Ayote en Miel (Squash With Spiced Syrup)
Updated Oct. 23, 2023
- Total Time
- About 2 hours 40 minutes, plus cooling
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- About 2 ½ hours, plus cooling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 1½pounds/24 ounces panela (brown sugar cane, such as piloncillo or dulce de atado)
- 4small cinnamon sticks
- 6whole allspice seeds
- 5whole cloves
- 2½ to 3pounds winter squash (such as cinderella pumpkin or butternut squash), seeded and cut into 3-inch pieces (no need to remove the skin)
Preparation
- Step 1
To a large lidded pot, add the panela, cinnamon, allspice seeds, cloves and 2 cups water. Heat over low and let the panela slowly dissolve, stirring frequently and crumbling occasionally, until mostly dissolved, about 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Add the pumpkin or butternut squash, skin facing up, in an even layer. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce fire to medium-low, then cover and cook for 1 hour.
- Step 3
Uncover and simmer for another 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the pumpkin is tender and the liquid has reduced until it’s as thick as honey. Remove from the fire and let it cool. Serve at room temperature.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
dimmerswitch
For cooks asking about source for panela (brown sugar cane - piloncillo or dulce de atado), Google or Amazon both come in handy if you're stumped. Piloncillo is a Mexican brown sugar cane that is in sort of a cone shape and available at Mexican markets well stocked standard groceries. Even food giant Goya sells it - including at mass retailers like Target for about $1.30 / 8 oz cone - but there are others too. https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-use-piloncillo-2343039
Su
My local boring old Safeway sells panela in the Mexican section, and sometimes next to the tiny display of Central/South American fruits in the produce section. Look and you might find it!
tzim
You can find Panela in any grocery store in Mexican food aisle. It’s that brown cone thing.
Bette Sullivan
This recipe also works for candied sweet potatoes. Peel them and make as directed for the squash. If the potatoes are cooked before the syrup has thickened, remove them from the pot and cook the syrup down to the desired consistency.
dimmerswitch
bjw, This won't work with Delicata squash. It requires a dense, heavy squash. Although I haven't yet tried this Salvadorian recipe, I have made a very similar Mexican version (calebaza en tacha) a couple of times. Heavy squash, like edible pumpkin (not carving pumpkin) works best. The recipe ingredient list also suggests butternut.
Siri
I added star anis, ginger and lemon peel to the syrup. Delicious.
Lydia
Don't make the mistake I made - it seemed like so much sugar, and since I was using the low-end of the spectrum in terms of squash, I figured I'd reduce the sugar. Maybe fine, but I reduced the water proportionally too--OOPS! I thought I had it on a pretty low temperature, but I completely burned the bottom of everything. Scraped off what I could salvage and now have some smoky-sweet pumpkin mash that I might use in a recipe asking for puree! But did not get to try the desired result.
Bette Sullivan
This recipe also works for candied sweet potatoes. Peel them and make as directed for the squash. If the potatoes are cooked before the syrup has thickened, remove them from the pot and cook the syrup down to the desired consistency.
easi-lee
It is a lot of sugar, but you can try it with less. I have made something similar called simply calabasa. It also uses piloncillo, and you can find it easily, but it looks rough and crude. I bought mine wrapped in a corn leaf. Super sweet, but filled with the bounty of the harvest. It's probably more of a Northern harvest in Mexico. I learned this recipe from my mother-in-law, and her heritage points in that direction. She adds other small fruits and nuts, boiling down the calabasa.
mmmsquash
Confused about this recipe? Pause and consider: There's squash, which is delicious on it's own, plus sugar and spices. If you want to add sugar, there are many options (brown, white, maple, honey, HFCS, etc). Confused about the 1.5lbs of sugar cane? Use what you have instead, in an amount that makes sense to you. See also: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat; food recipes usually aren't as exacting as metallurgical alloy recipes, for example. Some baking recipes may require exact amounts.
Rebecca
Can brown sugar be used as a substitute for panela?
Adam F.
If it helps panela can be found in many Latin markets. It's similar to dark brown sugar. It's usually sold in a solid disk. Bet Amazon carries it if you don't have a good bodega near you.
C
Piloncillo is easily found at most CTown or Key food markets in NYC in the international food sections.
dimmerswitch
For cooks asking about source for panela (brown sugar cane - piloncillo or dulce de atado), Google or Amazon both come in handy if you're stumped. Piloncillo is a Mexican brown sugar cane that is in sort of a cone shape and available at Mexican markets well stocked standard groceries. Even food giant Goya sells it - including at mass retailers like Target for about $1.30 / 8 oz cone - but there are others too. https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-use-piloncillo-2343039
tzim
You can find Panela in any grocery store in Mexican food aisle. It’s that brown cone thing.
Michelle Damico
What can we substitute for the sugar, which is a new ingredient to me? Is that found in Mexican grocery stores?
Su
My local boring old Safeway sells panela in the Mexican section, and sometimes next to the tiny display of Central/South American fruits in the produce section. Look and you might find it!
Michelle Damico
Are there substitutes for the sugar, which is a new ingredient to me? Where can we find it?
bjw
Would Delicata squash work?
dimmerswitch
bjw, This won't work with Delicata squash. It requires a dense, heavy squash. Although I haven't yet tried this Salvadorian recipe, I have made a very similar Mexican version (calebaza en tacha) a couple of times. Heavy squash, like edible pumpkin (not carving pumpkin) works best. The recipe ingredient list also suggests butternut.
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