Ibarra (chocolate)
Encyclopedia
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
, Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The company manufactures other chocolate products, but Ibarra table chocolate is its best-known product, with presence throughout Mexico as well as international markets, mainly in the Americas, but also in parts of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It is often found in gourmet shops.
Ibarra tablets are packaged in a distinctive red-and-yellow hexagon-shaped cardboard box. Each circular tablet of table chocolate is about 1/2" thick and 3 1/4" in diameter, and is molded into 8 wedges. The letters of the name "IBARRA" are also molded into the chocolate. The ingredients are sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, cacao nibs, lecithin
Lecithin
Lecithin is a generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues, and in egg yolk, composed of phosphoric acid, choline, fatty acids, glycerol, glycolipids, triglycerides, and phospholipids .The word lecithin was originally coined in 1847 by...
and cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
flavoring.
Unlike chocolate bars, and because of its undissolved granulated sugar, and its rough and gritty texture, table chocolate is not meant to be eaten like a chocolate bar
Candy bar
A chocolate bar is a confection in bar form comprising some or all of the following components: cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, milk. The relative presence or absence of these components form the subclasses of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. In addition to these main...
, although Ibarra tablets can be eaten. However, Ibarra is used primarily to make hot cocoa
Hot chocolate
Hot chocolate is a heated beverage typically consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar...
in traditional Mexican form. The labeling on Ibarra's packaging suggests that the best way to prepare Ibarra is to use approximately two wedges for each cup of milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
or water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
. Heat the milk until it is near boiling, then blend the milk and chocolate in a blender
Blender (device)
A blender is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, puree, or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender jar with blade at the bottom, rotated by a motor in the base...
until the chocolate is completely dissolved, and serve hot. Ibarra can also be prepared on the stove by dissolving the wedges in hot milk, then whisking the cocoa with a molinillo
Molinillo (whisk)
A Molinillo is a traditional Mexican turned wood whisk. Its use is principally for the preparation of hot beverages such as hot chocolate, atole and champurrado. The molinillo is held between the palms and rotated by rubbing the palms together; this rotation creates the froth in the drink...
or wire whisk. In Mexico, in the traditional Aztec and Mayan form, Cayenne pepper is added to make it a spicy chocolate drink.