Yucatán: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition (The William and Bettye Nowlin Series in Art, History, and Culture of the Western Hemisphere) Hardcover – March 30, 2014 by David Sterling (University of Texas Press) (IBRCookBooks)

Just announced on March 2, 2015 as the 2015 Winner/ Art of Eating award. Congratulationa are due to Chef Sterling for his exhaustive research and in depth dive into the Mayan culture of the Yucatan peninsula. The book is arranged by areas of the peninsula with a comprehensive introduction, pantry and sections on ingredients and ways to find them in the index. I bought the book last summer while in the planning of my Yucatan food-centric trip that was just completed yesterday. You will dive into the culture customs and rich history of the Mayan people with great pictures throughout. We had the pleasure of meeting and cooking with Chef Sterling on our recent trip that included a visit to the large Merida outdoor market to buy items for our class. I have not cooked from the book yet and look forward to doing so now that I have returned from my trip. His book is essential to anyone wishing to learn more about the Yucatan in general but the food focus also shines. His recipes are explained in depth in the book with substitutions and recipes for recados (spice pastes) that are ubiquitous to the region. I cannot think of the Yucatan cuisine as a Mexican cuisine because it has completely different spice profiles and cooking methods (pibil or underground oven). I went to the Yucatan in search of longaniza (a specialty sausage found near Valladoilid) and smoked pork (go to Temazon). We also traveled in search of light and airy meringues in the tiny village of Tziz too.

You will want to take your time reading this book. Once you read it you will want to plan a trip to Yucatan to experience what he knows so intimately. His passion for the culture shines throughout the book.