[cincopa AgFA6I7w_jXD]Tita was literally “like water for chocolate”- she was on the verge of boiling over. How irritable she was! – Esquivel, Laura, Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies
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Just to put it in context, I want to talk about the importance of bread and hot chocolate, pronounced choco-latte, in Mexican meals by discussing the meals first. Meals are divided into desayuno or breakfast, comida or a large mid-afternoon supper at around 2 or 3:00, and cena, a night snack or small dinner at around 8:00.
The day can be bookended by the eating of bread with the drinking of chocolate for both the first meal and the last. With both desayuno and cena, hot chocolate or chocolate can be sipped while nibbling on a choice of sweet bread called pan or pan dulce. Traditionally, hot chocolate is much more popular than coffee, (or instant coffee as is often the case when coffee is served).
Vendors sell handmade blocks at the market in most towns. In Puebla, it’s sometimes sold in the same stalls where handmade mole poblano mixes can be found. The chocolate usually comes in small, solid rounds and often has cinnamon in it. There are a couple of commercial brands used, and they can usually be found throughout Mexico as well as in the U.S. at any grocer that carries Mexican items. Those two brands are Ibarra Chocolate and Abuelita (meaning little Grandma) Chocolate.
The chocolate is mixed in a pot with a utensil called a molinillo, placed between both palms and stirred in a back and forth motion, very rapidly (as pictured).
It melts in water that is hotter than simmering, almost boiling over water. The novel “Like Water for Chocolate” takes its name from the process.
The sweet breads can be purchased all over. Merchants sell it on the street (as pictured), and some vendors even drive around in a motorcycle or car with a loudspeaker peddling the bread. They can be waved down to stop at one’s door front. And, of course there are actual bread stores called Panaderias. Typically, most of the time Mexicans don’t bake in the home oven, but use the stovetop for sautéing, stewing, and frying, so it’s just customary to purchase bread, muffins, and donuts from the bread store or even cakes from the cake store, called Pastelerias.
If you want to make the chocolate (choco-latte) at home don’t worry if you don’t have a molinillo, a whisk can be used or a hand blender to make sure that all of the chocolate melts into the water for chocolate. If you prefer milk, you can use that instead of water.