Hello, friends and lovers of Mexican gastronomy. Mexico has an immense variety of sweets that vary from one state to another, many of which are handmade and represent a reflection of Mexican culture; I invite you to discover them with me.
In Mexico, there is a myth about the origin of traditional sweets that goes back to the time of the Mayan, Olmec and Teotihuacan cultures. It is said that the children of these times ate ants that had a nectar, and that is how the history of sweets in Mexico began. The first sweets were created with the pulp of fruits, cereal and honey; travelers used them to endure long trips and have energy quickly.
Most of the sweets were made with native fruits, but upon the arrival of the Spaniards, and with the intention of supporting the Evangelization, they combined the European culinary customs with the indigenous ones. In the central states of the Republic there is an exquisite, sweet tradition, inherited from the colonial past. In many states there were transcendental convents, where milk was used to make Rompope and cajeta. Likewise, other delicacies were created such as: lemons stuffed with coconut, palanquetas, crystallized fruits and spicy sweets.
Let's talk a little about the most traditional and acclaimed sweets, in my opinion:
- Alegrías are one of Mexico's most distinctive sweets. The main ingredients in alegrías are amaranth seeds, sugar, honey and raisins. Amaranth is a plant native to Mexico since pre-Hispanic times, which was part of the food and indigenous ceremonies.
- The ate was born during the colonial period. It is said that those responsible for its creation were the Franciscan friars, who produced a paste with sugar that they heated to obtain the characteristic gelatinous texture.
- Nowadays, tamarind pots have countless presentations. They can be found in the form of a small ball, in a spoon, wrapped or, most commonly, in a clay or plastic pot. This candy is made from natural tamarind pulp, sugar, salt, chili powder and lime.
- Cajeta is the traditional Mexican sweet made with goat milk. This product receives different names depending on the region where it is consumed: cajeta, manjar or arequipe. Traditionally, it is made with goat's milk, sugar, vanilla essence, cinnamon and baking soda. All the components are heated over low heat in a copper pot for a few hours and constantly combined with a wooden ladle until the desired consistency and brown color is reached.
- Cocoa and chocolate have their origins in Mexico. Cocoa was sent to Europe after the Spanish conquest, where they gradually refined their production processes. Mexican chocolate today has a more natural presentation, its texture is grainy and it is usually accompanied with various spices such as nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon and chili.
- Mexican marzipan became popular around 1950, when the Jalisco company De la Rosa created a different recipe based on peanuts, sugar and egg. Today in Mexico, this is the marzipan we traditionally recognize.
This is just a taste of our most popular traditional sweets. Here at your Mexhaus we have a wide variety of sweets and we invite you to visit our Mexican Sweets subcategory within the Food section. We are sure you will be able to find something to delight your palate.
Also, we invite you to try a variety of Mexican candies with our Party Pack Set and our Piñata Sets... you can't miss them!
