Many people cannot imagine their life without delicious and aromatic hot chocolate. But no one knows exactly where and when this drink appeared. It is known that the delicacy was made from the fruits of the cocoa tree about three thousand years ago. According to information, hot chocolate is an ancient Mexican folk drink. His story is very interesting.
Who was first
According to some historical data, the Mayan Indians, who lived on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, were the first to taste chocolate. However, they consumed it cold. First, they roasted cocoa beans and then mixed them with water. Chili pepper was also added to the drink. It’s hard to call it a delicacy. After all, the finished drink was very bitter and spicy.
The fruits of the cocoa tree and chocolate gradually became very valuable products. As a result, they were equated with the food of the gods. This is due to the fact that the Mayan tribe did not grow trees that bore expensive fruits. There were few cocoa beans, and not everyone had the opportunity to try the wonderful drink. 
Valuable fruits
The Mexican ancient folk drink made from cocoa beans did not begin to be prepared immediately. The bitter fruits gradually became currency. For 100 cocoa beans you could buy a slave. If the payment was very large, then not one fruit at a time, but whole pods were paid as payment.
The development of the history of chocolate began when the Aztec tribe appeared. It was at this time that the Mexican ancient folk drink appeared. By the way, the name of the delicacy appeared as a result of combining two words: cocoa and water. However, chocolate never ceased to be considered the drink of the elite. Only tribal leaders and priests could use it. They drank chocolate from golden vessels decorated precious stones. Changes have occurred in the composition of the drink. Sweet agave juice, vanilla, honey and milk corn grains began to be added to chocolate. 
Chocolate in Europe
Europeans were able to try this ancient Mexican folk drink in the 16th century. This event opened a new page in the history of chocolate. Hernando Cortez was at that time not only a comrade-in-arms of the great navigator Christopher Columbus, but also a popularizer of the amazing drink in Europe. He was the first to appreciate the subtle shades and exquisite notes of this original exotic delicacy.
After some time, hot chocolate became very popular among the Spanish aristocracy. The drink was very tasty and unusual. However, its composition has again undergone some changes. Nutmeg, cinnamon and cane sugar were added to the delicacy. This greatly affected the taste of the treat.
Already in the 17th century, hot chocolate became a popular drink in all the royal courts of Europe. However, the cost of this delicacy was very high. Only royalty could afford chocolate. Gradually cocoa plantations appeared. As a result, the drink has become more accessible. 
First tiles
Everyone knows what chocolate is made from. However, many do not even realize that this delicacy was consumed only in liquid form for a long time. Chocolate bars appeared in the early 19th century. It was at this time that it was invented Hydraulic Press, which made it possible to extract cocoa butter from cocoa beans. The first bar of this delicacy was created by a Swiss - Francois Louis Caillet. After some time, his technology was borrowed by larger enterprises throughout Europe.
Gradually, new ways of preparing this amazing delicacy were created. In particular, the composition of chocolate changed. The recipe for the delicacy has undergone many changes. Wine, spices, various sweets, including raisins, nuts, vanilla, candied fruits, and beer began to be added to chocolate. 
The new kind
What chocolate is made from nowadays is no secret. In addition to cocoa butter, milk is added to it. This component was first introduced into the composition of the delicacy by another Swiss confectioner, Daniel Peter. While milk chocolate was a fundamentally new variety.
To prepare the delicacy, a new component was required. It was milk powder. It was supplied by entrepreneur Henri Nestlé. It is worth noting that after some time he created a company. It was called Nestlé. And it was she who received the first patent for the production of chocolate.
In our time
Mexican cuisine is unique. It has its own characteristics. Some of her dishes have undergone many changes and spread throughout the world. Among them is chocolate. The march of this delicacy throughout the world continues to this day. Today it is manufactured by many companies. The color of this chocolate depends on its composition. The more cocoa butter it contains, the darker it is. In addition, milk fats began to be added to the delicacy. They also affected the color of the final product.
Nowadays, we have learned to add vitamins to chocolate, useful microelements and substances, as well as all kinds of herbs, spices and sweet additives. Delicacies began to be made with liquid and fruit fillings, with alcohol and nuts, corn flakes and even salt. The range of chocolate has increased significantly.
Main types of chocolate
Currently, three main types of chocolate are made: white, milk and black. Each of them has its own characteristics. For example, dark chocolate has a characteristic bitter taste. It is because of this that it is often called bitter. It is worth noting that this delicacy has beneficial properties, as well as a tonic effect. 
Milk chocolate has a more delicate, sweet and soft taste. Plus it's much lighter. This delicacy contains milk fats, which are beneficial for a growing body. Therefore, it is often produced in a form for children.
