Food in Like Water For Chocolate

In the book Like Water for Chocolate, food plays alot of different roles. It's symbolizes larger themes in the book, it exacts revenge, it heals, it provides subtext. Because food does so many things, one could argue that it is its own character, but I think it’s more an extension of Tita than anything else.
Tita’s official value and only socially acceptable role is bound up in her cooking; the kitchen is her whole world and the food she makes is a direct reflection of that reality. When she is overcome with loss and bitterness but powerless to do or say anything about it, food is Tit’s means of communication. Through the meals she makes, she is able to express her sorrow, and passion. It is through food that she is able to exert any type of control on her own life. Food becomes her comfort, her emotional release, her mental escape, her love letter to Pedro, and also her foundation in the reality of life at the ranch.
With all the magical realism that is going on in this book, food is the foundation of reality for the reader as well.