Pulque 1890’s
La Cocina en el Bolsillo No. 2. Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, [1890s]. [TX716 .M4 C675].
Last week’s post introduced the pocket cookery series La Cocina en el Bolisillo. This week, we take a closer look at No. 2 from the 1890s edition.
On the verso of the title page, the editor mentions the success of No. 1, describes the contents of the current volume, and indicates his plans for No. 3:
Animados por el buen éxito obtenido en la publicacion del primer cuaderno de los que deben formar esta útil coleccion, damos hoy publicidad al Segundo cuaderno, en el que los gastrónomos hallarán exquisitos y nutritivos platillos; agregando varias recetas de pulques curados de mejores que se conocen.
El próximo cuaderno llevará una escojida coleccion de recetas de repostería.
Si logramos complacer á nuestros favorecedores, quedarán cumplidos los deseos de
El Editor.
Encouraged by the great success of the publication of the first book of this useful collection, today we advertise the second book, in which gourmet readers will find delicious and nourishing dishes, including several recipes for the best-known healing pulques.
The next volume will include a collection of dessert recipes.
If we gratify our fetching readers, it will fulfill the wishes of…
The Editor.
![Agave Americana. By Alberto Salguero (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.](https://lacocina.utsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/agave_americana.jpg)
Pulque is a mildly alcoholic drink made from fermented agave juice, with roots reaching back to the Aztec era and before. [1] True to the editor’s word, the current volume includes seven different pulque recipes, although the text does not expand on their supposedly curative powers.
- Pulque Colorado / Red Pulque
- Pulque de Fresa / Strawberry Pulque
- Pulque de Zarzamora / Blackberry Pulque
- Pulque de Piña y Requezon / Pineapple and Cottage Cheese Pulque
- Pulque de Membrillo / Quince Pulque
- Pulque de Almendra / Almond Pulque
- Pulque de Café con Leche / Coffee and Milk Pulque
All of these recipes assume the reader knows how to produce plain pulque and no base recipe for fermenting agave is provided. Instead, each recipe suggests flavor-enhancing additions. The recipes for Pulque de Zarzamore and Pulque de Almendra follow below.
Pulque de Zarzamora / Blackberry Pulque
Este pulque necesita más requisitos, pues se pone el almíbar á la lumbre hasta que tome punto, ya que está en este estado se le echa la zarzamora molida y colada, y se deja en la lumber hasta que tome punto alto. Ya que está así, se aparta y luego que se enfria, se une con el pulque.
This pulque has more special requirements because the syrup must be heated until it comes to the correct state. At this point, add the ground blackberries and again heat the syrup. When it is read, allow it to cool and add it to the pulque.
Pulque de Almendra / Almond Pulque
Se muelen dos ó tres libras de almendras <<esperanza>> que esté muy hecha masa; se pasa con mucho cuidado por dos ayates dobles, seis libras de azúcar, una poca de agua de azahar, y cuando ya esté pasado se le hecha una poca de canela molida, reposa y se sirve.
Grind two or three pounds of almonds, hopefully enough to produce a well-cooked dough. Grind the resulting dough and carefully press it through sieves of cloth. Combine with six pounds of sugar, a little orange flower water, and a little cinnamon. Allow to rest and then serve.
Works Cited
[1] “Pulque.” An A-Z of Food and Drink. Ed. John Ayto. Online Encyclopedia. Oxford University Press, 2004.
[2] Salguero, Alberto. Agave Americano. Photograph [GFDL (https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons. Accessed June 16, 2014.
