Pulque

Pulque is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous liquid that produces a light foam. It is made by fermenting the sap of certain types of maguey (agave) plants. In contrast, mezcal is made from the cooked heart of certain agave plants, and tequila is made all or mostly from the blue agave. About six varieties of maguey are best used for the production of pulque. It is one of two types of fermented agave drink known from Mexico at the time of European contact: pulque is made with sap taken from the stem, while the other was made with pit roasted stems and leaf bases. ==Maguey==

The maguey plant, also called a "century plant" in English, is native to Mexico. It grows best in the cold, dry climates of the rocky central highlands to the north and east of Mexico City, especially in the states of Hidalgo and Tlaxcala. Maguey has been cultivated at least since 200 CE in Tula, Tulancingo and Teotihuacan, and wild plants have been used for far longer. The plant historically has had a number of uses. Fibers can be extracted from the thick leaves to make rope or fabric, its thorns can be used as needles or punches and the membrane covering the leaves can be used as paper or for cooking. The name maguey was given by the Spanish, who picked it up from the Taíno. This is still its common name in Spanish, with Agave being its scientific generic or technical name. The Nahuatl name of the plant is metl. The manufacturing process of pulque is complex and requires the death of the maguey plant. As the plant nears maturity, the center begins to swell and elongate as the plant gathers stored sugar to send up a single flower stalk, which may reach up to 20 feet in height. However, plants destined for pulque production have this flower stalk cut off, leaving a depressed surface 12-18 inches in diameter. In this center, the maguey sap, known as aguamiel (honeywater), collects. It takes a maguey plant 12 years to mature enough to produce the sap for pulque. ==History==

Mythological origins Pulque has been drunk for at least 2000 years, and its origins are the subject of various stories and myths. Most involve Mayahuel, the goddess of the maguey. It was thought that the aguamiel collecting in the center of the plant was her blood. Other deities, such as the Centzon Totochtin (400 rabbits) are associated with it, by representing the drink's effects, and are the children of Mayahuel. In other versions of the story, Xochitl is credited with discovering pulque. For the indigenous peoples of the central highlands of Mexico, the imbibing of pulque was done only by certain people, under certain conditions. It was a ritual drink, consumed during certain festivals, such as that of the goddess Mayahuel, and the god Mixcoatl. It was drunk by priests and sacrificial victims, to increase the priests' enthusiasm and to ease the suffering of the victim. Production of pulque was ritualized and the brewers were superstitious. They would abstain from sex during the fermentation period because they believed that sexual intercourse would sour the process. At the end of the 17th century, the Jesuits began large-scale production of the drink to finance their educational institutions. In this way, the making of pulque passed from being a home brew to one commercially produced. In some casta paintings, pulque consumption was depicted. Some casta painters depicted different castas safely consuming and selling pulque. Other casta painters depicted Indigenous Americans intoxicated in the streets and incapacitated, which as a result required their families to escort them home. In one of his 1828 depictions, Italian lithographer Claudio Linati showed two Indigenous women engaged in a dispute outside of a pulquería. Post-colonial period in Tacubaya in the 1880s photographer. Production of pulque exploded after Independence, when the regulation of pulque producers ended, and Mexican nationalism increased. As late as 1953, Hidalgo and Tlaxcala still obtained 30 and 50% respectively of their total revenues from pulque. This has diminished since then since irrigation, roads and other infrastructure has made possible other, more lucrative enterprises. Decline In spite of its former popularity, pulque represents only 10% of the alcoholic beverages consumed in Mexico today. The complex and delicate fermentation process of pulque had always limited the product's distribution, as it does not keep long and agitation during transport speeds degradation. Since pre-Hispanic times, its consumption has mostly been limited to the central highlands of Mexico. Beer producers promoted the idea that pulque was generally made this way, generally by word of mouth and insinuation. This was done to inhibit pulque sales and to promote the consumption of beer, which they claimed was "rigorously hygienic and modern". In part because of this strategy, pulque is now generally looked down upon, and imbibed by relatively few people, with Mexican-brewed beer ubiquitous and extremely popular. Pulque's popularity is low and continues to fall. Before 1992 about 20 trucks would come every three days to Xochimilco (in southern Mexico City) to deliver pulque, but by 2007 it was down to one or two. Only five pulquerias remained in this district, where there used to be 18. The situation is similar in most other parts of Mexico. The remaining pulquerias are very small establishments, selling a product made by small producers. In the state of Hidalgo, in which most maguey is grown, fields of this plant are disappearing, with barley taking its place. Most maguey plants here serve as boundary markers between properties. Many of these plants do not survive long, as they are often vandalized. An estimated 10,000 plants are mutilated each week by cutting off the lower leaves for barbacoa or destroying them completely to look for the edible white grubs or ant eggs that can inhabit them. A recent series of PBS travel shows feature pulque and say that it is once again a very popular drink and that there is a retro movement leading younger people seeking to establish their Mexican heritage to drink this beverage in large quantities. It has become a trendy drink among youth and back-to-your-roots types. The prohibition on female drinkers has also been lifted and co-ed pulquerias are now the norm. Also flavored syrups, seasonings and so on are now common with one pulqueria featured in the special offering 48 separate flavors. ==Production==

