Does Traditional Tequila Have a Worm in it? | Food Unwrapped

tequila now i've got vague recollections from my youth of there being a worm in the bottle but i haven't seen one for years where have they gone i thought that tequila traditionally has to have a worm in it oh right additionally possibly that's the traditional way to serve it some are meant to have worms in aren't they if they're like the posh ones they're supposed to absorb the poison at the elbow something ah should it have a worm in it i'm not quite sure tequila's not really my drink that's the way that obviously it is in mexico well so the tequila in mexico has worms in it i believe so cheers bye bye [Music] so in order to track down the elusive worm that's where i'm heading now regular viewers to this show will know that i don't often get away to very cool places and like jimmy and kay however things have changed not only have they sent me to mexico they've sent me to mexico to find out all about tequila and they're so gonna regret it i've come to a shop that houses the largest tequila collection in the world and with 1800 bottles to choose from surely i'll find the worm in here although on closer inspection maybe not thousands and thousands of bottles of tequila's in this store and not one of them has got a worm in it authentic tequila it's got worm in it right that's what i thought what's going on if i can't find a single worm amongst all these bottles then why have i always thought that tequila has to have a worm in it to find out i'm going back to where tequila originates to the region of jalisco [Music] i've come to a plantation to meet farmer alonso murillo alonso these plants are amazing looking things kind of alien contrary to popular belief tequila isn't made from cacti but from these strange-looking plants called agave this is blue agave is that right three hundred million blue agave are harvested by hand every year by highly skilled workers called hematos [Music] is it takes eight to ten years for the agave to reach maturity meaning every single one must be harvested with great care and immense skill but despite being surrounded by agave i've still not caught sight of the critter i came here for i'm looking around i can't see that little worm where is it so the worm is an actual pest so you don't want it affected [Music] but if it's not in the bottles and it's not welcome in the fields where does the notion of a worm in my tequila come from next up on my never-ending seemingly fruitless but rather fun quest is one of the biggest distilleries in mexico and i'm here to meet tequila expert hector morenzo hola hector matt you make tequila right of course can i just can i see of course this one casa salsa has been producing tequila for 140 years we received around 300 tons of a gap every single day exactly the agave is put into this machine right which is going to shred the agave into the fiber after shredding the agave is steamed and filtered to produce a juice which is then fermented distilled and finely aged in oak barrels wow great smell in here this is where we keep the secrets of the tequila secrets looks like we're finally getting somewhere and being the consummate professional that i am i feel it's my duty to give hector's tequila a taste this tequila has been rested for four years and six months he's the oldest in the house it's more akin to a brandy than than a tequila similar yeah yeah we don't age the tequila for more than five years it's because they get uh too similar to whiskies this tequila tastes great but it's totally worm free so come on where did i get that notion from i've seen worms in the kitchen there uh no that's not tequila it's mezcal oh really yes so what's the difference there are a few differences but the main is the plant right uh for for the laboration of mezcal we're allowed to to use 12 different varieties of agave and for the elaboration of tequila we're allowed to use only one oh is that right that is the blue agave which is the one i've been seeing in the fields exactly so it's mezcal that has the worm in it and even though tequila is a type of mezcal it's the posh stuff purely made from blue agave grown in a few select regions of mexico so really tequila is kind of like the champagne of the mezcal world exactly got it they started putting worms in mezcal in the 1940s but the reason why is still greatly debated some say the worm is an aphrodisiac and some cynical souls even claim it's just a marketing gimmick [Music] you

Channel: Food Unwrapped

Views: 21,658

Keywords: food, unwrapped, UK, Food Unwrapped, Food Unwrapped UK, Cooking, Science, Ingredients, Investigation, Explore, Travel, Channel 4, Kate Quilton, Jimmy Doherty, Matt Tebbutt, Food Industry, Processed Food, Foods, Packaged Foods

Id: 9GN2jo4p2Bk

Length: 6min 11sec (371 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 10 2021