As for white chocolate, it does not contain cocoa beans. Therefore, the delicacy does not have a characteristic color. The main component of this chocolate is cocoa bean butter. It is almost tasteless and has an aroma. Powdered sugar and milk are added to the treat. It is these components that give it its taste.
In conclusion
So, how did chocolate come about? Mexico is the birthplace of this amazing delicacy, which has many beneficial properties. Many people don’t even realize that chocolate is an excellent antidepressant. Consuming it stimulates the production of the “happiness hormone”. Many historians claim that the daughter of the Spanish king, Anna, when she married Louis XIII, brought with her chocolate made in her homeland. She used this delicacy as a remedy for nostalgia and loneliness. Of course, chocolate has changed a lot over its thousand-year history. Substances that are not always beneficial for humans began to be added to its composition. However, giving up chocolate is very difficult. And if you wish, you can always find a quality product on the shelves.
Potato vodka, pizza-flavored beer, the dying drink of the Mexican proletariat and other alcoholic extremes.
Rat wine (China, Korea)
Fortress: 40-57 degrees
Price: depends on the region and the quality of the drink
Ratings of the most disgusting drinks in the world for a long time was headed by Eskimo homemade wine made from rotten albatrosses - until it turned out that it was an Internet fake. Eskimos actually eat dead birds - kiwiak, a Christmas dish of the Greenlanders, is made from the corpses of auks, which are wrapped in seal skin and left buried in permafrost for seven months. Kiwiak tastes similar to mature Stilton cheese. But the recipe given in all sources, in which seagulls are doused with water and left to rot, is not supported by any serious references.
But Chinese wine infused with newborn rats really exists - and moreover, it is a traditional Chinese product with a rich history. The rats are poured with rice vodka and left to infuse for a year. In China and Korea, it is believed that the drink obtained in this way has miraculous healing qualities and cures everything from kidney disease to colds. It is believed that little mice should not have time to open their eyes before choking - then the drink will be most healing.
The idea of living beings donating precious chi energy to a drink has been popular in Asia for at least 15 centuries. The equally popular “three lizard tincture” in China, made from vodka and live geckos (it can even be found in the British Borders chain), and the Vietnamese cobra tincture are based on the same principle. They all taste the same: it’s cheap rice mush with an unpleasant, hard-to-define aftertaste. The reason why consumers make such sacrifices can be explained simply: they say that such alcohol is stronger than Viagra.
The idea of living beings donating precious chi energy to a drink has been popular in Asia for at least 15 centuries. The equally popular “three lizard tincture” in China, made from vodka and live geckos (it can even be found in the British Borders chain), and the Vietnamese cobra tincture are based on the same principle. They all taste the same: it’s cheap rice mush with an unpleasant, hard-to-define aftertaste. The reason why consumers make such sacrifices can be explained simply: they say that such alcohol is stronger than Viagra.
Karlsson's Vodka (Sweden)
Fortress: 40 degrees
Price: $40
Manufacturer's website: www.karlssonsvodka.com
This Swedish vodka is made exclusively from Swedish potatoes and, most importantly, according to wine production patterns: that is, taking into account the terroir, potato variety and harvest year. Karlsson's Gold was invented by one of the creators of Absolut vodka, Borje Karlsson; he also came up with the idea of calling Swedish potatoes “the golden grapes of the Swedish land.” This is in every sense a modernist product that rethinks all the main principles of vodka mythology. Standard vodka should not have its own taste - Karlsson" s, on the contrary, focuses on the difference in shades of taste of the harvest of different years. The Karlssons Vintage line has so far represented three years (2004, 2005 and 2006), and there are both single-malt varieties (made from one type of potato) and mixed blends (Karlssons Gold and Karlssons Gold 25). In particular, there is vodka made from new potatoes growing on Cape Bjare.
Each bottle is numbered, each accompanied by a booklet indicating the place where the potatoes grow, the characteristics of the variety, the history of the producing farm and a description of the weather conditions in a given year. Beta testers assure that vodkas of different years, and especially those made from different varieties, really taste very different: some have stronger earthy tones, others have more fruity tones.
While Karlsson's is just beginning to conquer the world market, it has already managed to make some noise in New York, where it is served in trendy bars in the East Village - mainly thanks to a favorable review in New York Times. By the way, for the faint of heart, Karlsson produces an apocryphal 25-degree version of its potato product.
