Not sure how, but originally read the thread title as… wait for it…
“Wow, homemade mold is the food of the gods.”
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
That is all.
I had tried molé a few times over the years, but my reaction always ranged from “blecch” to “not terribly impressed”. Then, about five years ago, my aunt passed away and one of her friends brought a large pot of homemade molé to the reception following the funeral service. It was incredible. I felt like I had been cheated all of the previous instances. There was a hint of cocoa, but it was not obtrusive, a complex flavour of chile and cumin and several other layers I can’t identify. The chicken, which had been slow cooked, was deliciously tender, sliding off the bone. Unfortunately, with everything else going on, I was not able to find out who that was or get a recipe. Maybe I’ll try the one above for grins.
Holy Molé!
I assure you that the presence of unsweetened chocolate in a mole does not result in a “Hershey’s syrup”-like concoction. Rather, it brings a spicy, bitter, hard-to-describe dimension to the flavor party. And the taste combination of chile and chocolate is an ancient and delectable one in Mexico and central America.
Has anyone had a truffle made of chocolate and cayenne chile? Good Lord, that’s good stuff. The combination of the chocolate high and the capsaicin endorphin rush is such that it’s hard to believe it’s legal.
Dagoba’s Xocolatl bar:
Keep telling yourself that Dagoba is into sustainable, organic, ecologically correct agriculture that’s good for the communities involved. Therefore, there’s a good excuse for devouring their excellent products.
There are many different molés–often without chocolate. And they can be quite excellent. (Or not so great.)
On the other hand mole might be a rather gamey meat.
Stop it! No accent in mole!
To clarify even more, there are seven traditional Oaxacan moles: mole negro, mole colorado, mole coloradito, chíchilo negro, mole amarillo, mole verde, mancha manteles. There are also other moles like mole de amaranto, mole poblano, mole de castillo, and some other ones that escape me at the moment, but the seven moles of Oaxaca are the famous ones.
Off-hand I know the mole amarillo (recipe in my previous post) and mole amarillo never contain chocolate, and I’m fairly certain a number of the others don’t either, but I don’t know for sure.
Darn it–I should add that while the seve moles of Oaxaca are the most famous in the foodie world, most people are probably most familiar with the Pueblan take on the mole, the mole poblano.
Yeah, I always connected mole with mole poblano, which I believe usually contains chocolate. As Teela says, the chocolate is subtle and just adds a delicious complexity to the dish. The mole verde at the local taco stand is fantastic, I couldn’t tell if it had chocolate or not.
Bridget, I already tried to make that joke with the cuy (guinea pig) reference. Pretty unsuccessfully, though.
The Wikipedia article also mentions that the term guacamole is derived from mole.
The second “mole amarillo” should have been “mole verde.”
Hm, that’s interesting, Darryl Lict. I always assumed that “mole” was derived from “molino”, which means “mill” in Spanish. I know I’ve seen a show in which Mexican housewives take all their carefully prepared and toasted ingredients down to the local molino to have them all ground into a paste. I should have remembered that mole has been in Mexico way, way longer than the Spanish language. Ignorance fought.