After the “Iron Curtain” was removed, the inhabitants of the former USSR actively and with pleasure got acquainted with new dishes and drinks, which were previously known only from books and rare “bourgeois” films. The list of pleasant "strong" discoveries included tequila; but few know that her indispensable companion should be sangrita.
What is unique about tequila
We'll figure it out first with a new acquaintance. Either because of ignorance, or according to old memory, many consider it cactus moonshine. However, the initial plant from which this drink is made - blue agave is a relative of lilies, and looks more likely to be similar to the well-known indoor aloe. When cultivating this plant, its shoots are regularly cut off; all unclaimed juices accumulate in a thickening that looks like pineapple. Such agave has been growing for 12 years, during which time the “pineapple” grows in weight almost a centner. At the age of 12 years, the plant is cut off, the juice is squeezed and goes to make tequila.
The drink can be made in different strengths - from 35 degrees to 55. The most popular varieties of tequila are familiar degrees (38-40). Fans of this drink claim that a hangover after it does not threaten, if not mixed with anything.
The good news can be considered the lack of low-grade tequila (if it is, of course, real, Mexican). In her homeland, the quality of the drink is strictly monitored - this is the pride of Mexico, and an important part of state revenue.
What is sangrita
But this drink is unfamiliar even to many lovers and connoisseurs of tequila. First of all, it is non-alcoholic, which made it, oddly enough, popular in youth clubs, where you can not find tequila. Although in Mexico, sangrit was invented specifically for drinking national alcohol.
There are a great many options for sangrita. The only thing that unites them is that any sangrita whose recipe you have chosen necessarily contains orange and tomato juice.
The easiest way
Do you need sangrita? The recipe at home is easy to reproduce. Do not want to squeeze juices - you can use ready-made ones. For 1/3 liter of orange juice, 2/3 of tomato juice is taken. Still need lime - 8 pieces, if it is large, and pieces 10-11, if small. The only thing you have to work up with is to find Tabasco, this is such a Mexican sauce. However, today it is no longer in short supply. Sangrit also includes salt. It is better to take marine food - the taste will be much brighter.
What is good about sangrita - the recipe allows you to adjust the final result in accordance with your own preferences. When mixing juices, some part is better left in reserve: it seems a little orange or tomatoes - you can add. Still, the taste of tomatoes should prevail. Limes are squeezed into the mixture, a little Tabasco is added (it should be felt in the drink, but not suppress). A drink is salted like a soup - sangrita, the recipe of which we are studying, should be brackish, but not salted. So, adding a little bit of those or other ingredients, they achieve the taste that the consumer of the drink likes.
Proper cooking
If you like real sangrita, the recipe will be more complicated. No juice bought! A kilogram of tomatoes, three oranges, all the same limes. Tomatoes are scalded, peeled and brought to a mushy state in a blender. From oranges and limes (in this recipe there are only two), juice is squeezed.
But then a new one begins. An ordinary onion is either finely chopped, or (better) passed through a blender. Half a teaspoon of sugar is added to the semi-finished product, one is salt (as in the previous case, it is worth giving preference to sea), and two are ground chili. After mixing all the components, the resulting cocktail should cool - and will be ready to drink.
If you know how to cook sangrita in a "natural" way, its taste nuances can also be regulated - make it a little more acidic or a little sharper, add some more spices. In a word, the scope for imagination is wide.
How and what to use
Of course, the cocktail is delicious in and of itself. However, let's not forget that he was invented by the Mexicans precisely in pair with tequila. Only with it is the taste and aromatic bouquet of both drinks revealed.
Keep in mind that there are also rules for using the tequila-sangrita tandem. The recipe for cooking and the method of use are simple, but all the subtleties must be observed in order to feel all the richness of this combination. First of all, a strong drink is poured into very small glasses (one might say, thimbles). Glass mugs like beer mugs, only of a much smaller size — milliliters by 250-300 are assigned to sangrit. Moreover, before pouring the cocktail, a pair of ice cubes is placed in the container, even if it is well chilled.
According to the rules, a small sip of sangrita is drunk first. After it, an acute-sour feeling remains in the mouth, preparing the body for the adoption of a strong component of the “union”. With the appearance of the desired taste, a similar small sip of tequila is made. These slurries alternate with each other.
Other connoisseurs of the “tequila-sangrita” combination believe that tequila is first drunk, but not swallowed right away, but skates on the tongue (like good cognac) or just keeps in your mouth. Having tasted the taste of this drink, drink sangrita, and its volume should be twice as large as tequila.
Some connoisseurs advise after three or five alternations to have a bite of lime - they say, this gives the process additional piquancy. This is to your taste.
The option to mix both drinks in one glass is not welcomed by tequila lovers. They believe that this is a profanation of the process and vulgarization of the noble taste of agave vodka.
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