Mexican Holiday Fruit Punch or Ponche
The colder weather and the holidays call for a traditional Mexican Holiday Fruit Punch or Ponche, our favorite winter hot beverage of the season.
Equipment
- 9.8-Quart Triple Clad Extra Large Pot
- Ladle
- Chopping block
- Knife
Ingredients
- 2 apples pink lady, cored, seedless, and cut
- 1 apple red delicious cored, seedless, and cut
- 2 large oranges valencia or cara cara
- 8 guavas cut or sliced
- 2 cups Mexican Hawthorne use canned if fresh not available
- 4 tamarind pods stemmed and peeled
- 8 prunes
- 2 tablespoons hibiscus flowers dried
- 6 pieces sugarcane cut into segments
- 2 large cinnamon sticks
- 2 cones piloncillo or 2 cups of turbinado sugar
- 10 cups water
- 1 cup orange juice optional
- 1 cup apple cider juice optional
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients of the list to a large pot.
- Pour the juices and the water and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.
- Serve hot, including scoops of the actual fruit into the cups
Video
Notes
- The experience of this drink is to have it hot and eat the cooked fruit while enjoying the ponche. The fruit doesn't have to be peeled.
- Choose sweet and tart apples. We like Pink Ladies as those are firm and preserve the bite even after cooking them. You can opt for adding crab or gala apples (remove the seeds and the core), Bosc pears, plums, green apples, or quince.
- Since we cannot find fresh tejocotes in our market, we opted for candied tejocote. The Mexican hawthorn fruit is compact, so even canned works as it doesn't come apart while cooking it.
- Clean, core, and cut the fruit into medium size pieces. Do not chop nor remove the pits and skins.
- Break the cinnamon sticks before adding them to the mix.
- Use a large pot. We like the party pot from Tuxton Home. It is large enough (9.8 qt), has a glass lid with a cooking portal that allows adding ingredients without taking off the cover. Perfect for making Mexican Holiday Fruit Punch or Ponche.
- Drop all ingredients inside the pot. Add enough water to cover the fruit and then so more.
- Cook the Mexican ponche for 15 minutes at medium heat or until the piloncillo melts and the mix reaches the first rolling boil. Keep it covered with the lid.
- Try not to overcook the fruits. Mushy fruit is not palatable, and the drink requires different textures. Having a variety of firm and soft fruits is the way to go.
- Choose other ingredients. For example, replace hibiscus flowers with fresh cranberries. Instead of prunes, use other dried fruits, such as figs or dates.
- Opt for citrus of your choice. We like orange because it is the classic ingredient, and it provides a tasty floral note, but orange juice works well.
- Add one part of apple cider juice for a more robust apple flavor. Or pineapple rinds or juice for a tropical note.
Nutrition
Serving: 12ouncesCalories: 134kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 15mgPotassium: 530mgFiber: 7gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 636IUVitamin C: 185mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 1mg
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