Chocolate Colombiano

Being born and raised in New York City has exposed me to lots of different cultures, but Colombia still remains my favorite and not because it is my heritage. As many of you know, my parents are from Colombia and there are many reasons why I love that country, but that is a topic for another post. The main reason is, of course, the Colombian food! One of my husband's favorite drinks is Colombian hot chocolate. We usually stock up on it, and other specialty food items, whenever we go visit my mother in Jackson Heights, Queens. We buy the Luker brand Colombian hot chocolate pictured above (I think they meant to say "bittersweet chocolate") at the Junction Food Bazaar supermarket around the corner (open 24/7) where they also sell a wide variety of ethnic Latino foods. If you are ever up in Jackson Heights, we highly recommend it. Among other things we pick up plantains, rice, beans, hominy (a special kind of a corn kernel), frozen fava beans, sparkling mineral water and some ethnic snack foods for the car ride home. They also have a great selection of exotic frozen fruits for smoothies that I can't wait to try. We also can't walk away without buying our favorite Colombian specialties: Masarepa (precooked cornmeal), cheese, jarred figs, bocadillos (jelled guava paste mini bars), Colombian champagne soda, Alpina brand dulce de leche, panela (dehydrated cane juice) and "chocolate Luker" (as Colombians call it).

In general, I imagine there are a hundred ways or more of preparing delicious hot chocolate and I am a very big fan of it. Here is how I make our Colombian hot chocolate:

• a quarter of a package of Luker brand chocolate (the one already flavored with cloves and cinnamon)
• 1 block of panela (one hockey puck sized block, see picture below)
• 6 cups of water (recipe calls for 8, but it may be too mild and bland, my husband likes it richer)
• a splash of warm milk or heavy cream (warm up in separate sauce pot), optional
  

In a medium pot, melt the chocolate and panela in the water under a low to medium heat and stir often until the chocolate and the panela are completely melted. (Note: If you use the Luker brand of chocolate that is not flavored with the cloves and the cinnamon, then add 2 or 3 cloves and a stick of cinnamon together with the chocolate and the panela and after fully melted, allow to simmer for another 5 minutes or so until the cloves and cinnamon have had a chance to flavor the chocolate.) Then, add the optional warm milk or heavy cream.

I pour the hot chocolate through a small sieve into my special pitcher (that my husband got me a few Christmases ago) . Then, I froth up the hot chocolate with a special frother called a "molinillo". The one pictured, which is the one I have, is not a very good one. The best one is made in Colombia (see picture below).

Bittersweet chocolate
flavored with cloves and cinnamon


Cane sugar molded into hockey puck-sized "blocks"
(dry and hard, must be melted in boiling water)

My "molinillo" (frother)


The frother that I really want (pictured in the center)
is made from a particular tree called "Talauma hernandezii", grown in Valle, Colombia.

The ceramic hot chocolate serving set that I got
as a Christmas gift from my husband

Pièce de résistance!

Now here's the fun part for me. Once I have poured the hot chocolate into my mug, instead of dropping in a few marshmallows, I drop in a few small cubes of Colombian cheese. Yes, cheese! Then, I stir them around until the cheese is warmed up and slightly melted. Yum! We usually have a plate of "cheesy" Colombian arepas (cornmeal cakes) on the table to snack on along with our hot chocolate. Colombian cheesy breads that are typically served with the hot chocolate are: pan de queso, pan de bono, almohabanas and pan de yucca (they all pretty much taste the same and only vary in texture and shape). Otherwise, we skip the cubes of cheese and just dunk other goodies such as bunuelos (Colombian version of a donut, only completely round) or a slice of roscon (guava-filled bread, shaped like a wreath).

The chocolate itself is pretty low in fat since it is dark chocolate, but combined with everything else I mentioned, it is a lethal combination that will go straight to your thighs and butt. So be forewarned. Otherwise, enjoy!