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.