Curdled Milk Candy from Ahuachapan, El Salvador

"La Asuncion" Church

The annual festivities in Ahuachapan take place on the second week of February, and are called the "Sweet Name of Jesus". Ahuachapan was originally founded in the 500's by the Pokomame Indians, but was not declared a city by the Spaniards until 1869.

Tower in Plaza Concordia

History

The curdled milk candy you can find in El Salvador is only made in the department of Ahuachapan; there it is known as "Dulce de Bodoque".  It was probably brought to El Salvador by the Spaniards in the colonial period, around the 1600's, as similar versions are also made in Guatemala, Peru, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.

 

Recipe (from Comida Tipica, by Vilma G. de Escobar)

6 eggs

1 liter of milk

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cylinder of solid brown cane sugar (panela), grated

2 tablespoons of lime juice

grated zest of 1 lime

3 cinnamon sticks

Panela, hard brown sugar

 Place all ingredients, except for the cinnamon sticks in a blender and mix well. Pour into a wide and tall pot, and bring to a boil. Do not move the liquid. Let it simmer for about an hour. By this time, you can move it a little bit if you need to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

 Usually it doesn't burn, but once in a while a few pieces might. When most of the liquid has disappeared, the candy will be ready, and its consistency will have become stickier and more solid.

Dulce de Bodoque next to coffee beans and ground coffee

References
http://mekitchen.tumblr.com/post/36346284608/bodoque-de-morena-y-mi-abuela
http://mariscakes.blogspot.com/2010/07/dulce-de-leche-cortada-english-sweet.html

Kid Sandwich Cookies (Cipotes) for International Children's Day, October 1st

 

October 1st is Children's Day in only five random countries: Sweden, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The United Nations and Canada celebrate it on November 20th, since 1953, whereas most of the world chooses June the 1st. In the United States, this special occasion appeared in the 1860's, before Mother's or Father's Day, and the purpose of it is to "promote the welfare of all children". The Declaration of Children's Rights was signed in 1956.

Cipotes, the Sandwich Cookie
These buttery cookies from Guatemala and El Salvador hide a dulce de leche or jam filling, and are a perfect project for children to keep busy, as they cut small rounds of dough, or place some jam in between the baked ones.

Recipe

14 ounces of flour (3 1/2 cups)

9 ounces of butter

6 ounces of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Cut into 2.5 cm rounds with a decorator's tip, as cipotes are not usually very large. (I made them large by mistake the first time I tried them). You can also use small garden cookie cutters if you prefer. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes. Fill sandwiches with guava jam, milk candy, or any other candy. I like to dip the edges in mini chocolate chips, but you can use powder-fine grated coconut, or minced walnuts or pecans, as well. Cipotes (Kid cookies) aren't usually covered with powdered sugar; then again, you can do what you prefer with your cookies. You could even bathe them in ganache, (such as the one pictured above, to the center left) if it strikes your fancy.

References

http://www.nationalchildrensday.us/index.php

http://www.childrensdaycelebration.org/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Day

Sweet Potato Candy from San Vicente, El Salvador

The San Vicente Tower, built in 1930, in the capital of San Vicente is climbed every day by tourists

A large weaving wheel spun in front of me, as the soda-can spools were slowly being filled with thread, by a productive spinner lady who might have been a character in a German folktale. Might it turn into gold the following morning? Had I been transported into the past, before the Industrial Revolution? Maybe it had magical powers, like it did in Sleeping Beauty or Norse mythology.
    In the next room, a weaving machine hypnotically moved from left to right and back, then upwards and downwards. Gradually, a long piece of material decorated with colorful patterns appeared. It would soon be a tablecloth. I didn't wait to eat lunch on it, as it would take quite a bit longer for it to be finished...
     Instead, I journeyed to a nearby town, and stepped into a sugarcane field. Green blades of grass protruded from fingerlike sticks, much like feathers sprout from a bird's crest or tail. Many of the stalks had already been cut and thrust into a mill. In large vats, the resulting syrup was heated and classified into different qualities of syrup. Raw sugar was produced, as well as a thick, dark brown version that would be placed in wooden molds. Small barrel-shaped, solid blocks of candy emerged and were wrapped in corn husks by women, to be sold as "panela", that could be melted with different fruits to make other types of candy.
     After my visit to San Sebastian in San Vicente (where weavers worked with the same machines or similar machines to those they used 100 years ago or more), and to a sugarcane mill in Verapaz, San Vicente, I was ready to make some sweet potato candies.... So I warmed up by climbing the five-story white tower in San Vicente, the department's capital.

