Guatemalan Dessert: Ayote en Dulce

Ayote en dulce or ayote en miel is among the most popular desserts for Día de Todos los Santos (Feast of All Souls) and Día de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead). Wondering what ayote is? well, ayotes are pumpkins. I bet you didn’t know that Guatemala is the cradle for pumpkins. The Guatemalan pumpkin is about the size of medium-size melon and it is green inside.

Here’s a simple recipe to prepare ayote en dulce.

Ingredients:

• 1 ayote mediado
• 1/2 pound of panela (read more about panela below)
• 1/2 half of cinnamon stick
• 1/2 of a ginger root
• 1 allspice ball

Preparation:
Wash well and break the ayote in small pieces. Put all the ayote pieces, cinnamon, ginger root, panela pieces and allspice in a pot and add enough water without covering ayote. Boil until the ayote is soft and the syrup has been absorbed by the ayote.

Panela is an unrefined food product, typical of Central and South America, which is basically a solid piece of sucrose and fructose obtained from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice.

Bon appetite!

Here are other Guatemalan desserts that are prepared for the season:

• Guatemalan Dessert: Jocotes en miel
• Guatemalan Dessert: Camote en miel
• Guatemalan Dessert: Coyoles en Miel
• Guatemalan Dessert: Coco en Miel
• Guatemalan Dessert: Chilacayote

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