Mexican Candy and Day of the Dead Festivities!

Wow, I can’t belive my last post was almost a week ago! Again, my apologies for my absence, but since my parents have returned to the east coast one again, my life can return to normal and will continue to post daily. Although I have been away, I have TONS to report after many So-Cal adventures with my parents! I’ve been racking my brain all morning to decide what to tell first… the trip to an old fashion ice cream shop, the home-made bread or my delicious discoveries from a stroll down Historic Olvera Street here is LA. Since today is still considered to be part of the Day of the Dead celebration in the Mexican Culture, The trip to Olvera Street seems most appropriate.

My mother is a ham for touristy places and my dad loves discovering new foods (hmm… maybe that’s where I get my passion for food!) Olvera Street seemed like a place where we could spend an enjoyable few hours. For those of you not from the LA area, Olvera Street is a gathering of traditional Mexican shops, buildings and eateries smack in the middle of the downtown area of this big metropolis. There’s lots to discover, see and learn about the Mexican Culture. While my mom went nuts in the shops (she legit had to go into every one and wanted to buy just about everything!), my father and I explored the food and candy shops. After a bit of window shopping with our mouths watering, my dad decided to try two different traditional Mexican treats, Jamoncillo and Jamoncillo Nuez. This translates to Milk Candy, and Burnt Milk Candy.

After a quick google search, I learned this candy is made from stirring evaporated milk with sugar for a very, very, very long time. The result is a delightfully sweet confection very similar to a piece of fudge, minus the chocolate. Just one bite was enough for me, because this bar was seriously sweet, yet creamy, smooth and just melts in your mouth. The Burnt Milk Candy had a somewhat more intense flavor compared to the plain Milk Candy, but the flavors were super similar. My dad totally loved these candies, and gobbled them up in no time.

We just happened to go to Olvera Street this past  Friday, as preparations for the Day of the Dead were in full force. The Day of the Dead is a celebration for those who have passed on, and are honored and their Spirits invited back into their families homes with the creation of intricate alters. The alters are decorated with flowers, speciality foods, candies and sugar skulls.

I totally fell in love the with sugar skulls. They came in all sorts of sizes and were decorated with vibrant colors and intricate designs. Although they are completely edible, almost everyone I spoke with said they didn’t taste very good. Despite that information, I bought a couple, one to display at home and one to taste. Being a little hesitant, I opted to give one skull a good lickin’ rather than taking a huge bite. And to be honest, I didn’t find it to be bad tasting. All its really made out of is sugar, flour, meringue powder and water, so it tasted like sugar. I am sure if I took one big bite the pure sweetness would have been overwhelming and would have sent me into an immediate sugar high followed by a serious sugar coma. I can see how children would positively love these, and how adults might find their pure sugar taste to be unappealing. All in all, a great $1 investment to discover something from a culture other than my own.

As we continued to meander along this historic road, I came across something even more exciting than the sugar skulls themselves. Many of the stores sold the molds to make your own sugar skulls at home. Perfect and right up my alley! My parents graciously offered to purchase a mold of my choice so I could attempt to make my own at home. For about $10, I got a mold that made 6 skulls and it included 2 recipes and multiple directions on how to make different kinds skulls. I have some skulls in the freezer as I am write this and can’t wait to see how they come out! Check back in later today too see the final product!

We left Olvera Street after three hours or so with full bellies and lots of purchases. It was really a wonderfully delightful afternoon of treat tasting and cultural exploration. I look forward to another trip thier again soon.

Happy Baking and Skull Making!

-Kristy

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Monday, November 2nd, 2009, by admin and is filed under "I Want Candy!, It's Delish!, Pastry Tasting!, Try This is LA!, Day of the Dead, Jamoncillo, Mexican Culture, Olvera Street ". You can leave a response here, or send a Trackback from your own site.