Sugar Savvy

Several months ago, I wrote an article on Sugar Savvy about a candy called dulce de calabaza (candied pumpkin), which I buy at a Mexican tienda near my house. Being a lover of all things pumpkin, I stressed that it need not be Halloween or Thanksgiving for this seasonally pigeonholed squash to be enjoyed. While this certainly IS true, I don’t think I need to point out that there really is no finer time than right now to be eating sweet, candied pumpkin. Besides, pumpkin is likely to compliment our fetching new autumnal-hued wardrobe, which is always a plus. It’s important that my clothes match my food, not just for the sake of cuteness, but because I’m a complete slob and the odds are high with me that whatever it is I’m eating will shortly end up on my new sweater or cord.

When I reported about this in April, I mentioned that I would attempt a homemade version once the pumpkin season came around. Never one to go back on my word, ‘specially where candy is concerned, I’m here to deliver on that promise. I just couldn’t bear to leave you hanging, as I’m sure you’ve been waiting at the edge of your seats in anticipation:

I picked up the good-looking pie pumpkin shown above last week out on Sauvie Island, a wildlife refuge and community of farms situated between the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, just outside of Portland, Oregon.

So, armed with a nice little pumpkin from a local farm, I took a swing at a homemade batch of (sustainably-produced) dulce de calabaza. I couldn’t resist adding a personal twist: a few pinches of cinnamon and cardamom plus a bit of kosher salt. Other add-ins that I’d like to try in the future are ginger, nutmeg and toasted pecans or coconut.

This recipe tells you to bake the pumpkin, once coated in the sugar mixture, for 2 hours, but I removed it from the oven after only 2 hours (it was well-crystallized at this point and at the verge of burning). I then consulted other recipes, which have you cook the pumpkin in the sugar mixture on the stovetop for 3 hours instead of baking in the oven. I’m assuming that this would result in a wetter candy, and I will try this in the future.

The flavor is wonderful, but I was disappointed in the slightly over-cooked and hard candy edges on my final product. I promise you that it tastes much better than its fried chicken-like appearance would indicate, and this, clearly, is not a candy to make if you want pretty. This is indeed a work in progress with much room for improvement, so if anyone has any homemade dulce de calabaza tips or suggestions, please send them along.

Verdict: Ugly but quite tasty.