Mole is a dish, it is an enigma and the banner of a country. It is a master class in gastronomy. The cuisine of the Aztec country is a summit recognized even as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
There is currently a global conversation about it. Cooks occupy a place in the world. Our gastronomy is up to date, but we have done it through tradition. Mole is the most iconic creation of Mexican gastronomy. Its origin comes through the ages, although we do not consider it part of haute cuisine, until two decades ago. The mass that we know today is the breakwater of the cupboard of several continents. According to José Iturriaga, a doctor in History and an expert in anthropology, he says that in mole there are indigenous products such as chili peppers, tomatoes, cocoa or corn, but also others that came with the Spaniards such as onion, garlic or wheat.
The states of Puebla and Oaxaca are the mothers of mole, but they are also in places like Veracruz, Hidalgo, Guerrero, Chiapas, Tamaulipas, Jalisco, etc. There are many types of mole such as the pipiano, prieto, red, green, Michoacan, the wedding mole, the Tamaulipeco, the pot, the chichilo, the manchamanteles, the hip. The list is as long as in all of Mexico.
What is very interesting is the way it is made, since according to what they say, the more ingredients added, the better its flavor. An important factor to consider is that to be considered mole, the dish must contain at least 51% dry chili. Lalo Plascensia Mexican chef, researcher and founder of the Gastronomic Research Center of Mexico mentions that "The mole is a great and complex Mexican standard."
It is important to note that mole is also the son of the arrival of the Spanish loaded with unknown spices. But at the same time it is an immersion in wisdom and popular cuisine. The mole gives us identity, so it would be very sad to reduce it to a single way of preparing. This is a dish that is served when there is an event to celebrate, either at home or on the sidewalks.
References:
Hernandez, A. (2021). An enigma called mole. April 12,2021, from El País. Recovered from https://elpais.com/eps/2021-04-02/un-enigma-llamado-mole.html
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