Que Viva El Pulque! Long Live Pulque!

For anyone drawn to artisanal fermentation, pulque offers a compelling and largely unexplored frontier. Fermented from agave, the same source as tequila and mezcal, it is not distilled, leaving it low in alcohol and closer in strength to beer.

Juan Escalona, a native of the Mexican state of Zumpango with degrees in genomic sciences and the philosophy of science, argues that pulque's curious texture and aroma have led people to overlook its genuine complexity: like wine, it acquires terroir, varying meaningfully from region to region and producer to producer.

Escalona has cooked at Pujol in Mexico City and Noma in Copenhagen, and brings both scientific rigor and culinary seriousness to his subject. He organizes the book by region, linking each to a central theme: fermentation, natural history, the tinacal (the fermentation chamber), or the cultural tensions that have shaped pulque's reputation over time.

Practical sections cover cooking with pulque and caring for it once sourced from a reputable vendor, though home production is outside the book's scope.

The book is handsomely produced, with photographs, watercolor illustrations, maps, and a gatefold glossary insert in both Spanish and English. The tlachiqueros, the producers who cultivate pulque and sustain the agricultural knowledge of their communities, are treated throughout as its true protagonists.

Hardcover. Color photographs and illustrations throughout. In Spanish and in English.