Pretty sure we can get that stuff off Amazon or World Foods. I'll do the research tomorrow.
We'll need it for the coming winter.
Mexican immigrants are settled throughout much of the US now and have brought their demand for traditional food products with them. So these should not be too hard to find in the US.
Cinnamon and star anise shouldn't be a problem in most places. Mexican sugar (piloncillo) can be substituted by brown or "raw" sugar. Mexican chocolate is a special chocolate seasoned with cinnamon and cloves; standard brands (Abuelita, Ibarra) are cheaply made, but the good stuff (Ibarra Premium or better) is worth seeking out. Use dark chocolate if you cannot find the real thing.
What there isn't a really good substitute for is masa harina. It's responsible for the texture and the nutritional quality (masa harina is flour from nixtamalized maize; it provides high-quality protein, and there is nothing else quite like it).
Using the traditional molinillo (a Colonial invention) to mix it is great fun.
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In America, the definition of candy is anything that is a sweet food made with sugar or syrup combined with fruit, chocolate, or nuts. All chocolate that I know of has some sort of added sugar or syrup. If that's what you mean by bad chocolate, then there you go. To me, I don't have time to mess around with technicalities. Candy is candy, chocolate is chocolate, and chocolate to me is candy. So bad chocolate or good, doesn't much matter to me.
Anyway, I'm not big on sweets in general. Candy or no.
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As you well said, "sweet food made with sugar or syrup combined with fruit, chocolate, nuts...". Chocolate isn't sweet by definition. Sure, many types of milk chocolate are very sweet, but that's preparation. Some people add sugar to tea or coffee and that doesn't make it candy (even if it tastes like it...). Chocolate-based products like Hershey's kisses are so sweet and have such little chocolate that yes, they are essentially candy. A good bar of solid dark chocolate, with or without added fruit or nuts, doesn't exactly match my definition of candy.
In any case these are technicalities as you well say. But then why bring this up at all? It'd be like me stopping by a thread titled "Favorite TW2 character" only to say "I don't like TW2. Bye".
Maybe we should start a meat thread. I like that as well
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Because the point was to see what the kind of chocolate you'd be says about who you are. For those that think there's something to be said about the chocolate you pick, I think saying you wouldn't be chocolate period says... something. I guess, lol. The thread's not really meant to be taken all that seriously, just a conversation starter. So why not say it?As you well said, "sweet food made with sugar or syrup combined with fruit, chocolate, nuts...". Chocolate isn't sweet by definition. Sure, many types of milk chocolate are very sweet, but that's preparation. Some people add sugar to tea or coffee and that doesn't make it candy (even if it tastes like it...). Chocolate-based products like Hershey's kisses are so sweet and have such little chocolate that yes, they are essentially candy. A good bar of solid dark chocolate, with or without added fruit or nuts, doesn't exactly match my definition of candy.
In any case these are technicalities as you well say. But then why bring this up at all? It'd be like me stopping by a thread titled "Favorite TW2 character" only to say "I don't like TW2. Bye".
Maybe we should start a meat thread. I like that as well
And anyway, sweet isn't complicated. I know some chocolates taste somewhat bitter, or very bitter, but there's always a sweetness to it from what I've had. The definition says some food that is sweet, when added with sugar or syrup. Including chocolate. Just because there's chocolate prepared without these things doesn't mean it has to be excluded from the candy category. I'm gonna consider pizza to generally be a junk food, despite the fact that in Carrabba's, they sell Pizza without sauce and with twigs and leaves, or however italians make their pizza, lol.
And anyway, my original statement was that I wasn't big on candy in reference to chocolate. Do you really think I'll start liking chocolate more because to others it isn't considered candy because of the difference in preparation and taste? I've had "real" and american chocolate both. And at the very least, it's more of a dessert category food, which again I'm not big on generally.
If you don't like chocolate in sweet things, maybe it will do for you in savory dishes.
Mole is a whole tribe of ridiculously rich, pungent sauces made from as many as 30 ingredients: chiles, spices, nuts, dried fruit, and sometimes chocolate. You can buy it as mixes (as pictured), but be careful in transporting it: the real thing is so aromatic it's been known to set off airport explosives detectors.
Mole is a whole tribe of ridiculously rich, pungent sauces made from as many as 30 ingredients: chiles, spices, nuts, dried fruit, and sometimes chocolate. You can buy it as mixes (as pictured), but be careful in transporting it: the real thing is so aromatic it's been known to set off airport explosives detectors.
For those who might actually try this out, what this vid doesn't say is that it takes some 5 or 10 minutes worth of constant stirring to make it thicken. Should that go without saying? I dunno, but it took a failed first batch and additional research for me to figure it out =p . Once I did, though, it was as delicious as I thought it'd be :yes:!
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