When it comes to Mexican Christmas drinks, Ponche Navideno is a signature drink for the holidays, a long-standing tradition.
Are you looking for inspiration, new ways to deliver on old favorites, or spice up their offerings with a new concoction for enjoyment? Ponche Navideno is a great example.
At Aztec Mexican Products and Liquor, we love Christmas, and we love inspiring people to embrace Mexican Christmas drinks! We scoured the recipe archive, and came up with our top pick for your Christmas beverage – Poncho Navideno.
Photo Credit: thespruceeats.com
A core favourite for countless years is this traditional drink recipe, Ponche Navideno. The flavour that is infused into this creation is always guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser, with everyone loving the warm fruit punch that sets the tone for a celebratory Christmas ahead.
Ponche Navideno is a timeliness drink recipe that will always be a favourite across all generations.
Whether you’re looking to spice up your meals, pair new flavours or find the perfect authentic Mexican drinks and liquor to accompany your meals, you’ll find just what you need at Aztec Mexican Products and Liquor.
To get you in the Christmas spirit, here is the Mexican Christmas drinks recipe we promised. Raise your glass and toast the festive season!
Ponche Navideno
(Adapted from recipe by www.thespruceeats.com)
Serves: 15-20 servings
Total time: 2 hours
Preparation time: 60mins
Cooking time: 60 mins
Ingredients
2 litres hot water and 10 litres drinking water
8 to 10 tejocotes*
2 dried tamarind pods
6 guavas
1.4kg raw sugar cane in pieces
900g piloncillo
225g prunes
2 pears, peeled and chopped
1 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
1 cup peeled and chopped green apples
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 sticks of cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
500ml of brandy (optional)
*Tejocotes (pronounced like teh-hoh-COH-tehs) are the fruit of the Mexican hawthorne tree. They are a traditional ingredient in ponche, but fresh tejocotes can be very hard to obtain outside of Mexico. In Australia, you can substitute with fresh apricots or kumquats.
Ingredients
- Soak the tamarind pods and the fresh tejocotes (or apricots/kumquats) in very hot (but not boiling) water for about an hour.
- Bring the 2 litres of water to a boil in a very large pot, then reduce to a slow simmer.
- Remove the tamarind and the tejocotes from the soaking water and discard the water.
- Remove the brittle shells from the tamarind and squeeze out the seeds from the pulp.
- Cut the tejocotes into quarters, removing the skin. Add the tamarind pulp and the tejocotes to the simmering water.
- Cut the guavas into quarters and add them to the pot.
- Chop or slice the sugar cane into chunks (removing the tough outer layer, if it has it) and add it to the punch.
- Add the piloncillo, prunes, pears, orange juice, apple, walnuts, cinnamon, and cloves. Simmer, uncovered, for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
- Remove cinnamon sticks before serving, if you like, to make it easier to pour.
- Serve using a ladle to pour into large mugs.
Be sure to serve liquid with chunks of fruit, and provide spoons so that your guests can eat the fruit while sipping the delicious hot beverage!
Optional: Mix in an ounce of brandy per serving. Or – if everyone is keen to enjoy the more festive version – add the entire 500ml to the batch right before serving.
Store any leftover punch in the refrigerator. Reheat the next day and enjoy it again!
