Street food from Panama & Venezuela: Dulces! (Candies & Sweets!) 
Luis Carlos Diaz from Periodismo en Paz is from Venezuela, and like me, he is one of the Global Voices' Latin American Team authors. He went candy shopping in Caracas the other day, then just to torture me he sent me the photos. I found myself drooling over my dearest Mac after identifying all the candies and goodies shown in the photos he took. (From let top: preservas de guayaba-guava preserves, cocada, preservas de platano-banana candy, guayaba candy, milk candy with guava, dulce de leche, dulce de toronja-candied grapefruit, coconut and papelon kisses-coconut molasses candy, red cocadas, white cocadas). The second photo was taken in Panama, and as you can appreciate, we heart cocadas too!
It reminded me of my always-mandatory visits to markets in Latin America, and the candy shops in Spain and Portugal. Oh my sweet tooth! There is something magic about it which brings up the spirit along with the memories of childhood. Yes, those days when we would eat candies and sugar as if there were no tomorrow. Sugar high is how I would describe it,...sugar high from the cotton candy aromas, candied fruits, cocadas and dulce de leche. Sugar high and happy.
Now, ...close your eyes and imagine the breeze under a nice, perfectly warm sunshine bathing you, with all the blessings that Mother and Father Nature can send you at once! Ahh! Picture the lonely beach, the coconut trees and all that sense of freedom you instantly get when you are in paradise...It sounds like a dream right now, but how about if you transform that dream into a beautiful, delicious cocada? Lets share the sunshine with our loved ones! After all, coconut is the tree which gives all that is necessary for living!
This is a very special recipe, it is nutritious, simple and delicious. Actually it has what I trust as the three main ingredients for a recipe worth keeping close to our heart.
The secret: a piece of cake. I followed the recipe "Cocada Blanca", by Colombian cookbook author, Chef Patricia McCausland-Gallo. This is a recipe dear to the heart of the children and grown ups in Colombia, Panamá, and most of the Latin American countries.
So, you wonder how I added my personal touch...right? Well, think of some crunchy blanched almonds and ground cinnamon. The result...a fantastic coconut candy, and a glorious variation from the original. Well, what are you waiting for to get the ingredients???
COCADA con ALMENDRA (White Cocadas with Almonds)
Yields: 8 large 3-inch cocadas or 16, 2-inch cocadas.
This is the best way to use coconuts. Keep these in airtight tins or containers and serve as dessert. These cocadas keep fresh if stored tightly in tin cans for up to a month.
Ingredients:
- 2 coconuts
- 1-3/4 cup sugar
- Oil, for preparing the pan (optional)
- 1 cup blanched almonds, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
Directions:
- Pick two large coconuts with plenty of water inside; drain, open and peel off the brown skin from the coconut meat. Shred the coconut to yield 3-3/4 cups shredded coconut meat and 2-1/2 cups coconut water.
- Mix the coconut water and sugar in a medium, heavy pot over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken and create a light syrup.
- Add the coconut, decrease the heat to low and cook stirring constantly for 15 to 18 minutes. The heat has to be very low to prevent the cocadas from turning brown, which is actually okay otherwise, but for this recipe they should stay white!
- Mix in the chopped almonds and cinnamon, and drop spoonfuls of the size you desire in oil coated pans or over parchment covered pans. Cool completely.
Un abrazo!
Melissa
- by Chef Melissa
- May 17, 2007
- 8:28 pm
Links Favoritos
Panama
- Autoridad de Turismo Panamá
- Municipio de Panamá
- Presidencia de Panamá
- ETC Blog Panama
- La Prensa Web
- Panama America
Panama Food Lovers
- Cocinerita - Aristóloga
- Bollo Preñao
- El Amor por la Cocina
- Blog de un Blogger
- VaneValentine Food
- El Buen Diente
- La Mesa de Freddo
- ChowTrek - Road Feasts
- Cocinova
- Anne Walker's Kalu Yala
Panama Restaurants
Personal Chefs
Latinolicious
Blogs That Cook
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Comments
05.17.07 at 10:16 PM |
I know the feeling, when I was in Manabis some kids were selling some intoxicating cocadas, blanco y negro! I think I overdosed, you can’t stop eating the stuff!
Great to see you posting again, I am struggling with my work and the blog!
Vacation please! : )
Jeremy
——-
05.18.07 at 08:01 AM |
Hola Jeremy! I am also struggling with work and the blogs—-just so many things we can do at the same time
Glad to know that you have tasted cocadas…you know exactly what I am talking about! Have a great day…
05.23.07 at 03:45 AM |
Ciao
volevo farti i complimenti hai un sito bellissimo un abbraccio dall’Italia
Elisa
Congratulations on a beautiful website
Loved everything on your site and you did a magnificent job. You should be proud of yourself
if youhave just a minute, visit me back and live a comment with your link, so other Italian people will be able to visit your blog
Elisa
06.02.07 at 01:12 AM |
Awesome site design! I love it.
PS: Those foods look so yummy!!
06.02.07 at 08:40 AM |
Thank you Jenny! Have atasty weekend
06.04.07 at 02:00 PM |
OMG! it’s not fair to imagine what you described. I live in Holland where we’re lucky if the sun shines and there are no cocotrees on our beaches *lol*
I wish I could taste cocadas, sound heaven!
(chef, I know you’re busy but I moved to a new site, this is my new link…thanks!)
06.04.07 at 02:09 PM |
Hola Thess, thanks for the visit! just came back from your blog…and it looks fabulous. Great work!
Melissa
06.04.07 at 08:05 PM |
Hey there Melissa,
I think the candies looks really good. Very exotic and tropical.
Thanks for droppin’ by,by the way.more power.
07.18.07 at 01:47 PM |
I love cocada branco ou queimada, como nos dizemos aqui It´s wonderful. The rest of the world don´t know what they are missing
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