We Guatemalans are the best recyclers in the world. That’s what I was trying to convey a couple of weeks ago with the entry Recycling Around Antigua Guatemala where a list some of the ways we recycle in Guatemala. Well, today I happy to share another way we recycle in Guatemala: Bocado de Reina, a … Read more
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 … Read more
So, what would you like for postre (dessert) today? Here are two choices based on fruits very popular in Guatemala: Bananas and Peaches. Bananas, of course, can be found in Guatemala all year long; that’s just one of the benefits of having been a Banana Republic. By the way, the bananas are tempura banana slices. … Read more
Corbatas are fried flour-based crunchy dessert soaked in syrup or honey. Corbatas take their name from the shape they are cooked into. I believe corbatas are known as molletes in Mexico, which are not at all like the Guatemalan molletes. When was the last time you had corbatas?
Because today is a holiday in Guatemala (read the aside below), we are going to skip all the controversial stuff and just have Empanadas de leche as dessert, postre in Spanish. It was a little over year ago that Lucía requested “photos of some ‘empanadas de leche’ (las que tienen manjar adentro), pleaseeeeyyyy?” See, sometimes … Read more
Many Guatemalan desserts are prepared exactly as coco en miel. I believe we already covered the en miel preserves before in Guatemalan Dessert: Jocotes en miel. Basically, en miel means in syrup (literal translation of miel would be honey, but in this instance it means syrup or almíbar in Spanish). To turn any fruit to … Read more
The first person that can name this Guatemalan dessert AND provide the recipe for its preparation through the comments will win a surprise photo package. Everyone is encouraged to participate. Let’s see how long it takes for someone to come up with both answers.
Camotes en miel could be translated as sweet potatoes in syrup or in preserves. Camotes en miel is also another popular dessert for the Day of the Dead (Día de los difuntos) in Guatemala. Camotes en miel, unlike jocotes en miel, can be found in La Antigua Guatemala year round.
Rellenitos (little fillings) is the name given to a food made from plantain dough which molded into a semi-round shaped and filled (thus the name) with a black beans sauce or stuffed with manjar (custard). It is a sweet meal and normally eaten as junk food or as dessert. It is one of my favorite Guatemalan desserts and I am sure I am not the only one with a soft spot for this kind of meal. Check out this close-up shot of rellenitos to see the black bean sauce filling.
But like in anything else in life, something good emerged from such a tragic history. Fried plantains, rellenitos (fried plantain mass filled with black beans), atol de platano (plantain-based hot and thick drink) and even the wrappings of traditional Guatemalan tamal came from the banana trees. Man, I could on and on talking about bananas recipes and dishes in Guatemala like Bubba did in Forest Gump about shrimp.
Guatemalan mole is very similar to mole poblano, which is a chocolate and chili based sauce (over simplification of the ingredients). One big difference is that mole poblano is a meal with chicken or turkey, while Guatemalan mole is a dessert of plantains ladled with chocolate sauce or mole for short. Bon appetite!
This guy is the self-proclaimed King of the Buñuelos of La Antigua Guatemala. After making such claim, he turned towards the competition and asked, “Isn’t true that I am El Rey?” to which the other vendors just nodded. Last year on December 6th, 2006 there was a picture of his fair food stand.
By the way, although I have not mentioned it yet, every night as I write the daily entry I can hear the bombas (bombs) firecracker, the cohetes (firecrackers) being burnt, the church bells tolling, the canchinflines (whistle) firecracker and all kinds of unknown (to me) firecracker being burnt and creating a loud bang which I can hear as echoes through the far away streets. In additions to the smells and scents, the Christmas season in Guatemala has a soundtrack of its own.
Guatemalan torrejas is what happens when you mix a good sampling of Guatemalan sweet bread known as molletes; stuff it with manjar (custard*); then wrap the whole thing with beaten eggs; fry it; and finally let it boil in a sweet sauce made from sugar, water, red wine and cinnamon until syrup is obtained. One … Read more
With the season’s celebrations comes the ever-present traditional fair food. Here we have a shot of Guatemalan mole and buñuelos in the foreground and Pirujos, the name for Guatemalan sandwiches, in the background. Guatemalan mole is very similar to mole poblano, which is a chocolate and chili based sauce (over simplification of the ingredients). One … Read more