Scientific look at what makes up a margarita can be intoxicating
By Bruce Lieberman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 16, 2005
The next time you tip back a margarita, consider the ethanols, butanols, acetals, aldehydes and limonene headed down your throat.
Not that there's anything wrong with them.
They're simply the chemicals that make your c-cktail, and their numbers are baffling. Literally hundreds of individual compounds swim around in a
drink made simply by mixing tequila, orange liquor and lime juice.
A sobering analysis of the margarita ? a classic Mexican beverage ? was presented yesterday afternoon at the American Chemical Society's annual
conference, held this week in downtown San Diego.
The talk was the last one of the day and came just before happy hour.
A margarita's complexity of flavors adds up to more than the sum of its parts, said Sanja Eri, a researcher at International Flavors & Fragrances
Inc., a product development company in Union Beach, N.J.
And those parts are many.
Tequila made from 51 percent distilled blue agave contains 115 to 236 compounds, depending on the analysis.
How about orange liquors derived from orange peels and spirits? They can contain 111 compounds or more.
Lime juice adds at least 104 compounds.
Take all those chemicals and you can't help but make a tasty c-cktail.
"So many reactions probably occur when you mix them together, (but) it depends on how fast you drink," Eri said.
Her examination considered the chemicals found in a margarita's three primary ingredients ? each studied separately. Studying the actual c-cktail will
take more careful analysis.
"When you mix them together," Eri added, "it's beyond the scope of what you can think of."
Dave - 3-16-2005 at 11:18 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by elgatoloco
A sobering analysis of the margarita ? a classic Mexican beverage ? was presented yesterday afternoon at the American Chemical Society's annual
conference, held this week in downtown San Diego.
Someone got paid for doing this?
Where does one apply for the job?Dave - 3-16-2005 at 11:20 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by elgatoloco
"When you mix them together," Eri added, "it's beyond the scope of what you can think of."
Or later, remember. bajajudy - 3-16-2005 at 11:25 AM
I'll have another one, thank you
But I like mine made with Damiana not Cointroy.
That herbal concoction would probably throw that poor lady into a tailspin.Bruce R Leech - 3-16-2005 at 11:31 AM
When you mix them together," Eri added, "it's beyond the scope of what you can think of."
What the heck is this?DanO - 3-16-2005 at 12:13 PM
It's a bunch of people with way, way, way too much time and money on their hands. bajajudy - 3-16-2005 at 12:41 PM
And persnaps too mucho de tekillyaSharksbaja - 3-16-2005 at 01:09 PM
Quote:
Tequila made from 51 percent distilled blue agave contains 115 to 236 compounds, depending on the analysis.
that is quite a spread.... how ridiculous
[Edited on 3-16-2005 by Sharksbaja]MrBillM - 3-16-2005 at 04:31 PM
What's in a Margarita ? Usually her boyfriend.
margies
Juan - 3-17-2005 at 10:37 AM
I don't know if you should call a Margarita a "classic Mexican beverage". Several years ago I had a discussion with Neckki, the bartender at the
Oasis in Loreto.
Neckki and I developed a pretty good relationship over several years and one day he asked me why many Americans drank Margaritas. I don't so I
couldn't answer him. After a long afternoon discussing the pros and cons of various drinks Neckki told me that in the over 25 years he had been
bartending at the Oasis he had never had a Mexican ask for a Margarita. The inference was that the drink was not very "masculine" and most Mexican
men would rather be caught dead than with a Margarita in their hand.
I often think of my talks with Nekki when I pass a bar full of gringos slurping their favorite beverage.
So, who cares ..........
MrBillM - 3-17-2005 at 11:28 AM
what somebody else drinks ?? They sure taste good.
The human variety tastes pretty good, too.DanO - 3-17-2005 at 12:15 PM
Hey MrBill, sounds like you're gonna need a towel soon. Seriously though, the flip side of Juan's observation is that I've only seen tequila ordered
with sangrita a handful of times, and never by Americans.
