Lifestyle

As is tradition in our country, at this time we gather to honor the memory of our loved ones who have passed away. And, as is also tradition, food plays an essential role in this celebration of our own.

Here we share three delicious dishes typical of this season, which you can prepare or enjoy to pamper your soul.



1. Bread of the Dead


Simply indispensable during this time of year, both for your offering and for your table. Bakeries begin producing it in the first weeks of October, and from then on, you can enjoy it with a delicious hot chocolate. There are many varieties, but the two main ones are the bread sprinkled with sugar and the sesame seed bread. Both are delicious.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can also bake it at home. Grandmothers, experts in this type of dish, recommend using orange zest, anise tea, or orange blossom tea to prepare it.

In addition to being a delicious treat, pan de muerto (bread of the dead) has a profound meaning tied to tradition. There are many interpretations of the crossed lines decorating the bread: the cardinal points, the four Aztec deities, and many even claim they represent the bones of the deceased. The small ball crowning the bread represents the heart or the skull.

2. Pumpkin in Tacha


This dessert is also often included in the offering, usually served in clay dishes. Although it's traditionally made with pumpkin, some also prepare it with orange pumpkin, which is sometimes called "pumpkin."

In addition to the pumpkin, this dish is prepared with piloncillo, cinnamon, and guava. The pumpkin is cooked with the skin and served as is. You can find it at any local market; you're sure to love it.

3. Alfeñique
Around the Day of the Dead, you can see these little skull figurines decorated with colored candy on the streets, in markets, and practically everywhere. Sometimes the artisans who make them write people's names on the forehead of the small skull, which can be made of sugar, chocolate, or even amaranth and seeds.

There are hard and soft alfeñique varieties, so making them is a purely artistic and traditional endeavor. Powdered sugar, hot water, lemon, and gelatin are required to form a paste. Mexican hands need molds to create figurines like the aforementioned skulls, coffins with the deceased inside, little animals, angels, and fruits, which they then use their creativity to paint and decorate. In different states, other ingredients such as chocolate, almonds, honey, and pastries are added.

They can't be missing from the offering, and it's also traditional to give a small skull to your friends and family.

What dish do you consider typical of this time of year? Tell us!



With information from: source