The production process is long and delicate. The collected juice is placed into 50-liter barrels and carried from the field to the fermentation vats. These vats, called tinas, are located in a special building called a tinacal. This word derives from Spanish tina and Nahuatl calli that means house of vats. When pulque haciendas reached their peak in the late 19th century, hacienda life revolved around these tinacals. It typically was a rectangular shed of stone with a wooden roof. The upper parts of the walls opened for air circulation and the façades were sometimes decorated with indigenous designs or other images associated with the making of pulque. One popular motif was the discovery of pulque by Xochitl. Other popular elements were the images of the hacienda's patron saint and the Virgin of Guadalupe. Inside were the vats, which were cowhide stretched over wooden frames lined up against the walls. In larger tinacals, there were three or four rows of vats. Today, the tinas are made of oak, plastic or fiberglass and hold about 1,000 liters each.) rather than yeast. Those in charge of the fermentation process guard their trade secrets, passing them on from father to son. Fermentation takes from seven to 14 days, and the process seems to be more art than science. A number of factors can affect fermenting pulque, such as temperature, humidity and the quality of the aguamiel. The process is complex and delicate, and can go sour at any point; various rituals and prohobitions have developed around the process. Songs and prayers may be offered, and women, children and strangers are not allowed inside the tinacal. Just before the peak of fermentation, the pulque is quickly shipped to market in barrels. The fermentation process is continuous, so the pulque must be consumed within a certain time before it spoils. ==Consumption==

(2006) Most pulque is consumed in bars called pulquerías. At the beginning of the 20th century, more than 1,000 were located in Mexico City alone. Traditional pulquerías tend to be like clubs with closed membership, with casual visitors ignored or sometimes stared at. Frequent visits and large consumption of the drink tends to win acceptance. In the more rural areas of Hidalgo and Tlaxcala, where most pulque is made, the pulque is fresher and better. A vendor usually displays a white flag over the door when a fresh shipment has arrived. in Mexico City (2007) ==Nutritional value==

There is a saying that pulque "sólo le falta un grado para ser carne" – "it is only a bit shy of being meat", referring to the purported nutritional value of the drink. Mesoamericans allowed pregnant women and the elderly to imbibe what was normally reserved only for priests and nobility. Modern analysis of the liquid has found that it contains carbohydrates; vitamins C, B-complex, D, and E; and amino acids and minerals such as iron and phosphorus. ==Pulque tourism==

From the glory days of pulque, the state of Hidalgo has about 250 pulque haciendas, many of which have been abandoned or converted to other uses, such as ranching. Their tinacals have either disappeared or been converted into storage or party rooms. A few remaining ones continue to make pulque, but use more modern and sanitary facilities. In Tlaxcala, the federal Secretariat of Tourism and the state government have organized a tour called the "Pulque Route", which includes the main haciendas that still make the beverage in this state. It is a two-day route which begins at the Church of La Barca de la Fe in Calpulalpan to the San Bartolo Hacienda, which is the principal exporter of canned pulque. This hacienda was the property of Ignacio Torres Adalid, who was called the "king of pulque". Today, it belongs to Ricardo del Razo. The tour also covers maguey fields like those around a town called Guillermo Ramirez. These old haciendas varied widely. Some were ostentatious with great architectural harmony such as the Montecillos Hacienda, of Spanish colonial style and originally built in the 17th century by the Jesuits or San Antonio Ometusco Hacienda built by architect Antonio Rivas Mercado. However, most haciendas were the result of a constructive process that started in the 16th century, with mixed architectural styles and methods of both Mexico and Europe. One characteristic feature is Neo-Gothic towers. The Santiago Tetlapayac Hacienda has murals related to charreada and attributed to the painter Icaza. The Zotoluca Hacienda has an octagonal floorplan in Neo-Moorish style and was restored in the 1950s. But the center of each of these pulque haciendas is the tinacal. They were planned and decorated befitting their importance. Almost all have interesting architectural details, such as a specially decorated main doorway, murals or sculpted windows. Some are considered works of art, such as the tinacal at the Montecillos Hacienda or the one at the San Antonio Ometusco Hacienda, which also has an elegant canopy covering the shipping dock with moulded iron columns and walls decorated with murals relating to the history of pulque. ==Popular culture==

During the 1930s, German filmmakers traveled to the town of Apan to make the 1936 documentary Pulquebereitung in Mexiko (translated into Spanish as La producción del pulque en México), directed by Hubert Schonger, which addressed the history of pulque. In fact, it was Adolf Hitler himself who commissioned the film due to his interest in the drink and its health benefits. However, this documentary was lost along with other films for almost 70 years after the end of World War II, until it was located in the Berlin Culture Center and later purchased by pulque collector Javier Gómez Marín. Awareness of pulque received a boost after the release of the 1966 film, The Appaloosa. In the film, Matt Fletcher (Marlon Brando) is sitting in a cantina enjoying a pulque. In season 1 episode 3 of the 2025 Netflix series Serpientes y Escaleras (English: Snakes and Ladders), Tiño (Benny Emmanuel) goes to an openly LGBTQ disco-like Pulquería with Juana (Loreto Peralta) and Nicolás (Germán Bracco), where they order pulque. ==See also==