Chef Lupita
Alegrías de Amaranto de Tulyehualco
Ciudad de México's Tulyehualco alegría is popped huautli folded into piloncillo honey, pressed with peanuts, pepitas, and raisins, then cut into the rectangular bars that built a pueblo's identity.
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Tejocotes en Almíbar Poblanos
Created by
Puebla's Christmas tejocotes, from the cold slopes near San Andrés Calpan, simmered whole in piloncillo, canela, clove, and orange until the fruit turns tender and amber.
Desserts
Mexican
Christmas
Holiday
25 min
Active Time
50 min cook•1 hr 15 min total
Yield8 servings
Puebla, especially the cold highland orchards around San Andrés Calpan, Huejotzingo, and the slopes near Popocatépetl, is where I place this dish. Tejocotes grow where the air turns sharp in late autumn. That matters. This is not tropical fruit dressed up for December. This is central Mexico's Christmas fruit, tart, firm, and stubborn until the syrup teaches it manners.
The defining ingredient is the tejocote itself, small Mexican hawthorn with yellow-orange skin and a perfume that wakes up when it meets piloncillo and canela. The same fruit goes into ponche navideño, yes, but en almíbar it stands alone. You blanch it, peel it, and simmer it whole. No me vengas con atajos. If you leave the skin on, the syrup turns rough and bitter. If you boil it hard, the fruit splits and you get mush.
I learned this version from a woman at the Calpan market who sold tejocotes by the bucket in December, her hands stained from peeling more fruit before noon than most people peel in a year. She told me: low fire, whole fruit, piloncillo first. She was right. Saber cocinar es saber vivir, and sometimes knowing how to cook is knowing when not to make the fruit hurry.
Tejocote, Crataegus mexicana, is native to the Mexican highlands and was used in central Mexico before the Spanish conquest as food and medicine. After the colonial introduction of cane sugar and the wider use of piloncillo, cooks in Puebla, the Estado de México, Hidalgo, and Tlaxcala preserved seasonal fruits in almíbar for winter tables and religious holidays. San Andrés Calpan in Puebla remains closely associated with tejocote production, and the fruit's strongest national identity is tied to Christmas ponche and December market cooking.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh tejocotes
Quantity
2 pounds
rinsed well
water
Quantity
6 cups, plus more for blanching
piloncillo
Quantity
1 cone, about 8 ounces
granulated sugar
Quantity
1 cup
Mexican cinnamon sticks (canela)
Quantity
2
whole cloves
Quantity
3
orange peel
Quantity
1 strip
pith removed
kosher salt
Quantity
1 pinch
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh tejocotesrinsed well | 2 pounds |
| water | 6 cups, plus more for blanching |
| piloncillo | 1 cone, about 8 ounces |
| granulated sugar | 1 cup |
| Mexican cinnamon sticks (canela) | 2 |
| whole cloves | 3 |
| orange peelpith removed | 1 strip |
| kosher salt | 1 pinch |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide clay cazuela or heavy 4-quart pot
- •Small paring knife
- •Wooden spoon
- •Small clay bowls for serving
Instructions
- 1
Blanch the tejocotes
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the tejocotes and cook for 5 minutes, just until the skins loosen and wrinkle. Drain them and rinse under cool water until you can handle them. This is not cooking them through. This is loosening the skin so the syrup can reach the fruit.
- 2
Peel the fruit
Peel each tejocote with your fingers or a small knife. Leave the fruit whole, pits inside. Do not cut them in half unless they are bruised. Whole tejocotes hold their shape in the almíbar and look right in the cazuela. The skin is tough and bitter, so remove it. Así se hace y punto.
If the skins fight you, blanch the fruit 2 minutes more. Tejocotes vary by harvest. The market tells you how hard you have to work. - 3
Build the syrup
Combine the 6 cups water, piloncillo, sugar, canela, cloves, orange peel, and salt in a wide clay cazuela or heavy pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the piloncillo dissolves. The syrup should smell like Christmas in the central highlands: dark sugar, cinnamon, citrus, and fruit waiting its turn.
- 4
Simmer the tejocotes
Add the peeled tejocotes to the syrup. Lower the heat so the liquid moves gently. Cook uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes, until the fruit is tender when pierced with a small knife but still whole. Do not boil hard. A hard boil bursts the fruit and clouds the syrup. Patience gives you clear almíbar and fruit that keeps its dignity.
- 5
Rest in syrup
Turn off the heat and let the tejocotes cool in the syrup for at least 1 hour. They absorb more flavor as they sit. Remove the orange peel and cloves if you want a cleaner presentation. The canela can stay in the cazuela because people know what it is.
- 6
Serve or store
Serve at room temperature or slightly warm in small clay bowls, with enough syrup to spoon over each fruit. For Christmas tables, set the cazuela out family-style. These are not candy-store sweets. They are market fruit preserved for the season. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
Chef Tips
- •Buy tejocotes in late November and December when they are firm, fragrant, and yellow-orange with a little blush. If they are green and hard as stones, wait. The mercado decides the calendar.
- •Piloncillo gives the syrup its dark, mineral sweetness. White sugar alone makes a flat syrup. Use both here: piloncillo for flavor, sugar for clean body.
- •Do not remove the pits before cooking. The fruit collapses when hollowed out. Serve them whole and warn people there are pits inside, the way every Mexican table already knows.
- •If you cannot find fresh tejocotes, frozen peeled tejocotes are a compromise and useful outside Mexico. Do not use canned tejocotes for this recipe. They are already cooked and will fall apart.
Advance Preparation
- •Tejocotes en almíbar are better the next day after resting in the syrup overnight.
- •Store refrigerated in a covered glass jar or clay container for up to 1 week.
- •Rewarm gently over low heat if serving warm. Do not boil after storage or the fruit will split.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 300g)
Calories
310 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
25 mg
Total Carbohydrates
75 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
64 g
Protein
1 g
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