Traditional Mixtec dishes from Oaxaca might soon be protected by a patent that has been requested by the Indigenous Peoples Development Commission (CDI).

A CDI representative in the Mixtec municipality of Silacayoápam, Oaxaca, told the newspaper Noticias that the first stage of the cultural conservation project is to promote staple dishes of regional cuisine to a larger public.

It has been through “gastronomic festivals that we have been developing this . . . we’ve had good progress, some recipes have already been written down, like those for the atoles [traditional hot corn and masa-based beverages] from Tepejillo, the chileajo [a thick pork-based sauce] from Tonalá and the guaximole [a river tamarind-based mole] from Cuautepec . . .” said Anastasio Villarreal Díaz.

Once the cuisine of the Mixtec region and all of its autochthonous dishes are fully recognizable by foodies, the CDI will move forward to formally register them.

Another part of the registration process is taking place at the Teposcolula Institute of Technology, where gastronomy students are conducting investigations intended to formalize each of the Mixtec dishes’ recipes.

The CDI, concluded Villarreal, is also offering counsel and training to traditional Mixtec cooks, improving the presentation of their pre-Hispanic dishes while keeping them authentic.

Source: Noticias de Oaxaca (sp)