{"id":7867,"date":"2021-11-26T08:59:08","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T15:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/?p=7867"},"modified":"2023-01-23T11:16:53","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T18:16:53","slug":"curious-cacahuacintle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/curious-cacahuacintle\/","title":{"rendered":"Curious Cacahuacintle"},"content":{"rendered":"

My first encounter with Cacahuacintle<\/em> was in a plate of menudo<\/em> <\/a>during my childhood. I couldn’t stand the pieces of cows’ stomachs in the sunday morning soup, but the big plump grains of corn swimming in the red concoction were a delicacy to me.<\/p>\n

\"mexican\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Cacahuacintle<\/em>, a variety of corn indispensable to make pozole,<\/em> is used in the north of Mexico to make menudo<\/em> despite the protests from \u201cexperts\u201d from Central Mexico who claim it\u00b4s exclusive of pozole<\/em>. In my view, both uses of this curious corn are a gastronomic success and are not mutually exclusive.<\/p>\n

The Pozole Jalisciense<\/em>\u2014recipe below\u2014is the most widely known dish with cacahuacintle,<\/em> but aside from the Jalisco red version, there is the green version from the State of Guerrero, and the white version from Central Mexico\u2014recipe below. Protein wise, we can go for shrimp in Nayarit, lobster in Baja, beef in Sonora, chicken in Central Mexico, and pork almost anywhere else…<\/p>\n

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Fresh Cacahuacintle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Generally known as ma\u00edz pozolero<\/em>, it’s also consumed boiled or grilled on the cob, or enjoyed as esquites, \u00cdzquitl<\/em> in N\u00e1huatl\u2014from Icehqui<\/em> to toast on a griddle\u2014a preparation of boiled and sauteed corn that includes epazote, <\/em>chile de \u00e1rbol<\/em> and lemon juice, and it is served on a cup topped with grated cheese, mayonnaise and ground chile piqu\u00edn<\/em>. Natives of Mexico only toasted the corn on a clay griddle with epazote and chiles since fat or dairy products were not part of their diet. It seems to me like a new ingredient is being added or replaced every year, because before butter was used instead of mayonnaise and no cheese was added. I now see sour cream invading new territories in some antojitos<\/em> like sopes<\/em> and tlacoyos. <\/em>I hope it doesn’t reach corn on the cob.<\/p>\n

\"Esquites\"
Esquites<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Esquites<\/em> made from cacahuazintle<\/em> are a popular rainy afternoon treat during the corn harvest season from july to september. They are sold in street corners where elotes<\/em>\u2014corn on the cob\u2014are sold boiled or grilled, I call it \u201cthe mobile corn shop\u201d. This is the time to visit my favorite street corner vendor. While my produce supplier sells the cobs raw, I prefer to buy them cooked, take them home, degrain and saut\u00e9 them on butter and epazote with a chile de \u00e1rbol<\/em>. Once ready, I season them with only salt and chile piqu\u00edn<\/em>. By the way, I like to grind chile piqu\u00edn<\/em> myself because what they sell as ground piqu\u00edn<\/em> could be any fiery dried red chile like de \u00e1rbol<\/em> or any of the imports from India and China but not the real McCoy.<\/p>\n

Pozolli <\/em>is the word in N\u00e1huatl where pozole<\/em> comes from and it means \u201cfoamy\u201d due to the abundant foam it produces when cooking it. The natives observed this phenomenon that no other corn variety produced, this indicates its high starch content.<\/p>\n

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Precooked Cacahuacintle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Making pozole is easy. Cacahuacintle<\/em> is available precooked and clean, the rest is a simple stock of chicken, pork, fish, crustaceans or vegetables for a vegetarian version. In the U.S. it’s called hominy and can be found canned ready to use. The protein source could be pork or chicken and fancy versions run shrimp\u2014recipe below\u2014and even lobster. The vegetarian version could be made with commercial or wild mushrooms. The seasoning of the stock determines the color of the pozole: dried chiles for red; and tomatillos, pumpkin seeds and fresh herbs for the green version. The combinations are endless. And for a full pozole<\/em> experience, there is a Feria del Pozole<\/em> every year by the end of november in Morelia, Michoac\u00e1n.<\/p>\n

There are 64 varieties of corn in Mexico\u201459 indigenous\u2014a noble plant that produces a staple from sea level to close to 13,000 ft above sea level. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Mexico produces around 40,000 tons of ma\u00edz pozolero<\/em>, 70% of that is produced in the State of M\u00e9xico, neighboring Mexico City. White cacahuacintle<\/em> is the predominant color but it can be found in pink and blue hues. An interesting characteristic to note is that the leaves of this curious corn hang downwards, which allows the plant to be tolerant to hail storms. Nature sure works wonders!<\/p>\n

Growing up in a country where corn is abundant and consumed in many forms, you do not think much of it\u2014or anything else on the house menu\u2014since parents decide what is good for you.\u00a0 There are of course home cooking favorites but you don’t begin to imagine the wealth of ingredients and its multiple uses in Mexican cuisine. And if as a kid I only knew cacahuacintle<\/em> in menudo,<\/em> there was a world to discover later on, many other ways to enjoy this wonderful variety of corn.<\/p>\n

Recipes for Pozole <\/em><\/h2>\n

Pozole Blanco<\/em><\/h3>\n

White Posole<\/h4>\n

The easiest version of pozole<\/em>, it can be done in less than an hour.<\/p>\n

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Ingredients<\/h5>\n