Ponteduro Potosino de Maíz Tostado y Piloncillo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide copper cazo or heavy 4-quart saucepan
• •Dry comal or heavy skillet for toasting the popped maize
• •Wooden spoon
• •Candy thermometer
• •Sheet pan lined with totomoxtle or wax paper

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the tray

   Line a sheet pan with dried corn husks, totomoxtle, or wax paper. Set two metal spoons and a small bowl of water next to the stove. Ponteduro waits for nobody once the syrup reaches its point. Have the landing ready before you touch the piloncillo.

2. 2

   Pop the maize

   Heat a wide heavy pot or cazo over medium-high. Add the aceite de maíz and the maíz palomero criollo. Cover and shake constantly until the kernels pop small and uneven, 3 to 5 minutes. Criollo maize does not open like movie-theater popcorn. It opens tighter, with more chew and more corn flavor. That is what you want.

   Pick out any blackened kernels and any stones before you continue. A single burned kernel can make the whole batch taste bitter. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado. They check the maize with their hands before the fire ever starts.
3. 3

   Toast the popped corn

   Spread the popped maize on a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium heat. Toast for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until the pale kernels take on a light golden edge and smell nutty. This second toasting is why ponteduro tastes like maíz, not just sugar. Do not walk away.

4. 4

   Melt the piloncillo

   Combine the chopped piloncillo, water, canela, salt, and lime juice in a copper cazo or heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the piloncillo dissolves completely. If the piloncillo leaves grit, strain the syrup through a fine sieve and return it to the cazo. Market piloncillo is real cane sugar, not factory perfume. Sometimes it carries a little earth with it.

5. 5

   Cook to bola dura

   Boil the piloncillo syrup without stirring until it reaches 250F to 255F, the hard-ball point. If you do not have a thermometer, drop a little syrup into cold water. It should form a firm ball that holds its shape but still bends before it snaps. The bubbles will slow down and look thick, and the smell will move from raw cane to deep caramel and canela. Too soft and the clusters sag. Too hard and you punish the teeth.

   A thermometer is useful. Pride is not. The old cooks used cold water because that is what they had. Use both if you need to. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
6. 6

   Coat the maize

   Remove the canela stick. Add the toasted maize to the hot syrup all at once and fold fast with a wooden spoon until every kernel is coated. Work from the bottom of the cazo and turn the maize over itself. You should see amber threads of piloncillo pulling between the kernels. That is the binder. No me vengas con atajos.

7. 7

   Form the clusters

   While the mixture is still hot but manageable, use two lightly damp spoons to scoop rough clusters onto the prepared tray. Press each one just enough to hold together. Do not compact them into stones. Ponteduro should be firm, irregular, and generous, the kind of candy sold by weight on butcher paper at a feria table.

8. 8

   Cool and store

   Let the clusters cool completely, about 20 minutes. They should lift cleanly from the husks or paper and hold their shape without sticking to your fingers. Store in a glass jar or tin at room temperature for up to 10 days. Do not refrigerate them. Humidity is the enemy of sugar work, and San Luis Potosí cooks know to make this on a dry day when they can.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for maíz palomero criollo or maíz reventador at the market. Microwave popcorn is already treated with fat, salt, and flavoring. That belongs in a cinema, not in ponteduro.
• •Piloncillo oscuro is the binder and the flavor. Brown sugar is not the same ingredient. If you use it, you made a different candy and you should name it honestly.
• •There is no butter in ponteduro. The tiny spoonful of aceite de maíz is only to help the kernels pop. The candy should taste of corn and piloncillo, not dairy.
• •Make this on a dry day if you can. Sugar listens to the weather. In heavy humidity the clusters soften faster, and no amount of scolding will change that.

Advance Preparation

• •The maize can be popped and toasted one day ahead. Store it airtight so it stays dry and crisp before you make the syrup.
• •Set out the tray, spoons, and storage tins before cooking the piloncillo. Once the syrup reaches punto de bola dura, you work fast.
• •Finished ponteduro keeps 7 to 10 days in a tightly closed glass jar or tin at room temperature. Do not refrigerate it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 25g)