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With imagination, Mexican chefs reinvent the Rosca de Reyes
Guadalajara (Mexico), Jan 5 (EFE).- Traditional flavors gave way to more sophisticated ingredients to reinvent the so-called Rosca de Reyes and please the palates of Mexicans who celebrate with it on January 6. Fresh and dehydrated fruits, chocolate, peanuts, honey, flowers and chamomile and filled with vanilla cream, eggnog and hazelnuts are increasingly taking center stage in the preparation of the rosca with which chefs seek to surprise diners for Three Kings Day . In a gastronomic exhibition held in the city of Guadalajara this Thursday, a dozen chefs showed their recipes in which innovation, decoration, aromas and colors aroused the appetite of the attendees. EXPERIMENT AND SURPRISE Blanca Arellano, chef at the Bruna restaurant in Guadalajara, told EFE that the traditional recipe for this piece from the bakery has taken a 180-degree turn to satisfy chefs’ need to experiment and satisfy palates. The chef prepared a soft dough bagel filled with vanilla and hazelnut cream, garnished with fresh red berries, flowers, chocolate, guava, pear and quince paste, and bathed in chocolate and cinnamon atole. “We try to give an experience, to surprise them, to encourage them to think of something new apart from the traditional, that is classic but that is pleasant for the diner, take it by the hand and explain why I want them to be encouraged to try it,” he said. . For Arellano, the key is not only to innovate but also that diners want to continue trying non-traditional pieces with which they identify. BETWEEN TRADITION AND NOVELTY The Rosca de Reyes is a tradition that dates back to the time of the Spanish conquest. The round shaped bread represents the Epiphany of the Magi upon finding the Child God in Bethlehem. According to Christian tradition, the piece of bread is made round to symbolize “the infinite love of God” and is decorated with crystallized fruits and quince ate (sweet). The bagel is broken during January 5 and 6 throughout the country and whoever finds the hidden doll must take care of it until February 2, when Candlemas Day is celebrated, and invite tamales, a typical Mexican food made from corn. Chefs Manuel de la Rosa and Karla Papa, from the Pancromático bakery, created a combination thread between the traditional and the innovative made of bread with orange zest that favored the flavor of the upper crust with a mixture of chocolate, cardamom, nutmeg , anise and cinnamon with strawberries and the traditional ate. “It’s a matter of creativity. Mexico has 1,000 different flavors and it is important to make use of the ingredients that we have on hand and of things that are known but that people should not eat in a dessert such as flowers, leaves or vegetables that make all the difference,” explained the chef. Daniela Velazquez, chef at the Quelite restaurant and the Canela bakery, in Guadalajara, said that the challenge for chefs is for diners to dare to try new combinations of a piece as well known as the rosca. The pastry chef created a traditional pre-fermented dough bagel with eggnog, with pieces of berries, scented with orange and lemon and a chamomile pastry cream, which are combined with the traditional pieces of quince ate. “The mass is a living element and it is as interesting as a wine or a beer. That push was missing when you can have many ranges and this father who is encouraged to try them. I invite colleagues to dare to do more things and let us to have such a simple bakery,” he said. (c) EFE Agency