Fortress: 5 degrees
Price:¥380
Manufacturer's website: www.takahasi.co.jp
Japan holds a confident first place in the number of drinks that can unpleasantly surprise a Westerner. This is the country where Cucumber Pepsi exists and Coca-Cola makes lettuce-flavored soda. There are, and are popular, a drink that imitates the taste of mother's milk, an eel-flavored fizzy drink, and a low-calorie drink made from pig placenta that tastes like peach (supposedly improves complexion). The beer industry also has its own marketing finds: non-alcoholic “Kid's Beer” with a cheerful child on the label, chocolate-flavored beer and regional beer with small sardines from Kanagawa Prefecture are selling very well.
However, brewers from Hokkaido managed to make themselves known louder than others, releasing milk beer Bilk, consisting of two-thirds beer and one-third milk. The new beer was invented by the son of a liquor store manager in Nakashibetsu when there was an overproduction of milk on dairy farms on the island of Hokkaido in March 2006. The young man decided to rectify the situation and agreed with the Abashiri Beer brewery, famous for its colored beers - blue, green and red. Beer with milk, which required the development of a rather complex recipe (for milk low temperature boiling and high starch content, so it was not easy to replace water with it), the locals unexpectedly warmly received them. Milk beer was considered a light, pleasant drink, as a result of which waste milk was saved, and the Bilk brand suddenly became famous throughout the world.
However, a real international triumph is unlikely to await him: having taken English name(Bilk is beer+milk), the Japanese have traditionally been too lazy to look into English dictionary: verb to bilk means “to inflate”, “to bilge”.
Fortress: 27 degrees
Price: $150
Manufacturer's website: www.samueladams.com
This beer is sold under the slogan “the strongest beer on Earth” - it is 27 degrees. American brewery Boston Beer Company has been experimenting in this genre for a long time: before the release of Utopia Beer, they brewed Triple Bock and Millennium beers with an alcohol content of 17.5 and 21 degrees, respectively. Utopia beer appeared in 2002 and was initially produced with a strength of 24 degrees, but then the brewers added three more.
Of course, this beer is no longer very similar to beer - it is positioned as a digestif and tastes more like a dense, bitterish port. It is brewed from Vienna, Moravian and Bavarian malts and four types of hops with the addition of maple syrup, and then aged for at least a year in cognac, port and sherry barrels. It is a small-batch beer, with approximately 53 barrels (12,000 bottles) brewed in 2009. Utopia Beer is available in special 0.75 liter flasks, reminiscent of copper beer kegs, and sells for an average of $150. It is not found often, and in 14 states beer of this strength is prohibited by law from being sold.
It is worth noting that other breweries are also trying to seize the title of “the strongest beer on Earth” for marketing reasons - the battle of a German brewery is especially eloquent Schorshbrau and Scottish Brew Dog. Last December, Schorshbrau released a 40-proof beer, Brew Dog outbid them with a 41-proof beer in May 2010, appropriately named Sink the Bismarck, and this same month, Schorshbrau responded with a 43-proof Schorschbock. In the world of brewers, this arms race is being watched with some interest, but beer lovers have not yet decided whether these drinks should be considered beer at all.
Fortress: 5 degrees
Price: $5,80
Manufacturer's website: www.wigrambrewing.co.nz
Spruce beer - a drink brewed from fresh spruce branches with the addition of sugar or molasses - Long story: Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was actively brewed in America, Canada, Scotland and Scandinavia. Captain Cook made spruce beer with sugar on his ship: it was believed that it was a good remedy for scurvy. Spruce beer had excellent reputation: in the 18th century it was supplied to army battalions, and it was preferred to rum. A letter from British Vice Admiral Samuel Graves, dated 1775, has been preserved, in which he strongly recommends that soldiers and sailors be given healthy spruce beer to drink, and not rum, which awakens the worst inclinations in a person.
In the French provinces of Canada, spruce beer was brewed privately until the 1940s, and later the Canadian branch of Fanta even produced non-alcoholic spruce soda, and for many Quebecers this taste is still strongly associated with childhood. Today their work is continued by a small Canadian company Marco Beverages, making pop with the taste of pine branches.
But real spruce beer is brewed by only one brewery in the world - New Zealand. Wigram Brewing Co: They claim to be using the exact recipe from 1773. This is a dense drink with a very strong pine smell and an unexpected tea flavor (the beer contains Manuka tea tree). Despite the neglected viral advertising, which tried to advertise spruce beer as New Zealand’s national drink, it never became a hit, and in one of the reviews it was called “a cocktail of toothpaste, swamp dampness and drunken tea.”
