Mole (sauce) - History

History

Three states in Mexico claim to be the origin of mole, Puebla, Oaxaca and Tlaxcala. The states with the best known moles are Puebla and Oaxaca, but other regions in Mexico also make various types of mole sauces.

Moles come in various flavors and ingredients, with chili peppers as the common factor. However, the classic mole version is the variety called mole poblano, which is a dark red or brown sauce served over meat. The dish has become a culinary symbol of Mexico’s mestizaje, or mixed indigenous and European heritage, both for the types of ingredients it contains as well as the legends surrounding its origin.

The most common version of the legend takes place at the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla sometime early in the colonial period. Upon hearing that the archbishop was going to visit, the convent nuns went into a panic because they were poor and had almost nothing to prepare. The nuns prayed and brought together the little bits of what they did have, chili peppers, spices, day-old bread, nuts, and a little chocolate and more. They killed an old turkey they had, cooked it and put the sauce on top; the archbishop loved it.

A similar version has a monk by the name of Fray Pascual inventing the dish, again to serve the archbishop of Puebla. In this version, he knocks over or the wind blows a bunch of spices into pots in which turkeys are cooking. Other versions of the story substitute the viceroy of New Spain, such as Juan de Palafox y Mendoza in place of the archbishop.

Modern mole is a mixture of ingredients from three continents, North America, Europe and Africa, making it the first international dish created in the Americas. Its base, however, is indigenous. Mesoamericans had a preparation they called mōlli, meaning sauce, or chīlmōlli for chili sauce. In his book called the General History of the Things of New Spain, Bernardino de Sahagún says that mollis were used in a number of dishes including those for fish, game and vegetables. Theories about the origins of mole have supposed that it was something imposed upon the natives or that it was the product of the baroque artistry of Puebla, but there is not enough evidence for definitive answers.

While chili pepper sauces existed in pre-Hispanic Mexico, the complicated moles of today did not. They did not contain chocolate, which was used as a beverage, and in all of the writings of Sahagún, there is no mention at all of it being used to flavor food. Most likely what occurred was a gradual modification of the original molli sauce, adding more and different ingredients depending on the location. This diversified the resulting sauces into various types. Ingredients that have been added into moles include nuts, peanuts, pine nuts, sesame seed, pumpkin and/or squash seeds, cilantro, seedless grapes, plantains, garlic, onion, cinnamon, chocolate and more. What remained the same was the use of chili peppers, especially ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle, and the consistency of the sauce. The true story of how mole developed may never be truly known as the first recipes did not appear until after the Mexican War of Independence in 1810. But the Nahuatl origin of the name probably defines its Mesoamerican origin.