page_title: Mole sauce
section_title: Preparation and consumption
hierarchical_section_title: Mole sauce / Preparation and consumption
caption_attribution_description: English: Pine nut mole for sale at the Feria de Mole in San Pedro Atocpan, DF
context_page_description: Mole is a traditional marinade and sauce originally used in Mexican cuisine. In contemporary Mexico the term is used for a number of sauces, some quite dissimilar, including black, red / Colorado, yellow, green, almendrado, de olla, huaxmole, guacamole, and pipián. Outside of Mexico, it typically refers to mole poblano.
  Generally, a mole sauce contains a fruit, chili pepper, nut, and such spices as black pepper, cinnamon, or cumin. A type of green mole known as mole verde is made with pumpkin seeds and green chile.
context_section_description: All mole preparations begin with one or more types of chili pepper. The classic moles of Central Mexico and Oaxaca, such as mole poblano and mole negro, include two or more of the following types of chili pepper: ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle. Other ingredients can include black pepper, achiote, guaje (Leucaena leucocephala), cumin, cloves, anise, tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, sesame seeds, dried fruit, herbs like Piper Auritum or hoja santa (also known as hierba santa), and many other ingredients. Mole poblano has an average of 20 ingredients; mole almendrado has an average of 26, and Oaxacan moles can have over 30. Chocolate, if used, is added at the end of cooking. According to Rick Bayless, the ingredients of mole can be grouped into five distinct classes: chiles, sour (tomatillos), sweet (dried fruits and sugar), spices, and thickeners (nuts and tortillas).
  The ingredients are roasted and ground into a fine powder or paste. This roasting and grinding process is extremely laborious and takes at least a day to accomplish by hand. Traditionally, this work was shared by several generations of women in the family, but after the arrival of electric mills, it became more common to take the ingredients to be ground. Many families have their own varieties of mole passed down for generations, with their preparation reserved for special events in large batches.
  The resulting powder or paste is mixed with water, or more often broth, and simmered until it is pungent and very thick. It is most often prepared in a cazuela ([kaˈswela]) or a thick heavy clay cauldron and stirred almost constantly to prevent burning. The thickness of the sauce has prompted some, such as Mexican-food authority Patricia Quintana, to claim it is too substantial to be called a sauce. However, like a sauce, it is always served over something and never eaten alone. Mole poblano is most traditionally served with turkey, but it and many others are also served with chicken, pork, or other meats (such as lamb).
  A number of mole powders and pastes can be prepared ahead of time and sold, such as mole poblano, mole negro, and mole colorado. Many markets in Mexico sell mole pastes and powders in packages or by the kilogram. These mole mixes are heavy with a strong odor, so much so that security agents at the Mexico City airport once admitted that mole can register a positive when they check for explosives.
  Prepared mole sauce will keep for about three days in the refrigerator and it freezes well. The paste will keep six months in the refrigerator and about a year in the freezer. Leftover sauce is often used for the making of tamales and enchiladas (often called enmoladas) or over eggs at brunch.
caption: Piñon mole
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D60", "Image Software": "Ver.1.00", "Image DateTime": "2009:10:17 15:33:19", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "144", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/50", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:10:17 15:33:19", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:10:17 15:33:19", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "50", "EXIF SubSecTime": "20", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "20", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "20", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3872", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2592", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 1, 2, 0, 1]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "75", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}