Fortress: 3-50 degrees
Price: depends on the country, quality and strength of the drink
This is a very ancient drink - it was drunk by the Incas. The method of production also indicates antiquity: in the most traditional version, women chew dry grains of yellow or purple maize, and the resulting mass is poured with water and left to ferment until the desired strength. Enzymes in saliva break down cornstarch, turning it into maltose - which is what many other drinks, such as sake, used to do (by chewing the grains).
There are a great many varieties of chicha. In the Amazon, chicha is made from cassava; in Bolivia, chicha is made from amaranth; in Colombia and Ecuador, it is made from quinoa, pineapples and rice. The rarest variety is “chicha de molle,” which is made in the Peruvian city of Juanta from the fruits of the local molle tree (better known to us as pink pepper). “Chichu de mole” is distinguished from others by its particularly delicate taste and is believed to the worst hangover of all known to mankind.
The strength of chicha also varies greatly: from almost non-alcoholic to 50 degrees. However, despite its rich history, the tradition of eating chicha is now in decline, not least due to the peculiarities of its preparation. In many countries, she is persecuted because officials, not unreasonably, consider her to be a carrier of diseases; in particular, the Bolivian government launched the propaganda program “If you drink chicha, you spread tuberculosis.” The easiest place to find traditional chicha, made from chewed grains and spittle, is now in the mountain villages of Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Costa Rica, where it is served to all guests.
However, there is a bottled version of non-alcoholic maize chicha, which is made by boiling red maize on the cob with pineapple, cinnamon and cloves, and can be found even in the States. In Chile they sell bottled grape and apple chicha, a nasty 8-degree burble that bears only a tenuous relation to real corn chicha.
However, there is a possibility that chicha will be reborn - extreme brewers from an American brewery Dogfish Head last year we brewed 10 kegs of our signature chicha by chewing 10 kg of dried Peruvian corn with the help of volunteers.
Fortress: 6-8 degrees
Price: 10 rupees
A landmark of mountainous Nepal and the adjacent Indian states of Sikkim and Darjeeling, tongba is made from boiled and fermented millet. The resulting porridge is flavored with herbs and left to dry for a period of one to six months, after which the base for the tongba is ready. They drink it hot, from special polished wooden mugs: a mug filled with millet is poured with boiling water and the alcohol is drawn through a straw with a filter, adding boiling water (usually the tongba can withstand up to six brews).
The strength and taste of tongba is a bit like ale, but with a pronounced sour bready taste. It's not too strong, but it's easier to get drunk than it seems, especially in the highlands. Moreover, thanks different quality and the degree of fermentation of millet, the taste of tongba varies greatly from village to village, and an alcoholic journey through the Nepalese mountains for tasting purposes can be compared with a trip to Scottish distilleries. In Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan, a sour drink called chaang, similar to tongba, is also made - not from millet, but from rice or barley with ginger. According to legend, yetis are considered to be special lovers of chaang, who often scour mountain villages in search of booze.
Fortress: 5-8 degrees
Price: $0,60
Manufacturer's website: www.pocotequila.com
Mexican folk drink thousand years of history made from fermented agave juice. According to one legend, pulque was invented by a divine possum, who accidentally climbed into the depths of the agave thickets, drained the fermented juice and became the first creature in the universe to get drunk. According to another myth, pulque was given to the world by the agave deity Mayahuel, and the juice that collects on the leaves of the agave is her blood. It is also worth mentioning the children of Mayahuel, known to the Aztecs as Centzontotochtin, that is, “400 rabbits.” These sacred bunnies are the gods of booze, and each one is responsible for different stages intoxication.
The sacred hangover rabbit actively drummed on the heads of Mexicans until the beginning of the 20th century. During Aztec times, pulque was considered a sacred drink - only priests and nobles could drink it during ritual holidays, as well as old people and pregnant women. Later, pulque became available to everyone, and in the 18th century, many Mexican aristocrats made a fortune from its production. By the beginning of the 20th century, in Mexico City alone there were several hundred “pulquerias” - bars where pulque was served, and Diego Riviera argued that the signs and wall panels that decorated the pulquerias were the best that Mexican art gave the world.
Pulque was dealt a fatal blow by the growing popularity of beer, which began to be promoted by emigrants who arrived in Mexico. Pulque very quickly became considered a common drink and gradually went out of fashion. Not least of all, this was influenced by rumors actively spread by brewers that when making pulque, linen bags of excrement were lowered into vats of agave juice to enhance fermentation - a practice that was actually in use for some time in remote areas of Mexico.
