Oaxacan Adventure: Trying New Things

So, Oaxaca is known for its distinct kinds of food, including mole negro (a paste-like substance that has the distinct taste of muddy molasses with bark), chocolate (which is of course a gift from God), Queso Oaxaca (a delicious cheese), as well as mezcal and chapulines.

Mezcal is a relative to taquilla; both are fermented from the same plant, maguey, but the fermentation processes are a bit different. I don't know enough to tell you exactly how, but I do know that there are often caterpillars in bottles of Mezcal (eeeek).

We got to visit a family-run Mezcal distillery, which was really interesting! The process there was very hands-on and natural (with a rather pungent odor).

We also got to try a sample of the drink (the drinking age is 18 here), and, I'll just put up this little post-taste pic to illustrate my thoughts:

Not so tasty.

And speaking of icky, let's return to those chapulines, or, as we call them in the US, crickets. In Oaxaca, they prepare them (fried, salted, covered in chocolate, etc) and sprinkle them over pretty much anything. Like sprinkles, only buggier. Oh no, you're thinking. Oh yes. I tried a cricket.

Another progression!

Surprisingly enough, the chapuline tasted less revolting to me than the mezcal. It was really salty but didn't have much of a crunch, thank goodness. I don't think I'll be eating any more of these, but I'm glad I at least was brave enough to try.