The molinillo gets lathered

His history

Cocoa has always held an important place in Mexican culture. It was the Mesoamerican peoples – Olmecs, Mayas and Aztecs – who first domesticated and cultivated the cocoa tree. In the era of pre-Columbian civilizations, the cocoa bean was used as currency. At the same time, cocoa powder, diluted in water and mixed with chilli and annatto, the fruit of an endemic shrub, gave rise to a drink of growing popularity, chocolate.

” In the Florentine Codex, a 16th century manuscript^e century, explains Carlos Moreno, chef from the state of Tabasco, expatriate in France, there are representations of Aztec priests drinking cocoa in a jicara, this small wooden vase handcrafted from the bark of the calabash tree fruit. On the surface of the beverage formed an aerial foam, thechocolate foam, which symbolized power and fertility. » Today, to create this thick layer of foam, we use the molinillo, a wooden utensil adorned with rings used as a whip.

Its use

On the pink tiled counter of the kitchen of the Comer, which he is about to inaugurate rue d’Hauteville (Paris 10^e), Carlos Moreno is working on the preparation of a Mexican hot chocolate according to the traditional method. In an earthenware bowl, he pours a homemade infusion made up of water, cocoa powder and melted dark chocolate, which he has previously embellished with vanilla, allspice and cinnamon.

Then he holds the handle of the molinillo vertically between his palms while the head of the ridged wooden tool is held on the surface of the liquid, half submerged. As if trying to light a fire by friction, Carlos Moreno twirls the utensil. The first bubbles form on contact with the air. After five minutes, the foam protrudes from the bowl in the form of a cumulonimbus cloud. In the mouth, the chocolate bubbles burst on the tip of the tongue carrying with them the woody notes of a delicious perfume with a persistent and authentic taste.