Jamoncillo de coco -- Coconut Jamoncillo, a sweet Pinedo recipe

My Latina friend, who grew up in Puebla, mentioned that she loves coconut.  I showed her this recipe and learned that she did not know what jamoncillo was.  That is when I decided to make it.  It is fun to share with friends!

So what is jamoncillo?  A stroll around the internet reveals one candy company claiming it is a traditional sweet from the Juquila region of Oaxaca.  Larousse Cocina, a site I learn a lot from, states jamoncillo is a category of sweets that are firm and soft, often cut into blocks or bars.  It gives a very thorough description of typical preparations from locations all around Mexico -- a fascinating read that you can see by clicking here:  Larousse Cocina - Jamoncillo.  I find myself intrigued with the ideas of using roasted sugar and smoked milk in the future.

I would equate jamoncillo with fudge or pralines as a more familiar sweets category.

Recall that Encarnación Pinedo published her book, El cocinero español, in 1898.  Her recipes show influence from a wide variety of regions in Mexico.  On page 139-140, she offers Jamoncillo de coco or Coconut Jamoncillo.  Larousse mentions that making jamoncillo with coconut is from the Juquila region and includes piloncillo.  Piloncillo, a dark brown sugar product, is purchased in cones that you grate or chop before using.  

Pinedo's recipe

My Translation

Coconut jamoncillo.

         With two pounds of sugar, make clarified syrup that forms a thread between the fingers, and it is set aside.  When it is removed from the fire it is mixed with ground coconut, and it is returned to boil until the syrup recovers the point it had before. It is removed a second time and is beaten only on one side so that it does not become cloudy; emptying it before it thickens into white wafers on the table.

         While the paste is on the fire, it will be necessary not to stop stirring it continuously, if you want it to be very white. If you want yellow, let it toast a little or roast the sugar before making it syrup.

My Redaction

1 whole coconut 

2 lbs sugar (about 4 1/2 cups)

2 1/2 cups water

And water.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Poke open the eyes of the coconut by using a clean screwdriver pounded in with a hammer; drain the liquid into a bowl.  Set the liquid aside.

Pound on the sides of the coconut with the hammer until a crack forms.  Use the screwdriver to hold the crack open, then twist it to expand the crack.  Move the screwdriver to the edge of the crack and keep going until the whole coconut breaks into two pieces.

Put the halves into the oven for about 10 minutes.  This dries the meat a little and makes it easier to remove it from the shell.  It will have a brown liner.  

Put the water and sugar into a saucepan, stir to mix a little, then heat it without stirring until it reaches thread stage, about 230 degrees F.  I used a candy thermometer so I didn't get too impatient.  : )

While the syrup is cooking, break or cut the coconut meat into small pieces.  Grate the white part into a bowl.  The brown part is edible so don't worry if some gets into the white.  

When you've gotten all the white you will get from the pieces, pour the liquid into the grated coconut and stir.  Let it sit while the syrup cooks.

Once the syrup is at temperature, remove it from the heat.  Stir in the coconut with its liquid.  Put it back on the heat with the candy thermometer.  

Stir the mixture continuously while it is cooking.  I found that the cooking process seemed to go the fastest when the mixture was foaming, but I had to be careful that it didn't overflow the pan.  It also seemed to help to stir slowly, just enough to keep the mixture moving.

When it reaches temperature, pour the mixture into a heat-proof bowl to stop the cooking.  Beat it vigorously while it cools.  It will turn white and get thick.

When the mixture is no longer runny and seems to stick mostly to itself, spoon out portions onto lightly greased cookie sheets, spreading them with the spoon to an even thickness.  Let cool.

My Notes

This recipe only uses sugar, water, and coconut.  Some jamoncillo recipes use milk as part of the base and often include nuts or seeds.  Pinedo did not mention piloncillo.  

Beating the hot mixture ensures that only small sugar crystals form when it cools, making the final result softer and with a shiny surface.  

Did you notice she mentioned roasting the sugar?

It was a lot of work to grate all the coconut by hand.  I still had white left over because I was trying to avoid most of the brown liner.

Mostly white.

Leftovers.  Good to munch on.

I ended up with about 7+ ounces grated white and 3/4 cup liquid.

The nice thing about stirring it while it is cooking the second time is that I could watch the mixture closely and adjust the heat as needed to keep it foaming at just the right height.  Patience is a virture here, though.

Pinedo did not say to transfer to a cooler pan or bowl, but it was easier to beat when I didn't worry about touching a hot saucepan.  I think it cooled faster, too.  That was a bonus after all the stirring while it cooked.

Let it foam about this much.

When to stop beating is a judgement call.  The mixture seemed to be setting up, so I grabbed two spoons and used them to scoop and scrape the mixture into wafers.  I made some big (3 to 4 inches in diameter) and some small (about 2 inches) and spread them so they were not too thick.  

At temperature and ready to beat.

Beaten just right.  Looks like thick oatmeal.

I was pleased that I had gotten the jamoncillos so white and that the surfaces were shiny.

The Verdict

I'm not sure why we had to be concerned about it becoming cloudy, since the final result was white from beating a lot of air into it.  Visually, it was appealing because you can see the coconut texture.

Make it smaller.

My guest taster and I both liked the coconut flavor.  We noted it was definitely sweet - I think it is a sugar bomb.  One is enough!  Because of that, I would recommend making each wafer small, like 1 inch in diameter.  That would make more of them and not overwhelm the eater with too much sugar.

I wanted more coconut in each bite.  In the future, I would use purchased shredded coconut (and I don't think it matters if it is sweetened or not) and use at least 10 ounces for the amount of syrup I had.

If you didn't want to make wafers, you could spread the entire mixture into a pan -- keep it thin -- and then cut squares of them to serve.  But I liked the look of the wafers.

So what did my Latina friend think of it?

She thought it was the "perfect candy".  That was a quote!  The coconut flavor was just right for her and she described it as "yummy."  I'm so glad it made her happy.

Success, in more ways than one.  

Another Latina friend realized that this was very similar to a candy she loved as a child in Mexico:  alfajor de coco.  I looked up the recipe and found that really, the only differences were that the candy was cast as a slab and cut into bars for serving, and that the top surface was dyed red.  An interesting connection!