Agave cubed: Partida Agave Nectar used three ways

  • Posted by nika
  • May 24, 2007

I received a sample of the 100% Organic Partida Agave Nectar some time ago and it has been quite a journey as I developed recipes for this interesting product.

The Partida Tequila company makes their tequila, as you might expect, from blue agave plants, a succulent that dwells in the arid lands around Jalisco, Mexico. One can also make nectar from these interesting plants and let me assure you, this nectar is quite a wonder. For one, it is sweeter than table sugar. It looks like a thin honey as it is less viscous. It tastes a bit like honey although it’s flavor is not a dominant thing. The most important thing, ok - to me, is that it is fantastically low on the glycemic scale.

Get this, pure agave nectar has a GI of 11 while white sugar is 100. A 10th of the glycemic impact of sugar!

Today I have two drink recipes and one food recipe to show you just a very few possibilities for working with agave nectar.

The first is one I tested just today. Its a nod to the south of the border origin of the nectar as it uses chocolate and it’s consistency is something Montezuma would love - thick and potent.

Blue Agave Nectar Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

Directions:
Combine agave nectar, cinnamon, chocolate powder and hot water in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Mix until incorporated. Add Ghirardelli chocolate squares and then the fat free 1/2 and 1/2, heat until its smooth. Froth with an immersion blender. Do not not add marshmallows if you want to keep the GI low.

I had my rather fussy toddler give it a try and she loved it, even though it was made with grown-up unsweetened chocolate. She liked it with and without the marshmallows.

The second recipe is one that you will see all over the web and I will repeat it here but, since I do not drink tequila, I have not taste tested it. Its not hard to imagine that it is delicious!

Partida Agave Margarita

Mix it all up in a bucket (or your favorite container), and serve over ice or chilled in a margarita glass.

The third and final recipe is one I developed a couple of weeks ago and have covered in more detail at this post at my blog, Nika’s Culinaria.

oatmeal

Irish Steel Cut Oatmeal sweetened with agave nectar and passion fruit gastrique

Ingredients:

Directions:

In a small pan over medium heat, combine the scooped out pulpy seeds of the 2 passion fruits, the sliced apricots, 1 tablespoon of the Agave Nectar, 1 teaspoon of the fig vinegar, and 3 tablespoons of water. Simmer this down until it thickens to your desire consistency. You may need to add some water to thin or simmer longer to get it thicker, up to you! I put the syrup through a strainer to get rid of most of the midnight black seeds (which have these very interesting little divots across their surface) as they didn’t seem very edible to me.

When I served this all up, I put some agave nectar in the oatmeal and stirred it up. I put the oatmeal into the bacon round (secured with a bit of wooden skewer) and then drizzled it with the gastrique and added a bit of apricot. The remainder of apricots were put into a passion fruit rind. Do NOT eat raw passion fruit rind (has cyanide compounds in it).

I hope that these three recipes opened your eyes to the possibilities of agave nectar.

I plan on doing more work with chocolate because when I was making the hot chocolate, I saw how perfectly agave nectar married/melded with the chocolate (I feared it might seize but it didn’t).

Low GI chocolate sauce, oh how thou callest my name.

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May 24th, 2007
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
erik_flannestad
Posted on:
May 24, 2007 at 4:52 pm

I’ll be the first person to be a stickler and point out that a Margarita ain’t a Margarita without some sort of Orange Liqueur.

It’s really more of a Tequila Gimlet.

But, what are you going to do?

Julio Bermejo, America’s Tequila Ambassador, makes his house “Margaritas” that way at Tommy’s and Tres Agaves Restaurants, so who am I to argue?

They’re tasty either way.

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
nika
Posted on:
May 24, 2007 at 9:37 pm

Erik: alas, I always thought margaritas were properly made with triple sec and frozen lime juice and ice and lots of tequila all blended up with a whirr.

My dad made the meanest ones .. always too strong for the gringo guests :-) But they didnt complain too long.

I have never had a gimlet of any type so I do not know the difference.

I say, whats in the name .. if it tastes good thats all that matters.

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Shani Misir
Posted on:
August 30, 2007 at 4:43 pm

I love the Partida Margarita. I had it for the first time at this bar in NYC. Margaritas have always been in salt rimmed glasses but the Partida Margarita is so much better. The Partida Margarita is better for you…health wise.

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
nika
Posted on:
August 30, 2007 at 5:44 pm

Shani: A little margarita salt cant be that bad for you (esp if its good celtic sea salt but I doubt if that is often used by busy bartenders). I hope that margaritas are an indulgence and not a major source of nutrition because no amount of low-GI agave nectar will counteract the impact of the large amount of alcohol! :-)

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Soodoo
Posted on:
June 8, 2008 at 10:20 pm

Today, 06/08, my liquor store guy gave me a bottle of PARTIDA Agave Nectar. Knowing I make exquisite top shelf ‘Ritas, he gave me the bottle gratis-he got it at a meeting of Liquor Store owners. He said this nectar was the missing link to a top shelf/Cadillac ‘rita. He also told me only bartenders could get their hands on this stuff but where there is internet, there is a way! Oh Yeah! Came home and put all ingredients together. Here is my recipe for an elegant Margarita. 3 oz. of top shelf Tequila (Patron, Cuervo Traditional, Hornitos or something in that area), 3/4 oz each Grand Marnier and Cointreau, full tsp each fresh lime juice and Partida Agave Nectar (or more/less to taste), you might want to add 1/2-3/4 oz of Mi-Lem sweetened lemon juice (to taste)(It is better than typical Margarita sweetened mix-which is for those who don’t know any better)Add ice to shaker and shake a lot. Pour into salt rimmed glass (or not if you don’t like salt).Serve straight up or on the rocks. This is an elegant ‘Rita, kind of like a Mexican Martini. E-mail me if you have tried it and like it!