During the April 10, 2021 workshop, Nora Salinas from Mexico told us about a mexican desert called Capirotada. After the workshop, she shared her with me her experience and she told me more about this mexican dessert. The Kaasserie workshop experiences are about learning how to make cheese and also about building a community around food, traditions and memories. The idea is to use this blog to grow this community, keep a record of things coming up in the workshops and receive feedback in order to keep improving the experience. Nora is the first to tell her story.
"I really appreciate the things I learned in your interesting course to make artisan cheeses.
I really enjoyed the sharing with the group, the interesting information that you shared with us which made me eager to learn more and try new techniques and methods to make artisan cheese.
Like I told you in the workshop, the idea to make this desert came up when I discovered the delicious cheeses that you sell in your online store.
My daughter shared with me that you were giving these workshops online and as always, I like to learn about everything. You already know that, being an immigrant, curiosity and desire is strong to venture to do things for yourself; Food that allows you to get a little closer to your beloved land, to what you ate as a child and that your mother, your grandmother or both parents prepared for the family (my father was also a great cook, but my mother cooked delicious).
I come from the north of the country and the food at home was a combination of ancient royal food that has its origins in the Jews who founded the city of Monterrey. But also with the fortune of combining it with the city where my mother was born, Cd Victoria in the state of Tamaulipas.
Well, the idea of fresh cheese or panela came up last Lent, my desire to eat capirotada, which in some regions is known as torrejas.
The origin of the capirotada has a religious meaning and explains why it is consumed mainly during Lent. This dish arrived in Mexico at the time of the conquest, that is why all regions have their own versions.
It is said that the bread symbolizes the body of Christ, the honey or syrup represents his blood. The cinnamon and the nails symbolize the cross and the nails of the passion of Christ. This is popular belief, but that is where it comes from being consumed mainly during Lent and Easter.
The capirotada is easy to prepare and you use hard or old pieces of bread; they are combined with a syrup made based on brown sugar, and it also has nuts, peanuts, raisins and cheese!
My mother prepared it in a clay pot, she did not bake it as they do today, and she in particular used panela cheese or queso fresco. I know that some people use a cheese that melts like manchego, cheddar, etc. But I remember it with large pieces of panela cheese.
The combination of the syrup, bread and cheese with the nuts and peanuts makes it especially delicious and that brings back fond memories!
There are many recipes on You Tube, and it depends on the region how they prepare it. Some recipes to the syrup also add milk and the variation of what they add is unlimited
The recipe is easy to prepare and is a good option not only in Lent but also for vegans.
Here I send you several videos, but there are many recipes on the You Tube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfkocU58968&t=0s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq8qCQhhhiY
https://youtu.be/Uozuei-fJos
I share a photo of how the capirotada I made, I need to practice more. And although it didn't turn out the way my mother prepared it, I enjoyed every last bit of bread!
I thank you again for your attention and the lessons learned during the artisan cheese course and I hope that soon you will be able to offer more different courses to prepare cheeses!"