Do you have a sweet tooth? Then Guatemalan typical candy is your dream come true!
If you do, during your visit to Guatemala, and even more, La Antigua, you will soon realize that these are ideal places where you can both satisfy your sense of culinary adventure and yes, your sweet tooth.
Desserts in Guatemala have a tight relationship with spices (like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg), milk (and powdered milk), fruits and definitely seeds. We love adding sugar and powdered sugar to many things. When it comes to candy, we love to mix and match, to create and take advantage of the wide range of fruits available, which is why you will also find candy made out of guava, tamarind, figs, sweet potatoes and pumpkin.
Let’s start with the famous ones, the ‘canillitas de leche’ or milk Canillitas. Did I mention we are also creative with names? Canillas is a common way to call legs, it is well known that if you’re light skinned, you might be told your legs are made of milk, hence, canillitas (small legs) de leche. Made with milk, sugar and cinnamon, canillitas are really one of the most popular traditional sweets you’ll find. Depending on the kind of sugar that’s used, their color and flavor will vary.
If you add some coconut and definitely more cinnamon to the mix, you will end up with the famous ‘encanelados’ which can be translated into ‘full of cinnamon’. We like coconut a lot, so we bathe it in condensed milk, add raisins to it, and create a soft and sweet paste with it to fill some figs. Figs were originally brought to Guatemala by the Spanish in colonial times and to turn them into candy, we boil them with sugar and spices and serve them as dessert or let them cool off and bathe them in a sweet concoction that will glaze them. We fill them with a mix of coconut and milk or with marzipan.
Marzipan is made from raw almonds and crushed sugar into a soft, smooth paste molded and served in a variety of shapes. Some people add raisins on top of the small squares made with it, some others add crushed almonds and others will shape it into whatever form needed for special occasions like baptisms or first communions.
From Qué Pasa Edition 139 October 2023
We use guava to make colochos, yes, another one of our very special words which means ‘curly ones’, it applies to hair, and all curly forms, including candy. Chewy, round, and made from seasoned guava, they are covered in sugar and you might not find them in many other places. (than Guatemala?)
Pumpkin is boiled with plenty of sugar and spices for hours and hours until it gets a caramelized taste and texture that will definitely impress those who have just tasted pumpkin in pies or soups. The final name given to this traditional candy is ‘chilacayote’.
We could go on and on about the tens abundance? of candy available, and even if we described them at length, you might not be able to identify them as Guatemalans are creative when it comes to preparing food, assigning nicknames and trying to give directions.
The best advice we can give is for you to take the task seriously, go out and find the Guatemalan typical candy. Take a look, ask as many questions as you can (just in case there is something you’re allergic to) and immerse yourself in one of the culinary delights this country has to offer.
You will never, ever regret it.
Written by Sofia Letona
Photos by Sofia Letona
