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<\/p>\nIn the mid 1950s, few Gypsy families slept in the labourer\u2019s farmhouses of the country estates. Most of them had their own places, mostly rented. Tenements (known as \u201ccasas de vecinos<\/i><\/b>\u201d, literally \u201chouses of neighbors<\/i>\u201d) were very popular, having always a sizable inner yard and a small place to live.<\/p>\n
In the flower beds of those old tenements, peppermint and rosemary were plentiful, as these were the favored aromatic plants of Jerez\u2019s Gypsies, together with jasmine, as it was deemed important that houses had a pleasant scent. The strong smell and flavor of rosemary caused this herb to be used sparingly when cooking, except in the case of lamb, when it was used to supress its strong and pungent smell (\u201cchero<\/i>\u201d), and even so it was removed soon after the cooking started.<\/p>\n
The interaction among the families in these\u00a0casas de vecinos<\/i>\u00a0was similar to that of the farmhouses, although in the tenements each family had their own place to eat and sleep. However, cooking was still communal, as there was one single coal kitchen for the whole tenement, with the pots of each family gleaming in the fire, one next to the other, competing to be the one exuding the best smells.<\/p>\n
Some Gypsy women became famous in their neighborhood for their talent with the stoves. Such was the case of\u00a0Manuela Jim\u00e9nez Jim\u00e9nez\u00a0T\u00eda Maora<\/i><\/b>, who was considered the best cook in all of Jerez at the time. She learned her trade from another great cook, her mother\u00a0Salvadora Jim\u00e9nez Soto\u00a0T\u00eda La Mini<\/i><\/b>. T\u00eda Maora cooked \u201cto go\u201d, like we would say nowadays. She would also set up a tent at the fair where her \u201cpoor people\u201d stews would be in high demand by Jerez\u2019s elite: famous artists and bullfighters of those days, such as\u00a0Manolo Caracol<\/b>\u00a0and the master\u00a0Antonio Ord\u00f3\u00f1ez<\/b>. Among her specialties, people could savor\u00a0guiso de menudo<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(tripe stew),\u00a0retorteros<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(calf tonsils),\u00a0morros<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(calf snout) and\u00a0potaje con pring\u00e1<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(vegetable stew with pork and sausages). These dishes were very inexpensive, but quite laborious.<\/p>\n
There were other Gypsy women who also cooked \u201cto go\u201d, such as Josefa Romero Jim\u00e9nez\u00a0T\u00eda Pepa la Cola<\/i><\/b>, who passed down her experience and recipes to my maternal grandmother. My mother, when she was still a young girl, would help T\u00eda Pepa washing pots and pans. Another woman who cooked \u201cto go\u201d was Manuela Vargas Romero\u00a0T\u00eda la Morena de Cola<\/i><\/b>, daughter of T\u00eda Pepa Ia Cola. T\u00eda La Mini (mother of T\u00eda Maora) died when she was 100 years old, thirty years ago.\u00a0Popa Chopo<\/i><\/b>\u00a0was the patriarch of this family and he died when he was 101 or 102 years old. In the case of this family, how far back in time would this gastronomic tradition go? T\u00eda Maora\u2019s recipes are still being used. That\u2019s the case, for example, of Ramona Pantoja Carpio\u00a0T\u00eda Ramona<\/i><\/b>, wife of Manuel Moreno Jim\u00e9nez\u00a0T\u00edo Manuel Morao<\/i><\/b>, son of\u00a0T\u00eda Maora<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Women like these were the ones who, without trying, taught the others and, without even noticing, created a gastronomy school in the communal kitchens of the\u00a0casas de vecinos<\/i>, as it formerly happened in the farmhouses. With few resources, the would cook dishes full of flavor, prepared and ready for the most demanding palates.<\/p>\n
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Manuel Valencia Lazo<\/strong><\/span> In the mid 1950s, few Gypsy families slept in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,258],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-signature"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nFrom his book “La Cocina Gitana de Jerez” (EH Gastronomia, 2006)
\n<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"