I have been begging my host mama and Zuni to teach me the secrets of Chilean food and drink, and in the days leading up to Fiestas Patrias, I picked up some new tricks. Below, Mama Ema's directions for making ponche:
Ingredients:
1 large can of canned pineapple (ours was an 850 gram container)
2 liters of white wine
1/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of sprite
2 teaspoons shreded lemon peel (is that called zest?)
Directions: Combine everything in a punch bowl, mix it up, and let it sit over night. Occasional tastings are mandatory!
Variations: I have also had ponche where the pineapple was put through a food processor and shredded, but I didn't like it as much. You can also substitute canned peaches for the pineapple, but cut them into bite-sized pieces first. At a party at Nacho's once, we had ponche of red wine and strawberries (again cut into bit-sized pieces), which was by far my favorite. I think they left the sugar and sprite out of the red wine concotion. Clearly, the only time I eat fruit in Chile is when it is soaked in alcohol!
Learning to cook, bake, or even mix up some punch is stressful for me in Chile, because Chileans cook like my Great-Grandma Rose...they don't measure! They randomly throw in handfuls of sugar, or dump the sprite straight into the bowl until it looks right. I almost exploded from nerves several times...but I have always wanted to be that vision of a mad chef, throwing handfuls of ingredients at random into a pot and making a masterpiece...so maybe this is just the first step!
I think the lack of measurement in cooking is a metaphor for the Chilean lifestyle...it is unexacting and impulsive, there are no rules or plans to follow, but in the end, everything is super rico!
1 comment:
I tried the white wine/peach ponche at the Chile Lindo Folklorama Pavilion here in Canada and I LOVED it. I am curious as to what kind of wine is best?? I am not a wine drinker unless it is made like this (spritzer) so help os appreciated!!
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