Mole: Mexico's Three Classic Sauces

Mole: Understanding Mexico's Three Classic Sauce Families 

Mole is one of Mexico's most celebrated sauce families, built from layered combinations of dried chilis, spices, nuts, seeds, and often chocolate. The three types in this episode illustrate the breadth of the tradition. Mole negro, the darkest variety, uses charred mulato and pasilla chilis along with bitter chocolate, giving it remarkable depth. Mole rojo is built on red chilis such as guajillo and ancho for a brighter, earthier flavour profile. Mole verde uses fresh green chilis, herbs, tomatillos, and pumpkin seeds for a lighter character. Each style involves toasting and grinding individual ingredients separately before slowly building the sauce.