Ponche de Piña Frío Sinaloense

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 2-quart saucepan
• •Large glass or ceramic bowl for macerating
• •High-powered blender
• •Medium-mesh strainer
• •Large glass pitcher (jarra)
• •Cast iron comal for toasting the pecans
• •Heavy glass tumblers (vasos jarocho) for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the canela syrup

   In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the cold water, piloncillo, canela sticks, and cloves. Bring to a low simmer over medium heat. Stir until the piloncillo dissolves completely, about eight minutes. Lower the heat and let it tick along for another five minutes so the canela has time to give up its perfume. Pull off the heat and let the syrup cool to room temperature with the spices still in it. The canela keeps working as it cools.

   Use real Mexican canela, the soft, splintery bark, not the hard cassia sticks sold as cinnamon in American supermarkets. Cassia is harsh and one-note. Canela is sweet and floral and it is the spine of every dulce in northwest Mexico.
2. 2

   Macerate the pineapple

   Place the pineapple chunks in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Strain the cooled syrup over the fruit, discarding the spices. Stir, cover, and refrigerate for at least four hours, or overnight if you have the time. The piña drinks the syrup and the syrup borrows the perfume of the fruit. This step is the recipe. No me vengas con atajos.

3. 3

   Toast the pecans

   While the fruit macerates, heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium-low. Spread the pecans in a single layer and toast them, shaking the pan often, until they smell sweet and the kitchen fills with that warm baked-nut perfume, about five minutes. Slide them onto a plate to stop the cooking. Burned pecans turn bitter and there is no fixing them. Once cool, chop them coarsely. Set aside with the raisins.

4. 4

   Blend the base

   Working in two batches if your blender is small, combine the macerated pineapple and its syrup with the evaporated milk, condensed milk, whole milk, vanilla, and the pinch of salt. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth and a pale, creamy yellow, about one minute per batch. Pour through a medium-mesh strainer into a large pitcher to catch any stray pineapple fiber. Press lightly on the pulp with the back of a spoon. The texture you want is loose, drinkable, with body like a thin atole.

5. 5

   Chill the punch

   Cover the pitcher and refrigerate for at least one hour. The ponche should be cold enough that the glass sweats the moment you pour. A lukewarm ponche tastes flat and the cream feels heavy. Cold and bright is the whole point. Stir well before serving, since the pineapple solids settle at the bottom.

6. 6

   Serve over ice with the topping

   Fill heavy glass tumblers (vasos jarocho) with crushed ice. Pour the ponche over the ice until the glass is nearly full. Top each one with a generous spoonful of chopped toasted pecans and a scattering of raisins. Dust with ground canela and tuck a wedge of pineapple onto the rim. Serve immediately, with a long spoon so guests can chase the pecans and raisins at the bottom. This is a fiesta drink. Pour generously. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •The pineapple has to be ripe to the point of fragrance. If it does not smell sweet at the base when you lift it to your nose, it is not ready and your ponche will be sour. Buy it three days ahead and let it sit on the counter until the perfume hits you when you walk into the kitchen.
• •Piloncillo is not brown sugar and the substitution is a compromise. Piloncillo carries a smoky, almost mineral depth that brown sugar cannot match. Look for it in any tienda mexicana sold as cones wrapped in paper. Chop it with a heavy knife on a cutting board.
• •Do not skip the salt. A pinch of salt in a sweet drink is what tells your tongue the rest of the flavors are there. Sinaloan cooks know this and so do the abuelas of every dulce kitchen in Mexico.
• •If you want to gild it for an adult fiesta, a splash of light rum or mezcal joven turns this into a proper cantina punch. But the original is non-alcoholic, served to abuelos and children at the same table. That is the dish.

Advance Preparation

• •The pineapple can macerate in the syrup overnight, up to 24 hours. Past that, the fruit starts to break down and the texture turns mushy.
• •The blended ponche keeps in the refrigerator for two days. Stir well before serving since the solids settle.
• •Toast the pecans up to three days ahead and store them airtight at room temperature. Do not chop them until serving so they keep their crunch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 325g)