Like Water For Chocolate

Food plays a very interesting role in the novel. First, every chapter starts with a recipe, and is surrounded by the preparation and eating of the food. The food itself is the basis of the chapters, and leads to the various stories told. Almost all major events in the book happen either in the kitchen preparing for the food or at the table eating the food. Food interacts with the characters as well. Based on what was going on when the food was prepared, people eating feel differently. When Tita cried tears of sorrow in the cake batter, everyone eating cake felt sad and got sick. When eating the quail and rose petal sauce, Gertrudis felt an aphrodisiac effect, because of the love the sauce was made with. Tita was so happy making the turkey mole with almonds and sesame seeds, everyone eating it felt unexplainably happy. These are just a few examples of how food played a big role in the book and how it effects each character.