Re: [CH] Chile Themed Restaraunts? V8 #451
Cameron Begg (begg.4@osu.edu)
Wed, 31 Oct 2001 08:02:06 -0500
Hi C-H's,
Brent T. wrote:
>Nearly every Mexican restaurant I've seen in California has "mole" on the
>menu. Unfortunately, I have no idea what "TRUE mole" is or how it might
>differ from what is available in our restaurants. Can any distinguishing
>characteristics be described in words?
I have only made mole from scratch once. It had an impressive list of
ingredients and at the end of the day, did not strike me as
significantly better than the stuff sold in jars. Perhaps I should
have been more adventurous in my interpretation? Anyway, my guess is
that there is no "true" mole. I would bet that it varies from place
to place depending upon what ingredients are readily available. The
interesting thing about eating it (for me) is that I know I have a
mouthful of different flavors but it is very difficult to
differentiate one from another. I much prefer the rojo to the verde;
the latter reminding me of the smell of fresh hemp. A bit
overpowering.
Mole descriptions often come with an (apocryphal [pun intended]) tale
about how a group of nuns putting together a turkey feast for a
visiting church dignitary, used everything they could get their hands
on in the kitchen, and ended up inventing mole. Further weight to my
hypothesis above!
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Regards, Cameron.