[Aztlan] Pozol(e) & tejate

[Sharon Peters]

 Finally!  Food!

Yes, pozol(e) is made from nixtamalized dried field corn.  And, yes, you can
make it from Maseca .... check your locale for a Mexican neighborhood and a
tortilleria .... you should be able to buy freshly made masa from corn
nixtamalized on the premises, if not grab a bag of Maseca.  Be aware,
however, that some markets will premix Maseca, dump it into plastic bags,
and call it 'fresh.'  It is not bad, but it is not the same thing as fresh.


What you describe is, in my experience, usually called/spelled pozol -
whether to distinguish it from the central mexican pozole (which more likely
took its name from the drink), or not.  It is part of a class of ancient
beverages - tejate being another, which sometimes are ceremonial, and which
have the reputation of being greatly nourishing to the body and the soul.
Tejate, a more elaborated bev than you describe, is more associated with
Oaxaca - it is made from toasted, ground cacao, rosa de cacao flowers (not
in the rose family, Quararibea funeris), and toasted hueso de mamey - or
mamey seed.  Post-Conquest came the addition of cinnamon and, sometimes,
almonds.  The resulting paste is mixed with freshly made masa (nixtamal),
and diluted into a gruel with cold water.  More cold water is poured from
the height of a raised arm, while the other hand busily beats/whips the
bejesus out of the mix until a soap-scummy foam rises on it.  I know that
sounds gross, but the foam raised is rich in cocoa butter.  It is then
dispensed into jicaras - gourd bowls, with a handful of the sacred foam -
the soul of the cacao - plopped on top - Starbucks did not invent the fluffy
snowcap for its drinks! - and down the hatch.  You will see ladies standing
in front of bathe-the baby sized cazuelas of the stuff in the Central de
Abastos in Oaxaca.  I have seen it in Cholula, and in small weekly tianguis
throughout that region, - Puebla, Tlaxcala, Oaxaca, and Veracruz.  Although
some drink it sweetened - which would have been possible even way back when
- it is really rather good and it is refreshing in its unsweetened state.  I
observed it being made in a daub & wattle, palm thatched roofed three-sided
kitchen outside Oaxaca City.  The open side of the kitchen looked out over
the Valley of Oaxaca.  It was, frankly, a magical experience.

I realize that I have described something that is not, strictly speaking,
from the Maya lands ... but that is both the blessing and the curse of
scholarship and study in the field of ethnogastronomy.  Your pozol(e) would
be daily, as opposed to "Sunday", wear ... so to speak.  And there are
localized versions of this all over Southern & Southeastern Mexico.  It is
always made and consumed cold - well, cool.  And it is not simply the cool
cousin of atole.  I have a video of the tejate being made ... but I need to
edit it.

Regards,

Sharon Peters
Sín Fronteras

Aquí estoy yo .... pero ya anda por México mi corazón


-- 
Sín Fronteras

Aquí estoy yo .... pero ya anda por México mi corazón