaxed informal setting at her B & B, La Casa de Mis Recuerdos. At about 10, taxis arrive to take all to Mercado de La Merced, one of, if not the most popular of the daily markets in downtown Oaxaca … for Oaxacans. About an hour is spent in the market, walking from stall to stall, where you learn, variously, about indigenous origins and history, and current uses, of dried and fresh chiles, nuts, tomatoes, cheeses, breads, an abundance of herbs, and much more. You come away with an appreciation of how Oaxacan cuisine has arrived in the 21st century, as a result of a melding of the use of pre-Hispanic produce and meats, with imports first brought over from Spain during the conquest period.
Nora imparts an understanding of the difference between produce found in the permanent market stalls (most often purchased by the vendors from growers or wholesalers with large operations), and that sold by mainly women sitting on the ground who have grown the fruits, vegetables and herbs in their own towns and villages: "We now use the term organic, for what we have traditionally referred to as criollo, which is what these ladies sell. But some of the large stalls also have criollo produce, so watch for it."
Nora reveals both here and several times later on in the kitchen setting, what ingredients, more easily accessed back home, can be substituted for what she buys in the market such as local varieties of green and red tomatoes, specific herbs, chiles, and even masa: "If you can only buy packaged Maseca brand corn flour in Oregon, and you're making tamales, then add a bit of cornmeal to give it the proper texture. Feel the difference between the two types of masa we find here in the market, one for tortillas and the other for tamales. And you may already know, we use a lot a hoja santa in our recipes, and it's only available in some states, such as Florida, so if you can't find it, try using ..."
