Aguapanela (Hot Colombian Sugarcane Drink). Esta receta también está disponible en español.
Aguapanela or agua de panela is a drink made of panela and water. You can drink it cold like a lemonade or warm, like the recipe I share with you today.
Panela
Firstly some explanation about what panela is. It is a type of unrefined cane sugar. Sugarcane juice is boiled and evaporated. This leads to a residue which is the panela. Because it is unrefined it is said that panela contains vitamins and minerals that in refined sugar are filtered out. It is, however, still a type of sugar. Therefore it contains similar amounts of calories. Panela has a sweet and caramel-like flavor due to molasses. You can buy it in different forms, for example in blocks or grated.
In other Latin American countries it goes by different names. For example: rapadura, piloncillo, papelón and many others. In Colombia people use panela as a sweetener, and for warm or cold aguapanela.
Looking for more recipes of Colombian drinks? Click here for inspiration!
Aguapanela
Hot aguapanela is especially popular in the colder (Andean) parts of Colombia. To make the most basic version you only need:
- Water
- Panela
To prepare this aguapanela you bring water to a boil and add block(s) of panela. Cook for 20 minutes and that’s it! You can drink it just as it is. But a traditional way of having it is with a little side of cheese and bread or an almojábana (Colombian Cornmeal Cheese Bread).
Variations of aguapanela
Common belief is that aguapanela cures all sorts of illnesses, especially when having a cold or the flu. Just add lime juice and honey to the basic recipe and drink daily. Does it work? Who cares… because it tastes delicious for sure. So delicious that you want to keep drinking it! (Which I don’t recommend though, because of the high levels of sugar. But hey, this never was a blog with healthy recipes…)
Do you love Colombian food? Click here for more recipes of Colombian vegetarian food!
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know in de comments below and rate the recipe! Or tag @vecinavegetariana on Instagram!
Links:
Almojábanas (Colombian Cornmeal Cheese Bread)
Limonada de Aguapanela (Colombian Sugarcane Limeade)
Aguapanela (Hot Colombian Sugarcane Drink)
Ingredients
- 2 l water
- 200 g panela (in blocks or grated)
Optional: serve with
- slices of cheese (queso campesino, doble crema, or replace for what you have available)
- almojábanas (cornmeal cheese bread) (see link in blog post or below)
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add panela. Bring to a boil again, cover with a lid and turn low. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally, check if all panela has dissolved
- Pour in a cup and drink while warm. Drink as it is, or serve with slices of cheese and almojábanas