Today, pulque production is in decline, and it's not just because of the complex preparation process. Pulque is practically untransportable, and all attempts to produce commercial versions of pulque in bottles and cans have not been particularly successful. Unlike tequila, which is also made from agave, pulque has not become a global phenomenon - the canned version (produced under the Nectar del Razo brand) is much inferior to fresh pulque. In addition, its plant taste, tart and sour, is rather incomprehensible to Europeans. Today, pulque consumption accounts for less than 10 percent of the total alcohol consumed in Mexico, and the only hope lies with tourists: tours of 17th-century pulque haciendas are becoming increasingly popular.
Fortress: 8-10 degrees
Price: 4-5 rupees
The drink of the tribes living on the Chota Nagpur plateau in Eastern India is made from fermented rice, local herbs and hay. The main component of handia is “rana” briquettes, which are made from six varieties of bitter forest herbs and roots. The collected herbs are dried and ground into powder, then mixed with rice flour and roll into small balls, which are left to dry in the sun for a couple of days. A properly prepared wound is checked by throwing it into the fire: the briquette should flare up and burn without a trace. The finished rana is mixed with rice and boiled, and the resulting porridge is left to ferment in the sun for another two days in special clay vats. The cloudy liquid with a strength of 8-10 degrees, squeezed out after fermentation, is jandia. Handia is prepared only by women, and they are not allowed to talk during the cooking process. If handiya is done for ritual needs, women need to take a bath in the morning and change into clean clothes.
Handia has the most controversial reputation of all Indian alcoholic drinks: among tribes they believe that it is the most healthy drink in the world, which is especially good in the summer because it “cools the stomach.” It is believed that you can live peacefully for several days on handia alone, and it also helps to enlighten the mind. Nevertheless, there are persistent rumors among Europeans about serious poisonings and other unpleasant cases associated with handia: no one has seriously studied how exactly the herbs included in the composition of the “wound” act. Jandia tastes like watered-down rice liquor with a bitter, herbal aftertaste, and is often sold along roadsides and in small village markets.
Fortress: 4.6 degrees
Price: $2,50
Manufacturer's website: www.mammamiapizzabeer.com
Another specific artisanal beer - this time with pizza flavor. This is the product of a small family brewery from Illinois, whose owners - Tom and Athena Syfurth - do not hide the fact that they were inspired by the book Radical Brewing Chicago designer and amateur brewer Randy Mosher. Largely thanks to Mosher's influence, the fashion for private breweries experimenting with recipes spread in America - they brew beer with maple syrup, pepper, coriander, hemp, honey and garlic (Mosher, by the way, mentions much stranger things: with mushrooms, crab eyes and heated pebbles).
Mamma Mia Pizzabeer is, strictly speaking, a beer flavored with oregano, tomato, garlic and basil. The strange thing is that when making it, the Sifurts actually use margherita pizza. Freshly prepared pizza is ground into porridge, poured into a linen bag and brewed for a long time in boiling water like a tea bag. Then the infusion is drained and more or less classic ale is brewed on it. Almost everyone who has tried Mamma Mia Pizzabeer notes the strong and instantly recognizable smell of pizza - and an even stronger garlic aftertaste.
The correct answer to the question What is the name of the ancient Mexican folk drink? - chocolate.
The history of chocolate began approximately 3,000 years ago on the coast of Mexico. Among the ancient Olmec tribes it is mentioned as kakawa. The word chocolate itself is from the ancient Aztec language Nahuatl, which is still spoken by more than 2 million people. At first, chocolate was called xocoatl - bitter water. It was prepared from ground cocoa beans, which were diluted with water, and ground chili pepper was added. Already in Europe, the Spaniards began adding sugar to chocolate.
Mexicans consumed chocolate during rituals; for this purpose, various herbs were also added to it; it was equated with the food of the gods.
This drink is known to everyone and its name is CHOCOLATE.
Surprisingly, it is a fact that the history of this drink is so old that it is not even possible to name the exact date his appearance. It is only known that the ancient Olmec tribes, whose homes were located on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, where cocoa trees grow in large quantities, were the first to prepare chocolate.
At first I thought that we're talking about O tequila. It is this ancient alcoholic drink from Mexico.
It’s a pity that the question doesn’t indicate how many letters the answer should contain.
The Indians also began to prepare a foamy, slightly viscous white alcoholic drink.
Mexico is also famous for an alcoholic drink that contains worms.
Drink? Hmm.... a swill similar to our moonshine, only much less potent (strength up to 20 degrees). The swill is not as strong because it is not distilled. And it is poorly stored because of this.
It is made from agave juice, fermented and then drunk. According to legend, the discoverer PULQUE an opossum appears, having accidentally treated itself to fermented agave juice and become intoxicated by it. According to another legend, the goddess Mayahuel treated people to this, and the juice was not juice at all, but the blood of this goddess.
