Though I won't be able to go home to the States this year to celebrate Christmas, I'm very excited to learn and participate in some of the Peruvian Christmas traditions. One very popular Christmas tradition in Peru is to drink hot chocolate (chocolate caliente) and eat panetón. Panetón is a type of sweet bread that contains chocolate chips, gummies, or small pieces of fruit. Around the holidays, it can be bought it any store or bodega throughout Peru. The typical hot chocolate is no Swiss Miss mix. It is much thicker and richer than the hot chocolate that I was accustomed to in the United States. The water and chocolate is mixed with evaporated milk, cloves, cinnamon, sugar, and sometimes even oatmeal to create a very delicious, sweet, Christmas beverage. A few nights ago I was able to enjoy this rich dessert combination at the home of some local friends. Yessenia and her daughter Juanita (pictured above) have frequently worked with LCMS World Mission in the past and continue to remain friends with the different missionaries (long and short-term) who have served in Lunahuana. Enjoy making this delicious drink yourself!
Peruvian Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
Bring the water to a boil with the cinnamon stick, cloves and chocolate cube.
Once boiled, turn down flame and add evaporated milk and oatmeal. Stir for 5 minutes or until the oatmeal is cooked through. Watch closely to make sure it doesn’t boil over!
Add sugar to taste and more milk to increase servings as necessary.