August 6th
A national holiday in El Salvador takes place on August 6th each year. In San Vicente, they always have sweet potato candy available for any fair or special event. In fact, the candy shops sell it year-round, too.

Sweet potato candy on a woven tablecloth from San Sebastian

Recipe
1 1/4 pounds of boiled, then mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 pound of granulated sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 cup of milk

Place all ingredients in a large pot and cook until the mixture thickens and sticks together into a ball. Let it cool for ten minutes. Next, shape it into small cones with your hands. Stick them into syrup (see recipe below) to coat them. Yields: 30 medium-sized cones.

Syrup
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon of lime juice
2 strips of lime peel
1 cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons of water
Place all ingredients in a 2-quart pot and heat until it reaches the soft ball stage. You can test it by placing a drop in a glass of water. If the drop turns into a soft ball, it is ready.

Traditional weaving machine used to make tablecloths and hammocks, located in San Sebastian, San Vicente

Large spools filled by hand to place in the weaving machine

A more "modern" version of the weaving machine

References
http://www.thorshof.org/spinmyth.htm
http://www.cocina33.com/receta/dulce-de-camote-de-san-vicente
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panela
http://www.laprensagrafica.com/economia/nacional/93314-trabajos-de-trapiche-y-molienda.html

Milk Pastries for San Salvador Festivities (August 3-6))

Dancers wearing colorful,  traditional costumes

The volcanic crater of Quezaltepeque

The sleepy crater resembled a giant, natural stadium, and we were the only fans in sight that day. "Look at the small store and the path into the crater", someone pointed at numerous trees that resembled moss or shrubs from far away, and even though I squinted, I failed to see anything. I could only tell that it must be a long trek downwards, into what could have been the center of the earth, as far as I was concerned. The zipline I had taken earlier that flew over these trees was much easier in comparison.

As we left, the path was sprinkled with small pieces of porous lava rocks, orchids, and red hibiscus flowers, and there were ladies selling warm corn beverages, flowers, or recently picked miniature wild raspberries. We had just visited the Volcano of San Salvador, or Quezaltepeque, near the capital city of El Salvador.

The previous statue, which was very similar, fell down during an earthquake in 1986, and a new one was built and set up in its place.

August Festivities
In San Salvador, the city's patron saint is Jesus, or the "Divine Saviour of the World" ("El Salvador del Mundo") The festivities last for four days, beginning on August the third, during which a national fair, rides, parades, and other activities take place. The entire country also has a day off on August the 6th, for the same occasion. 

Milk Pastries
Throughout most of El Salvador, soft round pastries are filled with a milk pastry cream, or apple or pineapple jelly. They are eaten year-round, and may be served for breakfast or dessert.

Recipe

Pastry

1 pound of sifted flour

3 tablespoons of sugar

1/2 pound of butter

1 teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup warm water

3 egg yolks

4 teaspoons of baking powder

Mix the butter, salt, and egg yolks. Add the flour and baking powder. Then add the warm water slowly, until the dough is easy to handle. Roll it out and cut out 2-inch circles. Barely wet the edges of two circles, then place a teaspoonful of the white cream filling between both of them. Pinch the edges of the circles together until the pastry is completely sealed shut. Brush milk on the tops of the pastries and sprinkle granulated sugar on top. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes. 

