CBC News
Tequila has been called Mexico’s contribution to the world of alcoholic beverages. But the drink’s key ingredient might also provide a health-care breakthrough.
Mexican researchers believe the blue agave plant that produces tequila also contains compounds that could deliver drugs to the colon, making it possible to treat everything from colon cancer to colitis.
(more…)
FAMILY :: LILIACEAE
I made a trip to Mascota, a small town in the State of Jalisco, Mexico, where I spent the good part of a day with the director of the agriculture school there, sharing information and dreams. We share a lot of the same training since we are both botanists.
The school has a project growing Raicilla Agave since this is a well-known, though somewhat illegal growth industry in the area.
Below are pictures of the various agave used in the production of popular drinks in Jalisco (the home of tequila):
The Agave used for Pulque, a beer-like drink.
The well-known Tequila Blue Agave.
Agave Maximiliana, commonly known as “Pata de Mula” (Mules Foot) or lechuguilla is used to make the Mascota version of Raicilla”
The Agave used to make Tuito Raicilla.
Each of these different plants impart different qualities to their respective products. I had often heard that the Raicilla from Tuito and Mascota were different but didn’t know to what extent.
These drinks all were originally developed from wild species growing locally and the methods of production are basically the same for the different versions of Raicilla and Tequila: The mature roots are roasted, the juice is extracted and then fermented and distilled. Pulque is a simple fermented drink from the sap of the plant, skipping the distillation process.
A side benefit of this trip was finding a good Raicilla source in Mascota. This version is a smooth, strong drink that takes about a day to recover from if you drink too much (don’t ask me how I know this).
LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tequila
Tequila Aficionado
FAMILY :: LILIACEAE
GARLIC, AJO: One of the most useful herbs available; helps cure colds, the flu, &c. Good blood purifier: believed to be an Immune System Stimulant. Keeps vampires away. I grow a lot of garlic but don’t sell it-buy some at your local mercado and plant the cloves; it’ll be much cheaper than and just as good as I could sell you. No garden should be without this plant. People who live on the edge appreciate the values of garlic.
Les Blanc’s 1980 documentary, Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers:
FAMILY :: LILIACEAE
ALOE VERA: An indispensable plant for the home first aid kit. Easy to grow in shade and in a well drained, warm, dry soil. Loves being a house plant.
FAMILY :: LILIACEAE
“…enjoyed in the food, brings lusty desires…”
— Mathiolus
ASPARAGUS: Cultivated for over 2000 years as a culinary delicacy, asparagus is also medicinal (all plants named “officinalis” are or were considered official as drug plants). It is diuretic, laxative and, some say, aphrodisiac. It stimulates the action of the kidneys. The juice was used in India and by Thessalian witches in brewing love potions.
FAMILY :: LILIACEAE
AUTUMN CROCUS: Hardy, easily grown, with pink to lavender flowers on naked stalks in the fall, with 1′ long leaves following through the winter. The plant dies to the ground in early summer. The flower “stalks” are actually elongated corolla tubes with the seed pods being formed underground, to rise the second year. All parts of the plant contain strong alkaloids, chiefly colchicine, which is used to relieve the pain and inflammation of rheumatism. Self medication is not advised because colchicine is also a strong mutatgen, and it is in this respect that it is most useful to plant-people who wish to create new polyploid varieties of almost any plant. Instructions for preparing and using colchicum as a mutagen included with each purchase of this plant.
... In the Mercado