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Quentão
Hot spiced cachaça
Quentão: hot cachaça simmered with caramel, ginger, cinnamon and cloves, poured into tin mugs at the June bonfire
When the Festas Juninas light up São Paulo's interior and the cold southern states in June and July, quentão is ladled steaming from a big pot beside the bonfire, next to paper cones of roasted pinhão, popcorn and paçoca. It is a festival warmer for adults only: dark caramel, sharp fresh ginger, clove and cinnamon, with the cachaça softened by heat but still clearly there. It should taste spicy and sweet, never syrupy, and smell like a spice market from across the yard. Simmering removes only part of the alcohol, so treat a mug as a real drink and drink responsibly. The classic mistake is letting the pot boil hard once the cachaça is in: the alcohol vapour can catch on a gas flame and the drink turns flat and harsh. Keep it at a bare shiver and never pour from the bottle near the flame. It is ready when the caramel is a deep amber, the ginger has made the syrup peppery on the tongue and steam rises without bubbles. Chef's tip: let the sugar caramelise until it smells just short of burnt; that bitter edge is what makes quentão taste grown-up rather than sweet.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the quentão
- 5 ½ oz white sugar
- 2 cups water
- 2 ⅛ oz fresh gingerpeeled and thinly sliced
- 3 strips orange peelpared without pith
- 2 cups cachaça
For the alcohol-free version
- 3 ½ oz white sugar (optional)
- 1 ¾ cups water (optional)
- 2 ⅛ oz fresh ginger (optional)peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 cinnamon sticks (optional)
- 8 whole cloves (optional)
- 3 strips orange peel (optional)
- 2 ½ cups apple juice (optional)cloudy, unsweetened
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Spread 5 ½ oz white sugar over the base of a wide, heavy pan and melt it over medium heat without stirring, swirling the pan, until it turns a deep amber caramel and smokes very faintly.
7 minStep 2: Take the pan off the heat and pour in 2 cups water slowly at arm's length; it will spit and the caramel will seize. Return to low heat and stir until the caramel has dissolved again.
3 minStep 3: Add 2 ⅛ oz fresh ginger, 2 cinnamon sticks, 8 whole cloves and 3 strips orange peel and simmer gently, uncovered, until the syrup tastes peppery with ginger and smells strongly of clove.
10 minStep 4: Turn the heat to its lowest setting, move the pan away from any open flame and pour in 2 cups cachaça. Heat until steaming but never bubbling, then switch off.
5 minStep 5: Strain or leave the spices in, and ladle into heatproof mugs. Serve hot, keeping the pot covered and off the flame between rounds.
1 minStep 6: Alcohol-free version: caramelise 3 ½ oz white sugar in the same way until deep amber, then carefully pour in 1 ¾ cups water and stir over low heat until smooth.
9 minStep 7: Alcohol-free version: add 2 ⅛ oz fresh ginger, 2 cinnamon sticks, 8 whole cloves and 3 strips orange peel and simmer until fragrant and peppery.
10 minStep 8: Alcohol-free version: pour in 2 ½ cups apple juice and heat until steaming hot, then ladle into mugs. Children love this one at the festa.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 29 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does quentão take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 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.
- What can I use instead of white sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
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