Ingredients
Fruit
- 300 gmocochinchi, whole sun-dried peaches with the stones in
- 2 litreswater
Flavour
- 2cinnamon sticks
- 4cloves
- 150 gsugar, or to taste
- a strip of lemon peel
To serve
- ice
- the whole soaked peaches, one per glass
Directions
- Rinse the dried peaches well, because they are dried outdoors and carry dust. Soak them overnight in cold water. Boiled from dry they stay leathery at the centre however long you cook them.
- Put the peaches and their soaking water in a pot with the 2 litres of water, the cinnamon, cloves and lemon peel. Use the soaking water rather than throwing it away, because a great deal of the flavour is already in it.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer gently, partly covered, for about an hour. Keep it at a gentle simmer. A hard boil breaks the fruit apart, and the peaches should stay whole.
- Add the sugar only after about 40 minutes, once the fruit has softened. Sugar added early slows down how quickly dried fruit takes up water, so it goes in late.
- Cook until the peaches are plump and completely tender and the liquid tastes strongly of peach and cinnamon.
- Take it off the heat and let it cool completely in the pot, with the fruit still in it. Cooling in the liquid is when it really takes on flavour, so do not strain it while hot. Chill it thoroughly, which takes several hours.
- Serve very cold in a tall glass, with one whole peach in each and plenty of the liquid poured over. It is a hot-weather drink in La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, and it is sold alongside api and tojorí.
Technique
- Warn anyone eating it that the stones are still in the peaches.
- It keeps four or five days in the fridge and the flavour deepens.
- Bolivian vendors serve it barely sweetened, and the sugar here is a starting point.
Substitutions
- Ordinary dried peach halves, which work but give a weaker drink and no whole fruit to serve.
- Dried apricots, which make a related and quite good drink.
Variations
- With cloves and allspice for a more strongly spiced version.
- Served warm in cold weather.
- With a splash of singani, which is a bar version.
History
Sun-dried peaches boiled with cinnamon and sugar, sold cold from tall glass barrels on Bolivian streets.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mocochinchi?
Mocochinchi is a drink from Bolivia: chilled cinnamon-spiced drink of rehydrated dried peaches. Sun-dried peaches boiled with cinnamon and sugar, sold cold from tall glass barrels on Bolivian streets.
How long does Mocochinchi take to make?
Mocochinchi takes 10 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 2 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Mocochinchi?
Yes, within limits. Ordinary dried peach halves, which work but give a weaker drink and no whole fruit to serve. Dried apricots, which make a related and quite good drink.
What is the most important thing to get right in Mocochinchi?
Put the peaches and their soaking water in a pot with the 2 litres of water, the cinnamon, cloves and lemon peel. Use the soaking water rather than throwing it away, because a great deal of the flavour is already in it.
