Chapala Myrtle Berry Candy (Dulce de Arrayan)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 3-quart copper cazo, enamel pot, or stainless steel saucepan
• •Food mill or fine-mesh sieve
• •Wooden spoon
• •Lightly oiled tray or parchment-lined sheet pan

Instructions

1. 1

   Sort the fruit

   Pick through the arrayan berries and discard any fruit that is moldy, fermented, or split open in a bad way. Rinse well and remove the stems. Good arrayan smells tart and floral. If it smells sour like spoiled fruit, do not cook it. Sugar does not fix bad fruit.

2. 2

   Soften the berries

   Put the arrayan berries and water in a heavy pot. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the skins wrinkle and the berries collapse when pressed with a spoon. You are not making soup. You are loosening the pulp from the seeds and skin.

3. 3

   Strain the pulp

   Pass the softened fruit through a food mill or press it firmly through a fine-mesh sieve with a wooden spoon. Scrape the thick pulp from the underside of the sieve. Discard the seeds and skins. Weigh the pulp if you can. Use the same weight of sugar as pulp. If you do not have a scale, measure the pulp by volume and use the same volume of sugar. The scale is better. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado. They know this by the feel of the spoon.

   Do not blend the whole berries with the seeds. Arrayan seeds make the candy gritty and can turn the flavor harsh. Pressing takes work because the fruit asks for work.
4. 4

   Cook the paste

   Return the strained pulp to the clean pot. Add the equal amount of sugar, lime juice, salt, and ground chile piquin. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 30 to 40 minutes. The mixture will loosen first, then thicken and turn glossy. It is ready when the spoon leaves a clear path across the bottom of the pot and the paste gathers into a heavy mass instead of flowing back immediately.

5. 5

   Test the candy

   Drop a small spoonful of the paste onto a cool plate. Let it sit for one minute. If you can roll it between your fingers without it spreading into a puddle, it is ready. If it sticks like jam, keep cooking and stirring. No me vengas con atajos. Undercooked dulce de arrayan will not hold its shape.

6. 6

   Cool the paste

   Scrape the hot paste onto a lightly oiled tray or a sheet of parchment. Spread it about 1/2 inch thick and let it cool until you can handle it, about 45 minutes. It should be warm, flexible, and firm enough to pinch without running. Do not refrigerate it now. Cold makes the outside firm before the center settles.

7. 7

   Shape and sugar

   Put the rolling sugar in a shallow dish. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of the paste, roll into balls, then flatten into small disks about 1 1/2 inches wide. Coat each piece in sugar on all sides. If you want the Chapala market style with more bite, mix a pinch more chile piquin into the rolling sugar.

8. 8

   Dry and serve

   Set the sugared candies on a tray in a single layer and let them dry at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, until the outside feels dry and the inside stays chewy. Serve them in a clay dish with coffee, atole, or nothing at all. This is budget cooking with memory in it. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Arrayan is seasonal. Around Lake Chapala, ask in the market during late summer and fall, when vendors bring small baskets of the fruit. If the arrayan is not good, do not make dulce de arrayan today. Cook what the market is selling.
• •Chile piquin is the right chile here because it is sharp, small, and clean. Do not use chili powder blends with cumin, garlic, or oregano. That belongs somewhere else, not in this candy.
• •If you cannot find arrayan outside Mexico, do not pretend guava paste is the same thing. Guava gives you a good fruit candy, but it misses the tart, wild edge of arrayan. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Use a heavy pot and a wooden spoon. Thin pots scorch fruit paste fast, and scorched sugar will make the whole batch taste burned. Stir more than you think. My mother's note was right: mover hasta que pese, stir until it feels heavy.

Advance Preparation

• •The arrayan pulp can be cooked, strained, and refrigerated for up to 2 days before reducing with sugar.
• •Finished candies keep for 1 week in an airtight container at room temperature, with parchment between layers. Do not refrigerate unless your kitchen is very humid.
• •For market-style drying, leave the sugared candies uncovered for 4 to 6 hours in a dry room before storing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 20g)