Chocolate - All About Chocolate

Cooking with Chocolate

Hot Chocolate Mexican Style
In Mexico, the traditional way of preparing hot chocolate is to grind cacao seeds by hand using a mano (MAH noh) and metate (meh TAH tay), which are a bit like a mortar and pestle. Once heated and mixed with water, and sugar, and cinnamon, the hot chocolate is then whipped into a foamy cap.

Typically, most cooks will use a molinillo (similar to a large swizzle stick) to froth up the chocolate. But if that doesn’t whip up enough foam, sometimes the chocolate maker will hold the pot high overhead and pour the mixture back and forth between cup and pot until the froth is satisfyingly thick.

Ingredients:

	1/2 cup water
	3 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
	2 cups milk
	1 teaspoon cinnamon
	1/8 teaspoon almond extract (scant)

Instructions:

1)	Bring the water to boil in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Then remove it from the heat and add the chocolate. After one minute, begin whisking the chocolate until it has completely melted.
2)	Place the saucepan over medium high heat and gradually whisk in the milk, cinnamon, and almond flavoring. Cook the mixture until it comes to a full boil, whisking frequently. Lift the pan off the burner until the bubbling subsides. Then replace the pan and bring it back to a boil again, repeating this process three times in total.
3)	Lower the heat and let it simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring constantly. The chocolate should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn off the heat.
4)	Using an electric mixer, a blender, a whisk, an eggbeater, or even a molinillo, beat the chocolate until the surface is covered with a thick cap of foam. Pour and serve in cups immediately.

Reprinted with permission from Elaine González

Continue to Mole Poblano de Pollo (Chicken Mole)

In Mexico, the caliber of the cook is often judged by the volume of their chocolate foam. Some say that the foam represents the energy of the person who makes the drink.

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