What is Mexican chocolate?
It is the type of dark chocolate, which is prepared with an assortment of spices to make a very rich flavor.
History of the Mexican chocolate
In Mexico and Central America chocolate has a very long history. The Theobroma cacao plant, which produces the cacao beans is native to South America, and it is believed that Mesoamericans made dishes with chocolate centuries before the Europeans have arrived. Talking about Mexican chocolate, important to mention that the original chocolate was sweet as we are used to, but actually rather sour and intense. The Spaniards brought chocolate back to Europe, popularizing it among the upper classes and for quite a long time hot chocolate drink was very trendy.
How to make Mexican chocolate?
Mexican chocolate is available in many markets and it can be found in the form of bars and discs of solid chocolate, along with powders and syrups. Mexican chocolate can also be used in traditional Mexican dishes and it can be used in baking for an unusual flavor. Typical Mexican chocolate is made with roasted and ground cacao nibs, sugar, cinnamon and other spices such as nutmeg allspice, nuts and chilies. Some people have their own techniques for preparing their own Mexican chocolate – including special ingredients. Addition of extra sweetener is unnecessary because of the natural sweetness from the sugar. Mexican chocolate has granular texture, with a creamy finish from the cocoa butter. It is often used to make a hot beverage. Traditional Mexican hot chocolate is foamy, made by pouring the drink back and forth between vessels, but today it is foamed with a specially designed whisk – molinillo.