Surely on many occasions you have come across the piloncillo when you visit the supermarket or when you are walking through the aisles of the market, and you really know, what is the piloncillo for? If you already know it, we will help you remember its uses in the kitchen and one or another benefit that you did not know.

First let's talk about its origin, through the conquest of the Spanish is how this ingredient came to Mexico, its name comes from the Nahuatl "chiancaca" and its meaning is "brown sugar". What is piloncillo? It is prepared from the undistilled juice of sugar cane, its process to obtain it consists of: collecting the cane, squeezing it, using the juice and putting it to boil until boiling, then it is entered in a mixer to get it to thicken. At the end, it is passed to wooden molds to achieve its particular shape.

Uses in the kitchen

Because it is a natural sweetener, many recipes for Mexican dishes use it as an ingredient in dishes, desserts, as a side dish or in traditional drinks. And the variety is very wide, in the desserts, you can prepare some delicious cocadas with piloncillo, cookies, amaranth joys, honey for buñuelos, capirotada, muégano popsicles, rice pudding and piloncillo, among others.

Speaking of drinks, piloncillo atole is a tradition, it is also used to prepare piloncillo tea with cinnamon, atole, Christmas punch, tejuino and more. Its use in Mexican cuisine has always been to sweeten foods with a natural touch, the mole poblano is a great example of how piloncillo gives personality and balances the flavor.

Benefits

The piloncillo is rich in vitamin B1, which is important in the treatment of depression, fundamental in the growth, functioning and development of cells. In addition, it also contains vitamin B2, which helps the production of red blood cells and the immune system.

And most importantly, it provides a high content of vitamin C, essential for iron absorption and helps maintain cartilage, heal better and prevent heart disease.

That's just when we talk about vitamins, but in addition, it contains calcium which helps the bones, it also provides magnesium, an essential element to regulate blood pressure; potassium for the proper functioning of our organs and copper, which is good for reducing the risk of anemia.

An important part of its benefits is that it is a natural sweetener, so you can use it as a healthy alternative to reduce your sugar intake.

Did you learn something new today? These are just some of the properties of piloncillo that you can take advantage of in your day to day life. Very soon we will have many more recipes with this ingredient, learn more about Don Zabor's products on the website.