On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1447

resemblesacactus.Tequilaismademainlyby
large distilleries around the northerly city of
Jaliscofromtheblueagave,Agave tequilana,
whilethemorerusticmezcalismadebysmall
producers around central Oaxaca from the
maguey,Agaveangustifolia.
Theagavestoresitsenergyinthesugar
fructoseandthelongfructosechainscalled
inulin(p.805).Becausehumanslackan
enzymefordigestinginulin,peoplehave
learnedtocookinulin-richfoodsforalong
timeatalowtemperature,atreatmentthat
breaksthechainsintotheircomponentsugars,
andalsodevelopsanintenseand
characteristicbrownedflavor.Tequilamakers
steamtheinulin-richagavehearts,whichmay
weight20–100lb/9–45kg,whilemezcal
producersroasttheminlargecharcoalfiredpit
ovensandgeneratesmokyaromasthatcarry
overintothespirits.Thecooked,sweethearts
arethenmashedwithwaterandfermented,
andtheresultingalcoholicliquiddistilled.


Tequiladistillationisindustrial;mezcalis
double-distilled,firstinsmallclaypots,then
inalargermetalpotstill.Mosttequilaand
mezcalisbottledwithoutaging.
Tequilaandmezcalhavedistinctive
flavorsthatincluderoastyaromas,butalso
floweryones(linalool,damascenone,

phenylethylalcohol),andvanilla(vanillin).
Flavored Alcohols: Bitters and Liqueurs
Alcohol’s split chemical personality, its
resemblancetofatsaswellaswater,makesit
an excellent solvent for other volatile,
aromatic molecules. It does a good job of
extracting and holding flavors from solid
ingredients. Herbs, spices, nuts, flowers,
fruits: all these and more are soaked in
alcohol, or distilled along with alcohol, to
make a host of flavored liquids. Gin is the
best known of these. Most of the others fall
intotwofamilies:bitters,whicharejustthat,
and liqueurs, which are sweetened to varying