White Cream Filling (Leche Poleada)

2 1/2 cups milk

1 piece of lime peel

1/4 teaspoon of salt

3 tablespoons of cornstarch

1/2 cup of sugar

cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Stir two cups of milk with the lime peel, salt, and cinnamon stick; place it in a pot and heat it until it boils. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/2 cup of milk, then add sugar and the warm milk liquid to it. Place it back in a pot, and stir on medium heat until it thickens. Remove it from heat; add vanilla.

The entire plaza was redesigned in 2011.

Day of the Holy Cross in Panchimalco, plus Marañon Candy

Marañones, or cashew apples basking in sunlight

As you walk up the hills on a cobblestone road, you find colorful dancers on your way. Surrounded by people, they wear painted wooden masks depicting jaguars, colorful birds, and other creatures. The figures bob up and down, and twirl at times to match the hypnotic beats of the music.

Cashew apples hanging from the tree (Marañones)

You arrive closer to the church, which was built in the late 1600´s (finished in the 1730´s). The whitewashed colonial style of the facade welcomes you to the town. Next to it, ladies finish assembling large decorations of palm leaves filled with beautiful real pink, purple and yellow flowers that look like they are made out of crepe paper, and that have been inserted in the leaves as if they were beads pulled through a string to make a necklace. These large leaves will wave through the air as the processions advance to enter the church before mass is given. You are in Panchimalco,  forty minutes away from the capital city of El Salvador, in Central America.

Facts about Cashew Apples, Anacardiums (the "Inverted Hearts, or Upwards Hearts")

Most people have seen or tasted cashew nuts, but never seen or heard of the fruit it´s placed on... Cashew apples, which resemble upside down hearts, were taken from their native Central/South America to India by the Portuguese in the 1560´s. It is through India that they arrived to Asia, and thus were included in their cuisine. Some Asian or West Indies countries have turned them into an alcohol that the Dutch considered tastier than brandy! Cashew apples have also been used in curries, turned into candy like the one described above (in Panama), and its juice is enjoyed in Brazil or turned into a fruit drink in many other Latin American countries.

History of the Holy Cross Day

The Holy Cross Day was originally celebrated on May 3rd and September 14th. Nowadays, the Roman Catholic Church officially celebrates only the September 14th date; however, in Latin America and Spain, the May 3rd celebration continues to be celebrated. In May, the pagan celebrations celebrated spring and fertility. Therefore, when the catholic missionaries arrived in the New World, they transformed this pagan feast into a Catholic celebration of the finding of the Holy Cross, of its rescue from the Persians during Constantine´s reign.
Nowadays, in Latin American countries, a wooden cross is placed in the ground, surrounded by fresh fruit, and decorated with links or other crepe paper decorations. In a few towns such as Panchimalco (see above), larger festivities are held.

Cashew apple nestled on the grass

Recipe for Marañon Candy/Jam
2 pounds of marañones
1 cup of water
4 cups of brown sugar, or one atado de panela (a block of dark molasses sugar)
2 cinnamon sticks

Remove the cashew seed/nuts and set them aside to roast another day. Wash the fruit, peel and shred/cut into pieces. Place it in a large pot, and add water. Boil for 20 minutes. Let it cool, then place it in the blender. Remove it, then place it again the pot, add sugar, and boil for another hour or so until it reaches the thickness of jam.

With this jam, you can make many items! If you have a bucketload of fruit, jam is a classical preserving option that will enable you to make many recipes with that fruit. The first thing I tried was a maranon coffeecake, after adapting a recipe I found in a Goldy Schultz culinary mystery novel (Crunch Time, by Diane Mott Davidson)

Cashew Apple Coffee Cake, baked in Nordicware Mini Flower Cake Pan
(left to right: sunflower, rose, and daisy)

Cashew Apple Coffee Cake
1 cup of natural yogurt
1/2 cup of cashew apple (maranon) homemade preserves
1/2 cup of butter
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon lime zest
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter with the sugar and add the eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients, and beat well with a mixer. Place the batter into two greased and floured 9 inch cake pans, or use your favorite good quality mold (I stress this because the cake is very moist, and thus it will probably be hard to get it out of a pan that has too many crevices for the batter to stick to.) I used a Nordicware mini flower cake pan, and prefer the rose shape, above all. The petal arrangement in the design is flabbergasting.

