Free Republic

Arizona was set to legalize the sale of "potentially hazardous" homemade foods—but then Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed the bill.For over three years, Maria—not her real name—has been working in one of Arizona's most popular illicit trades. She makes good money, she can set her schedule to maximize time with family, and her customers are hooked on her product. But Maria isn't a liquor bootlegger or a drug dealer—she's a tamale seller, part of a beloved economy that is technically illegal in Arizona. "I was working as a housekeeper but they paid me very little and sometimes I couldn't get to...

In Latin America, hot tamales are as ubiquitous as the sandwich. This holds true in, of all places, the Mississippi Delta. Better known for its association with cotton and catfish, the Mississippi Delta has a fascinating relationship with tamales. In restaurants, on street corners, and in kitchens throughout the Delta, this very old and time-consuming culinary tradition remains vibrant. But how and when were hot tamales introduced to what has been called “the most Southern place on earth”? And why have they stayed? There are as many answers to those questions as there are tamale recipes. Oral history interviews with...

One family's tamalada marks its 32nd year. By Suzannah Gonzales AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, December 05, 2004 The aproned women crowded around a square table in the kitchen of the Balcones home Friday night, their hands busy and eyes focused on the work in front of them. Piles of masa-covered ojas (corn husks), bowls of masa (corn dough) and containers of pork roast obscured the tabletop. With paint scrapers, some of the dozen or so women spread a thin layer of masa on the shucks. Others put a few spoonfuls of meat in a thin column on each masa-covered oja, rolled...

A tamale vendor in western Mexico was arrested after police discovered a carved-up body in his home, a spokeswoman for state prosecutors said Wednesday. The vendor denied using human flesh in his food. The vendor, who sold tamales from a cart in the city of Morelia in Michoacan state, was arrested Tuesday after police received an anonymous tip that he had a dismembered body in his house, said Lorena Cortes, a spokeswoman for Michoacan state prosecutors. Police entered the home and found body parts, some of which appeared to have been boiled with herbs. A daylong analysis of the tamales...