Mexican Christmas, like most celebrations here, is often celebrated with a wide variety, and plentiful helpings, of both food and drink. The main festive meal is usually served on Christmas Eve, or Nochebuena, and can feature any number of festive foods. While it is not possible to identify any single dish as being emblematic of Christmas in Mexico, one that comes close is ponche navideño, a fruity punch (the Mexican name being an anglicismo of the familiar US punch) which is also popular at New Year. This year Suigeidy has shared her and her abuela’s recipe for this seasonal treat.

Ingredients

½ of a pineapple

½ kg or 1 lb of tejocotes (The fruit of the Mexican hawthorn plant). Quince can be a replacement if these are not readily available, however traditionalists insist that tejocotes are a crucial ingredient for true ponche.

4 apples

3 cinnamon sticks

¼ kg or ½ lb raisins or prunes

½ kg or 1 lb of sugar

2L or 8.5 cups of water

Other dried fruit if desired

Many families have their own recipes which contain a variety of ingredients such as sugarcane, tamarind, guava, pear or hibiscus flowers.

Method

Wash all the fruit and assemble the ingredients.

Cut the pineapple, apples, tejocotes and raisins/prunes into small cubes.

Add all of the fruit, cinnamon and water to a large pan and mix together.

Add sugar to taste.

Bring to a boil and cook until the fruit is soft and then remove from the heat.

Allow to cool if you wish before it is ready to serve and enjoy.

In cooler parts of Mexico it is common for ponche to be enjoyed warm. If you prefer an alcoholic version, rum or other dark alcohols are often added to provide a kick. However you choose to try it, ponche is a real taste of Mexican navidad!

If you want to try out some other Mexican, Yucatan or Maya recipes from the Na’atik family, visit our blog, where new recipes are uploaded every month, along with articles about culture, history and language.

If you want to sample the unique flavors of the Mexican Caribbean, the best place is in the kitchens of local families. Na’atik Spanish or Maya immersion students stay with one of our local families during their time with us, sharing three meals a day with their host family. To find out more about how you can improve your language skills and experience the real Mexico, visit our immersion page or send our team an email at say@naatikmexico.org today.