Pomegranate. Credit: Tony Burton.

Pomegranate champagne cocktail: Coctel de champaña y granada

When we lived in Oaxaca, we had neighbors with a pomegranate tree that seemed to bear fruit much longer than in other places. In Puebla, the pomegranate season is late summer, after which pomegranates disappear until December, when California imports are sold in the supermarkets, as they are north of the border. Bottled pomegranate juice […]

Continue Reading

Mango-tequila ice: Nieve de mango con tequila

During the warm months in Mexico, a variety of tropical fruit-flavored ices are sold by vendors with pushcarts, usually stationed in the parks and in front of schools. In the zócalo – main square – in Puebla, several exotic varieties are available, including those flavored with the local specialty, an egg-nog like liquor called rompope, and of course, the […]

Continue Reading
Primitive tequila still (Lumholtz, 1897)

Did You Know? Tequila dates from the sixteenth century

In 1897, Carl Lumholtz, the famous Norwegian ethnologist, who spent several years living with remote Indian tribes in Mexico, found that the Huichol Indians in eastern Nayarit distilled agave juice using simple pot stills, the pots being quite unlike any other Spanish or pre-Columbian vessels. By 1944, Henry Bruman, a University of California geographer, had […]

Continue Reading

Coffee chocolate after dinner drink: Copacabana

I first tasted this at the Café Enamorada in Cholula. It’s a no-fuss dessert choice, because it’s coffee and dessert in one. Use the best quality chocolate available and whipped heavy cream. Ingredients For each serving: ½ ounce bittersweet chocolate (sold as chocolate semi amargo in Mexico) 1 ½ ounces rum 1 cup freshly brewed coffee ¼ […]

Continue Reading

Mexican Hot . . Or Not! – A Drinking (Wo)Man’s Guide To Tequila

Ah! Nectar of the Gods! Bacchus never had it so good! When I think of tequila, the following things come to mind: a really quaint, clean little Mexican town about 90 minutes from my home; clear liquid in little shot glasses beside red liquid in shot glasses along with a plate of lemon and salt; […]

Continue Reading

Refreshing Mexican rice beverage: Horchata de arroz

Horchata is one of the most common table drinks in Mexico, usually served in pitchers to accompany the main meal, and is classified as an agua, like many Mexican fruit drinks. In some areas, horchata is made with dried melon seeds instead of rice. The following recipe is adapted from Adela Fernandez’ La Cocina Tradicional Mexicana. […]

Continue Reading