Capritoda

My Informant is a student who has ties to her hispanic heritage. She shared a piece of her cultural heritage with me, involving a traditional food that she and her family ate during the holidays.

Informant.:

“During Christmas time, we make Capritoda, which is a bread pudding. We only eat it on christmas as a special dessert. Its a special family recipe, passed down from my grandmother.”

I asked why they only ate this dish on Christmas, as I recalled that it was normally eaten around the lenten period. She replied “There’s no official reason, it is usually eaten on lent but it’s just a desert a lot of people in my family like, so we cool it together and eat it on Christmas”

My analysis:

I found it extremely interesting that my informants family chose to utilize a traditional food from the easter season into a christmas celebration. In most hispanic tradition, the dish symbolizes the death by crucifixion of Jesus, and is also served on good Friday. Although my informant did not give a specific reason for this change, and I can only speculate the reasons as to why. However, it does provide an interesting contrast to me, that a dish associated with the death of Jesus is made in this family only during a celebration of the birth of Jesus.