Imagine large basins filled with frothy, lumpy liquid, think cottage cheese or maybe plaster. You see this stuff in markets everywhere in Oaxaca and for many years I stopped to stare but had no desire to taste the mixture. Too unappetizing to my Canadian eyes. Too strange.
It's a bit of a performance to see it being made. A woman plunges both hands into the large container to slowly and carefully swirl the liquid around. A rich foam rises to the surface as more water is gently added. A certain level of skill is required and just the right touch, always by women it seems, to make this unusual beverage. Oaxacans have been drinking it for centuries and it's still popular especially in rural areas.
The drink is called tejate (tay-ha-tay) and I'm actually starting to develope a taste for it. There's a delicate pleasant flavour, like floral chocolate milk, and the curds are light and airy.
It's normally served in natural gourds, and here in a tourist area there are pretty painted ones on offer. Dave's going for the discount version in a plastic glass. We already have a few jícaras (that's he-car-as), as the gourds are called, no need for a full set.
There are only four ingredients in this ancient drink but they are very specific: toasted corn flour, cacao beans, ground-up pit of a mamey fruit, and a small white flower known as flor de cacao, an obscure spice not even related to cacao. It's this little flower that gives the perfumed flavour and makes the froth.
These four ingredients are ground together to make a dough which is kneaded and then swirled in water and voilà! you have a magical nutrition-rich tejate that many people think is totally delicious.
A flight to Oaxaca would be the easiest way to experience the real thing. It's another reason to make your way to this city famous for it's fascinating gastronomy and its most famous drink, mezcal. Every year more and more visitors from around the world have been discovering this place that is no longer "off the beaten path".
