Manchamanteles

Manchamanteles, meaning 'tablecloth stainer,' is a classic Mexican dish whose name speaks to its richly pigmented, sauce-laden character. This recipe comes from "La Cocina en el Bolsillo No. 2" (1890), a beloved pocket-sized cookbook series published by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo in late 19th-century Mexico City. The book was aimed at urban home cooks, especially women seeking to recreate traditional flavors on modest means, and it collected recipes from various regions and traditions. This particular dish straddles the line between a mole and a fruit-studded stew, featuring both the Spanish-introduced fruits and indigenous chiles that characterize post-Conquest Mexican cuisine. The technique reflects the cultural melting pot of late Porfirian Mexico, a time marked by both culinary invention and reverence for established traditions.

At the end of the 19th century, cooks would have used a heavy brass or earthenware cazuela (stew pot) for simmering, with sauce preparation in a metate or large stone mortar and pestle. Chiles would be toasted on a comal (flat griddle) and soaked in terracotta bowls. Meats were boiled or pre-cooked in large pots over wood or charcoal-fired stoves, and ingredients were sliced with sharp carbon-steel knives. Everything was cooked using direct heat, with diligent hand-stirring to prevent burning.