At first glance it may seem surprising, but the ancient Mexican folk drink is CHOCOLATE. It is Central and South America that are the birthplace of chocolate, as well as the cocoa tree, from which chocolate is obtained.
If we are talking about Mexico, then I think the first drink that comes up is tequila, followed by a number of others national drinks, about which there are numerous references on the Internet. But the answer here may seem quite unexpected to many, since the Mexican ancient and folk drink is still considered... CHOCOLATE.
Without further clues, we can assume that we are talking about alcoholic drink called MESCAL. By the way, in translation this is exactly what it means - drink. Mezcal is prepared from agave juice with added sugar. The strength of the finished drink is approximately the same as that of Russian vodka, about forty degrees.
And to put it simply, this is Mexican moonshine made from agave. The answer is MESCAL.
The most famous Mexican drink is, of course, tequila. But it is not that ancient. There is another drink whose history goes back thousands of years. It's called PULCHE and is made from agave juice. I think this would be the correct answer to the question.
An ancient Mexican drink CHOCOLATE
Moreover, this drink was drunk by the ancient Indian peoples - the Aztecs and Mayans. They were the ones who gave the world chocolate. And as you know, these peoples lived on the territory of modern Mexico. Previously, chocolate was highly valued and consumed, firstly without sugar, and secondly in liquid form.
In this question we are talking about such a well-known drink as hot CHOCOLATE. It actually comes from Mexico and is very healthy. It is prepared from natural cocoa beans, only in this case can we talk about its quality.
More recently on my list traditional dishes under the title “I was blown away, I want more” there were only creations of Italian cuisine, but after I visited, the country deservedly shares first place with Italy. For those who don’t know yet, Mexican dishes are far more than just tequila and burritos; the chefs here are capable of much more! Confirmation of this is my +1.5 kg of excess weight during the week of vacation. And this despite the fact that we didn’t lie on the beaches all day long, but walked and drove back and forth, visited, climbed...
The cuisine of Mexico is a combination of old Aztec and new Spanish traditions, which were later kindly adopted and supplemented by the American states of Texas and New Mexico. Not many people know that it was from Mexico that chocolate, beloved by many, came to us, and cocoa beans were collected by the ancient Mayans.
!!Fact: Cocoa was a sacred drink for the Mayans, which they used in their rituals. The ancient Aztecs believed that cocoa was a gift from the gods. Only the nobility could drink the drink.
Mexican dishes
Mexican recipes are dominated by vegetables - tomatoes, peppers, onions, herbs, lime, avocado and beans. Meat or seafood and all kinds of spices are added to them. I would like to immediately refute the famous fact: not every mexican dish is spicy. But, perhaps, each of those that I tried was very tasty.
Many dishes in Mexico are based on tortilla– flatbreads made from wheat or corn flour. Products are either placed on top of it or wrapped inside; Tortilla can be cut and dried, used as croutons for soup or chips, and sometimes it is even tinted red, black, and other colors. In general, what can they do with her here?
Taco. I'll start with the smallest and simplest Mexican recipe: finely chopped pieces of meat and vegetables combined with spices are placed on a small round tortilla. There are countless variations of tacos. The filling can contain any meat - chicken, pork, beef, lamb and even goat. Add tomatoes, onions, herbs, jalapeno pepper, guacamole sauce or hot salsa. Tacos are eaten with your hands and are more of an appetizer or snack. In addition to regular ones, they also come in crispy varieties.
This was the first thing I tried in Mexico. I found a small outdoor tent next to . Personally, the tacos reminded me a lot of Mexican sombrero hats, what about you?
Burrito is a Mexican type of shawarma/shawarma that is eaten here with a knife and fork. A burrito is a large tortilla filled with meat or seafood, vegetables and spices. The principle is the same as with tacos - the filling can be any combination. Most often, burritos are served with Mexican rice and a mini salad, guacamole or something similar “for a snack”; sometimes sauce is poured on top. I ordered the burrito in the photo in Cancun, and could barely finish it: the portion was huge. My tortilla contained finger-licking shrimp and vegetables. By the way, “burrito” means “donkey” in Spanish, so the reason for the name of the dish remains a mystery to me.
There are several varieties of burritos, which I kept getting confused about. There are, for example, chimichanga- toasted burrito. Eat fajita, where the tortilla and filling come separately. Or quesadilla- a fried tortilla with the obligatory filling of melted cheese with the addition of vegetables or meat. There are also my favorites enchiladas, in which the filling is wrapped in a tortilla and baked with sauce or cheese.
