Introducing....
Panela! One of our first posts in Costa Rica showed our visit to a man that makes
Panela from Sugar Cane (click
HERE to see the original post). This is what
panela looks like in a solid form. The people here love to drink "
agua dulce" that is made from
panela. The "sweet water" is made pretty easily.
Most Costa
Ricans put one whole piece of
panela in about two cups of water. They dissolve it in the warm water and then they reserve the sweet syrup to use during the week. Each time they want to drink
agua dulce, they boil some water and pour a bit of the condensed syrup mixture in the water. Some people like to also add milk or cream. We have come to enjoy
agua dulce. It seems to be the beverage of choice around Costa Rica.
The package basically says that
panela is dehydrated 100% pure sugar cane juice.
The package basically says that panela is dehydrated 100% pure sugar cane juice.
Sounds sweet! Ya, panela is kind of like the "brown sugar" of Central and South America. Salvadoreans cut up sqash and steam it in large pots with big peices of panela on top. The squash soaks up the sugar and then they serve it with the syrup on top. Very sweet way to get your veggies..ha!
ReplyDelete