Squished cashew apple, a common sight under the tree

References

Marañon Shortcake (See: http://www.cocina33.com/receta/maraon-shortcake)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashew
Crunch Time, by Diane Mott Davidson

The Peruvian Equivalent of the Pumpkin

On a cooking forum website, some Chilean participants heatedly discuss with Peruvian participants about the lucuma, an exotic orange fruit, that has a thick skin like a melon´s. The forum facilitator writes: "The lucuma is native to Perú." A few posts down, the Chilean participants declare: "It is NOT from Perú! I always knew it was from Chile!" and the discussion gets stronger, as they go on to complain about pisco sour, another firing source of debate. 

In that genuine South American ambiance, we are pulled closer to these two countries, and can now imagine the Incas in MacchuPicchu, amongst green mountains, growing dozens of varieties of beans and peas. 

We can imagine them drinking llama´s milk, too. If we head down to the beach, we could have Peruvian ceviche, or a raw fish cocktail (silky soft morsels of fish meat that are bathed in orange juice and exquisitely adorned with purple onions, a side of sweet potatoes, and a sprinkling of corn kernels).

In the Peruvian lowlands, we would be able to find the lucuma, or zapote (the fruit´s name in Central America) which is a power food that is rich in vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and potassium. Its fruit or seed has been used to treat anemia, artherosclerosis, or leukemia. 

This second name comes from the aztec "tzapotl", which means soft fruit. It is grown in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, as well as Perú and Chile; several varieties have been tested in Homestead, FL. Some sources state the fruit originated in Central America, then spread to the Caribbean and South America. Others argue that it originated in Perú. The fruit is fibrous, and 

Perú, the largest producer, offers cans of lucuma puree that are readily available to the public, and are exported around the world. The zapote from Central America reportedly has a slightly different texture than its Peruvian counterpart. Its buttery texture reminds me of that of the avocado, and is possibly what makes its fans rave about it: "The lucuma is my favorite fruit!" or "You can find other flavors of ice cream, but none is better than lucuma!"

Peruvian websites offer numerous recipes of lucuma desserts, such as:  panna cotta, dulce de leche,  meringue, etc. Here is a recipe for ice cream, which I imagine must be the best tasting dessert, because it has  a much more incredible effect in your mouth when the cream has been frozen, than when it is at room temperature.

Recipe:
2 zapotes or lucumas
1/2 cup of sugar
4 egg yolks
2 cups of milk
1 tbsp. cornstarch

Remove the pit and skin and any sour-tasting parts of the fruit and mash it by hand, or place it in a food processor. Leave the puree as smooth as possible. Cook the egg yolks, the milk, and sugar in a double-boiler until the resulting custard is thick.  Place it in a closed container in the freezer. Once it is frozen, take it out and serve it. Its creamy, fruity taste will be more delectable when the weather is hot.

Zapote/lucuma ice cream next to Peruvian llama miniatures

References

List of many fruits and how to eat them:
http://www.chefuri.com/v4/reportaje-las-frutas-117.html
http://www.sabelotodo.org/agricultura/frutales/sapote.html
http://www.monografias.com/trabajos35/derivados-lucuma/derivados-lucuma.shtml#origen
http://blogs.elcomercio.pe/rinconrepostero/2011/03/helados-caseros-y-algo-mas.html
http://www.rdnattural.es/plantas-y-nutrientes-para-el-organismo/alimentos-saludables/zapote/