My favorite enchilada sauce is mole; it's made with cocoa and chili and is absolutely finger-licking good. In the photo - mine enchilada de mole from the restaurant to . As you can see, they come in smaller sizes than a regular burrito, in which case they are served several per plate.
This is a crispy version of chimichanga from Chichen Itza.
Burritos are also widespread in America, they are even present in some beer bars. But the taste, of course, is not the same; Several times in the USA I tried downright terrible burritos, wrapped not in a tortilla, but in some kind of slimy dough. However, Mexican restaurants in this country prepare it almost as tasty, sometimes only replacing some ingredients with ones more familiar to Americans.
Tortilla soup (sopa de tortilla). We continue the theme of flatbreads called tortillas. An alternative to the familiar soup with croutons: the tortilla is cut, fried until crunchy and added to the soup just before serving. I decided to try this one in Chichen Itza. It is eaten in combination with lime, and the taste reminded me of regular cabbage soup. The soup was quite thin; it consisted of tomatoes, peppers, cabbage and asparagus. But there are also thicker options with a larger assortment of vegetables.
In an American state There are different types of soups, both cream and regular. I highly recommend trying Green Chile Chicken Chowder - a creamy soup with chicken and green chili, incredibly delicious! Green chili-based dishes are common on menus across the state, and most of them are oh-so-hot. One of them, less spicy but incredibly tasty, is stuffed green peppers. I've seen these in Mexico as well.
Mexican sauces and appetizers
Nachos These are just regular tortilla chips, sometimes seasoned for flavor. Served as an appetizer while waiting for the main course, combined with sauces, most often guacamole. The same nachos with various flavors can be found in packages in any store as regular chips. More precisely, not ordinary, but very tasty.
Mexican sauces. Sauces are an integral part of Mexican cuisine and are prepared with love and care, traditionally using a combination of vegetables and seasonings. They are either poured over dishes or served in separate containers along with nachos.
I'll start with the spicy one salsa (salsa). The word "salsa" in Spanish means "sauce" that is as sultry as the Mexican sun. Even amateurs spicy food they don’t always succeed 🙂 Salsa includes tomatoes, onions, lime juice, celery, cilantro or parsley, and, of course, hot chili peppers. In different consistencies it differs slightly in appearance; the thicker one resembles our adjika and sometimes is not so spicy.
There is another sauce that may be a modified version of the salsa. He fully reveals the theme of “spicy Mexican cuisine”. The burning mixture in my photo on the left was not only spicy, but the tears-flowed-from-the-eyes were spicy. U local residents There is a saying: “never believe a Mexican if he says the dish is not spicy.” Remember I wrote at the very beginning that not all the cuisine of this country is like that? So, this give-me-water-don’t-understand-it was a great exception :)
Another famous sauce that I really love is guacamole. This is a thick puree of avocado, tomatoes, cilantro or other greens, to which lime juice is added to prevent the avocado from browning. Sometimes it is made spicy by adding jalapeno peppers. Guacamole is served as an appetizer with nacho chips, placed on a plate as an addition to the dish, or wrapped in a tortilla along with the dish itself. This sauce is easy to prepare; you just need to mix all the above ingredients using a blender.
A few words about Mexican desserts and fruits
Personally, I never got around to desserts due to the already huge portions in Mexican restaurants and cafes. But, according to my observations, the following were most often found on the menu:
— Mexican cheesecake, which is served warm, wrapped like a pancake and topped with sweet sauce. Its consistency is much softer than usual and looks like curd mass. Another option that I saw in the photo was similar to our cheesecake, but made in puff pastry.
— Pudding Flan. This dessert is prepared not only in Mexico, it is also popular in Spain and other Latin American countries. It looks very tender and appetizing.
— Fried sweet tortilla, a kind of pies (Sopapillas). They are especially common in the US state of New Mexico and are on almost every menu. The same name is present not only in desserts; Sopapillas in the state are sometimes served as an appetizer to the main course.
— Churros – sweet sticks, deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
— Fried bananas (Platanos Fritos), sprinkled with sauce. A tasty and healthy option.
I also recommend trying local ice cream. It is better to take what is sold either in special dessert shops, ice cream parlors, or on street stalls. In other words, not the usual factory-packed ice cream, but fresh ice cream with the addition of fruit. I cooled down with a coconut popsicle; the pleasure turned out to be truly heavenly.
