The Welcoming Table

By Carrie Frasure

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population accounts for nearly 15 percent of the total population of the United States. From 2000 to 2006, the influx of Hispanics in the country accounted for one-half of the nation’s growth. When Swad opened his first Pizza Patrón in the 1980s, there were 14.6 million Hispanics in the United States. Today, that number has increased and is estimated to reach 47.8 million in 2010 with a continued population projection of 102.6 million in 2050.

By Zain Deane

Finding a burrito in Mexico City isn’t easy. That’s because the burrito comes from the northern part of the country, and isn’t truly representative of Mexican food. The Tex-Mex hybrid Americans so often mistake for authentic “South of the Border” cuisine is an unrefined interpretation of true Mexican gastronomy. Mexico is a country with a deep culinary tradition that spans millennia and is far more sophisticated than most people expect.

By Lisa Waterman Gray

Frozen treats tame the summer heat for cultural groups all over the world. However, they are far from being a fresh idea, or originating from any one ethnicity. King Tang, in China, is rumored to have enjoyed ice and milk concoctions during the first century A.D. Emperor Nero is known to have eaten mountain ice from the Apennine range, topped with fruit, during the first century A.D. By the mid-1530s, frozen desserts emerged in France, appearing on the streets of Paris by 1700 before spreading to England and other European countries.

Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were among the first to serve frozen desserts in the United States. The first U.S. ice cream parlor opened in 1776, the first patented hand-cranked freezer was developed in the 1840s, and the first large-scale ice cream manufacturing plant began operations in 1851. Approximately 70 years later, shaved ice, or ‘snow cones’ debuted at the Texas state fair.

By Lisa Waterman Gray

Cinnamon is second only to black pepper as the most popular seasoning in Europe and the United States. It is an integral flavor in Germany’s gingerbread and pfeffernusse cookies, Jewish Chanukkah doughnuts,  Passover cake, and the Italian dessert, risotto. Mexican cuisine uses it in flan and chocolate, Morrocan and Middle Eastern cuisines use it when preserving lemons, and the French enhance pastries with it.