Like Water for Chocolate II

110 From the first, they had established a communication that went far beyond words.

This quote explains the relationship between Tita and the Indian cook at Dr. Brown’s house. Though they come from different cultures they are joined in their love and appreciation of food and cooking. In a way this understanding that they have is an example of how the reader is meant to receive the book. The recipes and cooking instructions are another means of drawing the reader into the story. The idea that we can communicate through food is very important to Tita/Esquivel.

111 That is but one small example of the huge difference in ideas and opinions that existed between the representatives of these two very different cultures, a gulf that made it impossible for the Browns to feel any desire to learn about the customs and traditions of Morning Light.

This is another example of two cultures mixing and finding it difficult to understand one another. What joins Dr. Brown’s grandmother “the Kikapu” to the white family that does not originally accept her is her talent at healing. She does not use recipes to connect with them but it is her nurturing nature and ability to care for human beings in a way that is similar to a cook that finally breaks down the barrier.

115 …each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can’t strike them all by ourselves; just as in the experiment, we need oxygen and a candle to help. In this case, the oxygen, for example, would come from the breath of the person you love; the candle could be any kind of food, music, cares, word, or sound that engenders the explosion that lights one of the matches.

Though we have switched from food to chemicals, they both work in similar ways to connect people to one another. Tita expresses herself through her food and this is the one way she can communicate with Pedro, by cooking from him and seeing his reaction. Because Tita won’t talk to Dr. Brown his only means of communicating with her and connecting with her is through his scientific experiments.