|
Halloween is creeping up on us and Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Honey (from Mexico) is moving into store shelves across the country. When we found the cookbook Frida’s Fiestas, we were inspired to find a way to bring honey, halloween and Mexican traditions together. You'll love this recipe for sweet pumpkin candy, dulces de calabasas!
Frida's Fiestas is Guadalupe Rivera’s tender culinary memoir of family meals prepared by her stepmother, Frida Kahlo, in Central Mexico in the 1930s and 40s. Frida often prepared pumpkin candy for the family's annual Day of the Dead celebration November 1 and 2. This recipe is a slight modification of Frida's original, but it's sweet and delicious. And although this recipe takes time, it’s very simple and is a delightful, sweet ending for a meal filled with moles (“molays”), beans, tamales and fruits.
Dulces De Calabasas: Mexican Pumpkin Candy
Ingredients
1 fresh baking pumpkin (baking pumpkins have a higher sugar content than carving pumpkins)
Water to cover the pumpkin
1 cup Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Amber Honey* or Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Raw Cane Sugar or Organic Turbinado
Method
Clean the pumpkin (and save those seeds for our next issue of the Sugar Club!) and cut the meat into 1-inch "squares." Place the pumpkin in a saucepan and just cover it with water. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, uncovered, until the pumpkin is fork tender. Gently remove the pumpkin with a spider or slotted spoon. There should be about 1˝ cups of liquid remaining.
Add the honey, or brown sugar, to the liquid and dissolve over low heat. Place the pumpkin back in the pan and bring it slowly to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. (Be careful not to overcook the pumpkin--the candy can get a bit mushy if overdone.) Remove from heat and cover. Let the pumpkin stand at room temperature in the syrup for at least 8 hours (12 hours is best!).
Bring the mixture back to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the pumpkin from the syrup and spread the pieces out on a wire rack (be sure that the pieces do not touch one another).
Let the pumpkin dry in a warm place for 8-12 hours (drying time will vary depending on humidity levels). While still slightly sticky, roll each piece in the Raw Cane Sugar or Turbinado. Layer the pumpkin candy on sheets of waxed paper and store them in a dry, cool place. (Beware! Pumpkin candy has a way of disappearing…)
Interested in learning more about the traditions of Halloween and All Saints & All Souls days? Please visit the American Folklife Center's web page The Fantasy and Folklore of All Hallows.
*For a more complex tone and darker color, add a couple tablespoons of molasses to the honey. You might also want to add your own touches-- a hint of cinnamon, allspice, cloves...
| 
