Ponche Navideño

a steaming punch of guavas, tejocotes, sugarcane, tamarind, and prunes simmered with cinnamon and piloncillo, the warm fruit drink poured at the Mexican posadas through the December nights

Origin: Mexico

From the journey of Guava.

Ponche navideño is the warm, fragrant fruit punch that scents every Mexican home and posada through the Christmas season, simmered in great pots and ladled steaming into clay jarritos against the December cold. It is a drink built on the fruits of the Mexican winter, and guava is one of its defining notes: fresh guavas, halved, give the punch its heady perfume and musky sweetness, alongside the small tart tejocote (the Mexican hawthorn), chunks of sugarcane to chew, tamarind, prunes and raisins, and slices of apple, all simmered long with cinnamon sticks and dark, unrefined piloncillo sugar until the whole is fragrant, sweet, and amber. The fruit is meant to be eaten as well as drunk, scooped into the cup with the liquid, and for the adults the punch is often spiked with a measure of rum, tequila, or brandy, when it becomes ponche con piquete. Served at the nine nights of the posadas leading to Christmas, ponche navideño is the taste of the Mexican festive season, and guava is at the heart of it.

Ingredients

The Fruit

4 ripe guavas, halved
8 tejocotes (Mexican hawthorn), or substitute extra apple
2 apples, cored and cut into chunks
1 stick fresh sugarcane, peeled and cut into batons (optional)
60 g tamarind pulp (or 4 tamarind pods, peeled)
80 g pitted prunes and raisins

The Punch

3 litres water
200 g piloncillo (or dark brown sugar), to taste
2 sticks cinnamon (canela)
4 hibiscus flowers (jamaica), optional, for colour

To Serve

rum, tequila, or brandy, to spike (optional)

Method

Bring the water to the boil in a large pot with the cinnamon sticks and the piloncillo, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Add the tejocotes (if using whole, simmer them first for 10 minutes, then their skins slip off) and the tamarind, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the guavas, apples, sugarcane, prunes, raisins, and the hibiscus if using. Simmer gently for a further 25 to 30 minutes, until all the fruit is soft and the punch is fragrant and amber.
Taste and adjust the sweetness with more piloncillo. Fish out the cinnamon sticks.
Ladle hot into mugs or clay jarritos, giving each a share of the fruit, and serve. Add a splash of rum, tequila, or brandy to the adults' cups if you like (ponche con piquete).

Notes

Tejocote, guava, sugarcane, and tamarind are the traditional fruits; the rest vary by household, and dried hibiscus (jamaica) is sometimes added for a rosy colour. The fruit is part of the drink, eaten with a spoon. Make a big pot, as it is served all evening at the posadas. Without alcohol it is a family drink; spiked, it is ponche con piquete.

The Gastrographer

Name: Ponche Navideño
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Mexico
Ingredients: 4 ripe guavas, halved; 8 tejocotes (Mexican hawthorn), or substitute extra apple; 2 apples, cored and cut into chunks; 1 stick fresh sugarcane, peeled and cut into batons (optional); 60 g tamarind pulp (or 4 tamarind pods, peeled); 80 g pitted prunes and raisins; 3 litres water; 200 g piloncillo (or dark brown sugar), to taste; 2 sticks cinnamon (canela); 4 hibiscus flowers (jamaica), optional, for colour; rum, tequila, or brandy, to spike (optional)

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control