Oaxaca is the land of the seven mole sauces, although sources vary as to what the list is. The ones everyone agrees on are: negro (black), coloradito, rojo/colarado (red), amarillo (yellow), verde (green), and chichilo. I've seen two other candidates for the 7th: almendra, and mancha manteles. Almendra would be almond, and manchmanteles translates as "table cloth strainer".
In our cooking class, we learnt that in a mole, the chiles, garlic, seasame seeds, cinnamon (etc. etc.) are all toasted before being used, and are then are blended, mixed with some stock, and simmered together for hours. The goal is to meld together the 20 or so ingredients into a single blended flavour, with no soloists and even no harmony.
Here are the reviews of the moles I've tried thus far:
Negro (black): this is the classic "mole" sauce of Oaxaca, and the one you're most likely to encounter on a restaurant menu in Canada or the US. If you've heard that "Mexicans serve their chicken with chocolate", they're talking about mole negro. It's dark brown to almost black in colour.
The first mole negro I had here in Oaxaca blew me away: it had a lovely complexity. I could individually taste the several chiles that go into making it , the darkness of the chocolate, and just a hint of hotness. Fabulous! Although I now know that some purists would consider it substandard for that reason, which is why it was perhaps part of a 35 peso set menu :-). But the rest, whether at fancy restaurants or plain, have been much like the moles I've had in Canada or the US. Negro generally has a very strong "dark" burnt /chocolate flavour that dominates.
Mole Coloradito: the next darkest mole. Brick red. Coloradito also contains chocolate, but the overall flavour is lighter than negro due to the selection of chiles, and the fact that the ingredients aren't toasted as heavily before being included. Complex, slightly hot, and my favorite.
Mole Rojo/Colarado (red): the second most common type after negro. I've read that rojo is the simplest of the moles, and sometimes degenerates into the ordinary kind of tomato sauce that is typically served over enchiladas in "Tex/Mex" food. But the ones I've tried are similar to mole colaradito, but perhaps a little simpler. However, I'm not entirely sure I could consistently distinguish them.....darn cooks, each with her own recipe!
Mole Amarillo (yellow): Actually red, with a simple, bright flavour, and very hot. It's based on tomatillos (which are green). The red colour comes from the chiles.
Mole Verde (green): Like a pesto, but made with pumpkin seeds and a variety of mild green herbs which are native to Oaxaca (like chipil). Hard to find.
Mole Almendra (almond), chichilo, mancha manteles: I haven't seen any of these offered anywhere, either in a restaurant, or as a mix/paste in the market (which is how many Mexicans prepare their mole these days). I'm keeping my eyes open, but I don't think I'll be able to fulfil my ambition of trying all seven moles while I'm in Oaxaca.
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