What is Canelazo?
Canelazo is a hot alcoholic beverage that comes from Ecuador and is popular throughout Central and South America. There are a number of ways of preparing a beverage, but its primary ingredients include cinnamon, sugar and fruit juice, spilled with a strong alcohol obtained from sugar cane. Canelazo is the most popular in the colder winter months and is often integrated into traditional Ecuadorian, Peruvian and Colombian Christmas celebrations.
Ecuadorci is assumed that they started drinking centuries ago in the Andes. The heat and efficiency of the beverage made it an attractive accompaniment to many winter nights - the benefits that are still celebrated in modern times. There is no single recipe of Canelazo, because cooks have always been freely experimenting with different flavors, proportions and variations. However, most iterations follow a similar formula.
cooks usually make a drink by cooking sugar in fruit juice, traditionally naranjilla juice. Naranjilla is South American fruit in the Nightshade family that resembles BLed tomatoes, but taste a lot like citrus. It is a common practice to add a cinnamon rod and sometimes a clove to the juice as it cooks.
As soon as the sugar is integrated, the drinks are sprayed with warm Aguardiente , local alcohol and are served in demovy or pots. The word Aguardiente is a general term for distilled alcohol with a high percentage of alcohol-alcohol. At Canelazo, the required Aguardiente is derived from cane juice, often spiced during fermentation. It tastes vaguely from licorice to many people. Home fermentation is popular, but liqueur can be purchased commercially in many stores.
The drink is the most popular in winter and is often served to guests and visitors as a means to warm up along the way. It is servked along with Christmas meals at many Andean celebrations. Children also usually also participate in the sampling of the drink just before the addition of alcohol. In some cities can Canelazo soé serving street sellers. This is the most popular in weeks between Christmas and Epiphany.
Although the Andean region, Canelazo, is popular in many communities. Sometimes, however, it can be difficult to find all the ingredients of Canelazo outside South America. For example, Narandjilla is difficult to grow in many places and does not export well. Aguardiente, if it is not made at home, can also be difficult to find outside South America.
Cooks hopes to re -create general taste and a feeling of mixed drinks, often relying on substitution. Citrus juice, especially orange or lime, is a common accessory. Orange juice often resembles a sweet, smooth taste of naranjilla, while the lime mimics its bites.
Light Rum is the most common substitute Aguardiente, in a large part because it is also distilled from sugar cane. Rum is widely available in most parts of the world. The taste is different, but complementary.