Agave syrup has been touted as an organic, raw food, healthy alternative to sugar but what exactly is it? The agave species is native to México and the southwestern United States of America. They are neither a cactus nor a relative of the aloe plant which they resemble. There are over 200 varieties of this plant. The agave was known as “metl” in the lingua franca … Continue reading Agave Syrup. A Healthy Alternative to Sugar?
Nutritional value of aguamiel from Agave atrovirens Minerals mg/100 g Potassium (K) 120.44 Calcium (Ca) 11.70 Zinc (Zn) 0.18 Iron (Fe) 0.81 Sodium (Na) 0.83 Copper (Cu) 0.07 Magnesium (Mg) 0.55 Selenium (Se) 0.047 Water-soluble vitamins mg/100 g Thiamine (B1) 0.10 Riboflavin (B2) 0.38 Niacin (B3) 4.77 Pyridoxine (B6) 0.57 Ascorbic acid (C) 17.99 Amino acids mg/100 g Aspartic acid 7.91 Glutamic acid 20.08 Serine 4.48 … Continue reading Nutritional Value of Aguamiel
The leaves of the maguey, called “pencas” are utilised for numerous purposes. One variety is used to create the fibre known as sisal while the thicker varieties can be cooked and eaten. Even the thorns were used as needles and for the practice of auto sacrifice. Some religious devotees and priests would pierce their earlobes, tongues or genitals with the thorns and collect the blood … Continue reading The Agave, Barbacoa and Mixiotes
Also called : Roselle, Rosella, Red sorrel, Karkady, Karkade Another popular street food in México are the agua frescas (fresh waters or cool waters). These are light non-alcoholic beverages which are flavoured with fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water. Chia seed is often added. These drinks are typically served from large barrel-shaped glass containers and can be found in markets, taquerias, tianguis and on … Continue reading Flor de Jamaica (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
Colonche (or nochoctli) is another Mesoamerican fermented drink similar in design to tepache and pulque. It is produced from the tuna fruits of several species of the nopal cactus (most notably O.strepthacantha – see previous page) and is fermented using wild yeasts. Its shelf life, like that of tepache is somewhat longer than that of pulque and it can be expected to last for as long as 14-15 days. Colonche is found … Continue reading Colonche
The xoconostle (from Nahuatl xoconōchtli – ‘Xococ’ = ‘sour’ and ‘nochtli’ = tuna or prickly pear fruit) is native to central México and the arid semi-desert areas such as: Coahuila, Zacatecas, Jalisco, San Luis Potosi, Guanajuato, Queretaro, State of Mexico and Hidalgo. It is the fruit of a type of Opuntia cactus. There are more than 15 varieties of this fruit. Opuntia joconostle, O.chávena, O.lasiacantha Pfeiffer, O.matudae and O.delafuentiana are noted … Continue reading Xoconostle
The processing of pulque happens in four stages. Castration Pit scraping and aguamiel extraction Seed/mother preparation Fermentation Castration It can take between 7 and 40 years before an agave is ready to harvest the aguamiel and it can take an expert to know when exactly to castrate the plant, if done too late then the plant will produce no aguamiel, if done too early then aguamiel production will be greatly … Continue reading Pulque Production
