Ponche Recipe

Posted by deslava27 |

Ponche Recipe

My first winter in Mexico I was treated to ponche. Now if you have never tasted ponche it taste like fruit punch except a lot better. The easy way to get Ponche is ask your Aunt or Grandma and they will delightfully cook you up a nice batch, but if you are unlucky, the concept is basic to make: take some fruit put it in a large pot of hot water and boil. At least that’s the idea you really can’t screw up.

The following is a recipe stolen from one of my Aunts.  Now if you are like me one of your Aunts has a large Olla Tamallera filled with dents and scratches and looks like it was tossed in acid, this will  suffice if you can pry it from her without noticing. If its your grandma’s pot it has soot all over the bottom because after a certain age, they don’t really bother to wash it on the outside, bonus points there if you can pry it from your grandma with out her asking why you are taking her pot.  My grandma says it evens out the cooking. Some kind of pre-teflon cookware I believe.

So here are the ingredients you’ll need for a small pot.

2 Golden Delicious apples
handful of raisins
1 pound guava
3 hand length pieces sugarcane
1/2 pound crabapples, peeled
1 cup of Tamarind
handful of diced pineapple
sugar
4 sticks of cinnamon
1 handful of Jamaica leaves (Hibiscus leaves)
Water

Now if you want exact measurements you can find those online. Usually with my family it consists of finding fruit left over and tossing it into the pot during the holiday.  However you do need the crab apples and they have to be peeled, easiest way is boil them first and peel them while they are still hot.  Golden delicious apples, guava and sugarcane as well as the tamarind are a must. The tamarind has to be washed before hand and rinsed really well, don’t chop it up, and using the real thing is a must tamarind paste is not a good idea. The cinnamon can not be powdered it has to be in its stick form, the rest of the fruit added are raisins, prunes, grapes, peaches, plumbs, anything really. Add to your hearts contents anything that can survive a boil without turning to mush is good.

Cut the fruit up into manageable bite size shapes and toss them into the pot, once the pot is filled with the fruit, pour water until it completely covers the fruit and then some. Add the cinnamon and sugar to your liking. If your fruit is very fresh then add more sugar, if your fruit is very ripe add less.  Add the Jamaica leaves they will give the ponche its dark red color, and boil for about an hour to hour 1/2 or until you can pretty much see all the fruit soft and that’s it serve hot, and enjoy. Once its cooled drink it with Ice. Enjoy.