[Sca-cooks] Tequilla and Sangria - period?

[johnna holloway]

One might check out Sophie Coe's book on the cuisines
of the Americas (Maya, Aztec and Inca) for the early stuff.
Pamela Vandyke in her Penguin Book of Spirits and Liqueurs
places tequila along with pulque and mezcal, although she notes
that they are of three different types.
Pulque which is a fermented drink made from the sap of the agave plant
was apparently the one drink that the Spanish had to deal with
extensively in 16th and 17th century Mexico and they tried to regulate
it from early on. John Super's book Food, Conquest and Colonization
in 16th Century Spanish America notes that there were 1600 taverns
by the end of the Colonial period in Mexico City. The Spanish apparently
were not fond of pulque to start with anyway and wanted wine.

There should be a variety of things available on that
aspect. You might try researching all three and see what you find.
I am planning to do some work with foods in Mexico later on this year
and I will keep an eye out for any references.

Johnnae llyn Lewis  Johnna Holloway

Terry Decker wrote:>
> Interesting question.  Tequila is distilled pulque, IIRC.  That means a
> meeting of distillation and fermented agave cactus.  I'd place this as a low
> order probability in Europe prior to 1600.>
> Sangria is another question.  It is a wine punch and the name is of Spanish
> derivation.  I don't have any dates, but it may be based on an earlier
> drink, sangaree or sangri, made from Maderia and grated nutmeg.  I suspect
> sangria, as we know it is no earlier than the 19th Century, as I can't
> recall seeing a recipe in any of my earlier cookbooks.
> > Bear
>
> There's a bit of a question on the Outlands list about tequilla and sangria.
> Any info on when and where they might have been first consumed in Europe? I
> checked the Flora-thingy, but could find only Stefan's reference to
> commercial production of tequilla being 1785.
> > Eirene