Agua Fresca 8: Cebadina
Cebadina–sebadina as it’s pronouced in English–has a lovely ring to it, doesn’t it? Bob Mrotek thought so too when he wrote this terrific post describing his detective work as he ran around the state of Guanajuato searching for cebadina. This is his story and it’s worth going to his site to read it.
Just a few comments and pointers. Cebadina means a little thing made of barley so it’s in this great family of barley drinks we’re pursuing.
1. Bob neatly shows that cebadina in its present form was probably invented in the 1940s. Some bright individual had the idea of mixing a traditional barley water with a tepache (lightly fermented fruit drink, another thing on our horizon, horrors how this topic spreads) and with either an agua de tamarindo or an agua de jamaica (that one we still have to talk about) to make a new hybrid. And glory hallelujah if you added a spoonful of bicarb it fizzed.
2. What better for a hangover? Cheaper than alka seltzer, more flavorful too.
3. What better to snow the kids. Refrescos weren’t so common then and this was doubtless cheaper. Magic in a glass.
4. And how quickly traditions are created. Both the Compendio lexicográfico de los alimentos en Guanajuato (Ediciones La Rana 1994), and Bebidas Nacionales, a truly astonishing guide put out by the wonderful magazine, México Desconocido, list it as a traditional Guanajuato drink.
In short, how smart entrepreneurs can transform traditional aguas frescas into proto-alka seltzer and proto-refrescos/soda/pop.
And now that they’re on the way out, how ephemeral food traditions can be.