And of course Mexico is a country fresh vegetables and delicious fruits, both familiar to us and exotic. My favorite is guava, papaya, mango, horned melon (an interesting fruit with “spikes”), pitahaya (“dragon’s eye”), watermelons and melons, bananas, pears and apples, berries. Cacti in different variations are also eaten. In local markets all this can be bought at ridiculous prices. My first breakfast in Cancun was just that - fruity and relaxing.
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in Mexico
And here the Mexicans did their best. Some drink recipes turned out to be very interesting, and the famous Margarita has completely conquered the whole world. I'll start with alcoholic drinks.
- Alcoholic drinks.
Tequila. There is no point in long introductions; you already know everything about tequila. But I have a couple interesting facts in addition. This drink is made from blue agave, plantations of which can be found in different parts countries. If you wish, you can go on an excursion to one of these plantations, where they will tell you everything in detail and let you taste it different varieties tequila. The central plantation is located in the city of the same name Tequila, Jalisco state.
There are countless types of tequila in Mexico, and it is sold everywhere, including even some souvenir shops (though in these cases I do not presume to judge its quality). There are tequila museums in the country, and the drink itself can be found in bottles of all shapes and sizes, there is more than enough imagination.
Mezcal- This traditional look Mexican tequila, having hundreds different tastes and flowers. It is aged longer during production, so it tends to look darker than regular tequila and has a more pronounced flavor. We decided to taste several types for comparison. Among them were mezcals, reminiscent of sweet liqueurs, types with a very strong smell, as well as those that are practically indistinguishable from regular tequila.
!!Fact: If we are used to tequila with salt and lemon/lime, then Mexico has its own way. They drink it with a slice of orange and “worm salt” - a powder made from salt, chili pepper and... crushed dried caterpillars that live in agave thickets. There are bottles on sale with small bags of this powder attached, and those with a small worm at the bottom. There’s no need to be scared, he was “placed” there on purpose, and not just forgotten.
How to choose mezcal: Joven— young mezcal, aged up to six months, colorless. Reposado– aged for a year, golden color. Añejo– old mezcal, aged 1-3 years, it is darker, amber color. With the addition of herbs and spices to mezcal, it can change its color to green, blue and others.
Tequila drinks.
- Margarita- a famous cocktail that appeared in the 20th century in Latin America. Why it is named like that is not entirely clear, perhaps in honor of a woman with that name? Margaritas are made from tequila with the addition of lime juice, liqueur, ice and salt around the edges of the glass (or sugar if fruits and berries are added to the drink). Margarita in Mexico is available in absolutely every cafe or restaurant where alcohol is available. During the week in this country, we literally got drunk on it :) Most often they bring Margarita onrocks- With in large pieces ice in a glass (pictured on the left). I'm ordering it blended– then the ice is ground into small pieces (in the photo on the right).
- Bloody Maria- a Mexican version of Bloody Mary, but instead of vodka, tequila is added to the cocktail. The rest of the ingredients remain the same - tomato juice, lime or orange juice, spicy sauce tabasco, salt and pepper.
Mexican beer. Surprisingly, Mexico is the third largest beer producing country in the world. The most popular species here is the well-known Corona. In shops and bars we also often came across companies Superior, Carta Blanca, and others.
I advise those who like experimenting to order at least once michelada—beer cocktail (beer with lime or tomato juice, sauces and spices). Another version of Bloody Mary, but with a “filling” of beer.
- Soft drinks.
Sangrita– this drink is initially non-alcoholic; most often it is washed down with tequila. However, if you wish, you can ask for tequila to be added to it, receiving another alcoholic cocktail. Sangrita is prepared from tomato and orange juices with the addition of lime juice, chopped jalapeno or chili peppers and spices; Tabasco sauce becomes the final “cherry on the cake”. The cocktail turns out spicy and sour.
Popular hot drinks here cocoa (cacao) and hot chocolate (chocolate caliente), and not without reason - after all, as I noted above, they appeared in Mexico.
It’s not hard to guess that a country as rich in fruits and vegetables as Mexico is famous for its delicious juices. They often add spices and grains, which is also not surprising. For example, agua fresca- This interesting juice from fruits (watermelon, guava, papaya, orange, pineapple, banana or any others) with the addition of grains and seeds (chia, hibiscus), sugar and water. Very tasty, healthy, and perfectly refreshing in the heat. I leave you with a photo of a Mexican masterpiece - cactus, celery, pineapple and orange juice that I enjoyed every morning in a Cancun hotel.
In grocery stores in Mexico you will find a lot of lemonades and sodas that are unusual for our eyes. For example, the local version of Bon Aqua, with and without flavors.
Or, carbonated juices.
That's all. Have the most delicious Mexican holidays, dear readers!
