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Almíbar nicaragüense
Fruit preserve in panela syrup
Almíbar: Nicaragua's Holy Week fruit preserve in spiced panela syrup
In Nicaragua, Semana Santa means almíbar: a big pot of mango, papaya, jocote (hog plum) and grosella (gooseberry) simmered for hours in a dark panela syrup with cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Families make it ahead and share it with neighbours, who return the bowl full of their own. It is served cool in small bowls, sometimes with a slice of cheese. Jocotes and grosellas are hard to find abroad; firm plums and cape gooseberries are good stand-ins. It is vegan and gluten free. Chef's tip: add the fruit in order of firmness so everything finishes tender but whole.
- Total time
- 180 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb panela or dark brown sugargrated
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 6 cloves
- 1 ⅛ lb firm, half-ripe papayapeeled, in chunks
- 2 green or firm mangoespeeled, in chunks
- 10 ½ oz jocotes or firm red plumshalved, stones left in
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Dissolve 1 ⅛ lb panela or dark brown sugar in 6 ¼ cups water with 2 cinnamon sticks, 6 cloves and 6 allspice berries and simmer for 20 minutes.
20 minStep 2: Add 1 ⅛ lb firm, half-ripe papaya and 2 green or firm mangoes and simmer gently, uncovered, for 1 hour.
60 minStep 3: Add 10 ½ oz jocotes or firm red plums and 5 ½ oz grosellas or cape gooseberries and simmer for 45–60 minutes more, until all the fruit looks glossy and translucent and the syrup is thick enough to coat a spoon.
55 minStep 4: Shake the pot rather than stirring, as stirring breaks the fruit. A common mistake is a rolling boil, which turns the fruit to mush and the syrup bitter.
Step 5: Cool in the syrup and keep in the fridge in jars for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 200 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does almíbar nicaragüense take?
- About 180 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 150 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of panela or dark brown sugar?
- White sugar + 1 tbsp molasses or treacle per 200g.
- What can I use instead of cinnamon sticks?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
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