Mote con huesillos
A cold drink served in a tall glass: an amber cinnamon syrup, rehydrated dried peaches (huesillos), and cooked wheat (mote) — you drink it then eat it.
A cold drink served in a tall glass: an amber cinnamon syrup, rehydrated dried peaches (huesillos), and cooked wheat (mote) — you drink it then eat it.
Imagine the January heat in Santiago, the asphalt shimmering. And suddenly, the street vendor with his big amber-colored glass barrel: mote con huesillo! They hand you a heavy glass, you drink it in big gulps, then you fish at the bottom the tender wheat and the dried peach swollen with cinnamon syrup. It's sweet, it's tangy, it's a whole summer in a glass. I tell you: there is no thirst that this cannot console.
- •Huesillos (whole dried peaches) — a handful (fruit)
- •Mote (cooked husked wheat) — two handfuls (cereal)
- •Chancaca or sugar — to taste (syrup)
- •Cinnamon — one stick (aroma)
Mote con huesillos
A cold drink served in a tall glass: an amber cinnamon syrup, rehydrated dried peaches (huesillos), and cooked wheat (mote) — you drink it then eat it.
Why this dish? 'Más chileno que el mote con huesillo' — more Chilean than that, you die: it's a national saying. This sweet drink to be drunk and eaten with a spoon is the refreshment of Santiago summers, a popular and sensual pleasure dear to Isabel Allende's universe, who sings of the simple joys of the flesh and the table.
Imagine the January heat in Santiago, the asphalt shimmering. And suddenly, the street vendor with his big amber-colored glass barrel: mote con huesillo! They hand you a heavy glass, you drink it in big gulps, then you fish at the bottom the tender wheat and the dried peach swollen with cinnamon syrup. It's sweet, it's tangy, it's a whole summer in a glass. I tell you: there is no thirst that this cannot console.
Ingredients (period version)
- Huesillos (whole dried peaches) — a handful (fruit)
- Mote (cooked husked wheat) — two handfuls (cereal)
- Chancaca or sugar — to taste (syrup)
- Cinnamon — one stick (aroma)
Ingredients
- Whole dried peaches (huesillos) — 8 (fruit)
- Hulled wheat (or mote) — 150 g cooked (cereal)
- Brown sugar or chancaca — 150 g (syrup)
- Cinnamon — 1 stick (aroma)
- Water — 1.5 liters (base)
Method
- Soak the huesillos for a few hours, then cook them in water with sugar and cinnamon for 40 min until they swell.
- Cool completely: the syrup should become amber and fragrant.
- Cook the hulled wheat in water until tender, rinse.
- In each tall glass, place a spoonful of wheat, one rehydrated peach, then cover with cold syrup.
- Serve very cold with a spoon — drink, then eat.
How it was made : Mote (wheat cooked in ash then husked) is a pre-Hispanic technique of the Andean peoples, married to dried fruits and sugar brought by the Spanish. The drink was sold on the streets as early as the 19th century.
The contemporary twist : Serve in a chilled glass with a squeeze of lime to enhance the acidity and cut the sweetness.
Sources : Boisson traditionnelle chilienne, héritage andin et colonial
Isabel Allende · Charactorium