Postres! The name of delicious Mexican desserts. Traditional Mexican desserts are made with simple ingredients including milk, fruits, nuts, and chocolate. When you think of these desserts you may think of flan and churros. However, there are a unique set of Mexican sweets you can best enjoy in the summer. These types of Mexican dessert are the mouthwatering frozen treats: Mexican paletas, nieve de garrafa, and raspados.
Mexican Paletas
Paletas have origins in Michoacan, Mexico and are a type of Mexican frozen popsicle that are made from fresh natural fruits, chocolate, or nuts. To make a Mexican paleta you need a paleta mold, popsicle sticks, and lots of fruit! Paletas can be made by blending your choice of the sweetest, most delicious fruit, sugar, and a liquid base including milk or water. Fill the paleta mold, add a popsicle stick, stick in the freezer for a few hours, and then enjoy! In Mexico, these frozen treats are part of everyday enjoyment. Small towns often have paletrias—the glorious place where there are a multitude of flavors and frozen treats served to excited customers.
Raspados
Similar to the paleta is its frozen treat cousin—the raspado. Raspados by Ortiz Ice Cream are ice-based desserts made by shaving a block of ice and adding flavored syrup. The ice flakes that are shaved from the block of ice give the raspado a snow-like texture. While other Latin American countries may have their own versions, the Mexican raspado is flavored with local, seasonally fresh fruits and topped with other ingredients including chili powder or creamy sugary milk.
Nieve de garrafa
We are saving the best for last in discussing the most delicious frozen treat—la nieve de garrafa! This is a type of Mexican sorbet and is flavored, you guessed it, with fresh local fruits. Nieve means snow, and garrafa is a container used to hold liquids. That is, garrafa refers to the metal tub where the sorbet base is poured. The metal container then sits within a wooden barrel with salty ice and as the liquid begins to freeze along the inner walls of the garrafa the maker will scrape it off the sides with a wooden utensil and continues to do so until the liquid turns into a wonderous airy sorbet delicacy. Nieve de garrafa originated in Jalisco, Mexico and has since been enjoyed by people in areas of the United States with a greater number of Mexican communities. These traditional Mexican desserts, Mexican paletas, raspados, nieve de garrafa, are ideal for a hot day but are created to be enjoyed year-round!
