Homemade Peeps

Peeps! I love them. I wouldn't eat them any time outside of Easter time, but they bring back fond memories of decorating Easter eggs and plastic Easter egg hunts with my cousins. I have yet to see them in Chile, but figured, hey, I could make that. Marshmallows actually aren't that difficult to make. It's like making Jello, but you finish off by whipping it up with a mixer.

So, what you need: packages of non-flavored gelatin (I guess you could use flavored gelatin if you want to stray from the traditional type of peep), food coloring, lots of sugar, water, a pinch of salt, vegetable oil, and silicone molds. Optional: chocolate sprinkles for the eyes.

As you can see in the picture, the addition of chocolate sprinkles as eyes give it a finished touch.


Colored sugar:
I'm sure you can buy colored sugar here in Chile, and I'm sure it's marked up to like 2000%. My solution (and because it was Good Friday and so many things were closed): a couple drops of food coloring, a jar, plain sugar, and a good amount of shaking. Just put a couple of drops of food coloring in a jar half filled with sugar, put on the lid, and shake for a minute or so, until evenly distributed. I made about a cupful of each concoction. I used 5 drops of yellow, 3 drops of red (for the pink), and 5 drops of blue. You can obviously use more if you want a more intense color, but then you might need to dry it out on a baking sheet for a while.

For the marshmallow, I used this recipe. I cut it down to a third, which is more than enough to fill 3 of those silicone chocolate/ice molds sold in grocery stores. I got a bunch on sale at Tottus for CH$250.

Before you start: oil the silicone molds. BELIEVE ME you need to oil these molds. I didn't on one of the molds, and the stuff just STUCK. Use vegetable oil or Pam or whatever you might have. If you're using veggie oil, make sure to get ALL of the crevices in the mold. But don't soak the mold in oil.

Also, marshmallow sets as it cools, so I suggest doing small batches like I did. More than 3 molds and you'll probably have the marshmallow half set before you get to the next one. You have to work fast, while the marshmallow fluff is still warm. If you have bigger molds, you work fast, or you have someone helping fill the molds, then you can make bigger batches.

Ingredients

• 7.5grams (1 small package) of unflavored gelatin
• 2T 2t cup cold water

• 2/3 + 3T cups granulated sugar
• 2T water
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1-2 cups colored sugar

Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 2T 2t cup cold water. Soak for about 10 minutes.
2. Combine sugar and 2T cup water in a small saucepan. While whisking, bring the mixture to a rapid boil and boil hard for 1 minute.
3. Pour the boiling syrup into soaked gelatin and turn on the mixer, using the whisk attachment, to high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes.
4. After 12 minutes, add in the vanilla extract beat to incorporate.
5. Spoon or pipe the marshmallow into the pre-greased molds.
6. Let molds sit for at least 20 minutes.
7. Gently and slowly, press the back of the silicone mold to get the figure out. If it sticks, wet your hand and help it out a bit.
8. Douse the figure in colored sugar on all sides. Make sure it is well coated.
9. Repeat with each figure.

They're great right away, but it's also good to prepare a day or 2 ahead so that they dry out a bit.

Enjoy!

Popular fruits in Chile and their translations

Naranja (orange)

Manzana (apple)

Piña (pineapple)

Sandia (watermelon)

Pomelo (grapefruit)

Frutilla (strawberry)

Uvas (grapes)

Melón (melon)

• Melón tuna (honeydew)
• melón calameño (canteloupe/muskmelon)
• melón platano

Platano [occasionally banano] (banana)

Platano verde (plantain)

Durazno [occasionally durazno peludo to differentiate from nectarines] (Peach)

Nectarin [or durazno pelado] (nectarine)

Guinda or cereza (cherry)

Pera (pear)

Palta (avocado)

Coco (coconut)

Ciruela (plum)

Damasco (apricot)

Papaya (papaya)

Granada (pomegranate), 

Kiwi (kiwi), 

Chirimoya ("custard apple")

Tuna (prickly pear) [not to be confused with atún which is tuna fish]

Frambuesa (raspberry)

Arándano (blueberry, sometimes called arandano morado) 

Arándano rojo (cranberry) 

Mora (blackberry)

Clementinas (clementines)

Mango (mango)

Guayaba (guava)

Copao: I don't think this has a name in English, but they are popular in the IV region, around Coquimbo/La Serena and Valle Elqui. They don't really export it even to other parts of Chile because it's so difficult to transport!

Maracuya (passion fruit)

Higo/breva (these are... figs? But they are 2 different types from the same tree)

Limón (lemon AND lime)

Limón de pica (key lime)

Pepino (besides being a cucumber [pepino de ensalada], pepino the fruit)

Frutos secos = nuts! not dried fruit..... except... yes, lol. When people say frutos secos they're usually talking about nuts, but it can also include dried fruit.

High protein flour

Do you want to make french bread, bagels, or other baked goods that require flour with a high protein content?

I've found one such flour here in Chile, and it's only carried in Lider and Lider Express since it's a store brand item.

It's called Triple Cero and includes vital wheat gluten in the ingredients list. Vital wheat gluten effectively ups the protein content on normal wheat flour.

Read more about vital wheat gluten and what it does here.

Link: Triple Cero at Lider.cl

Ingredients (Spanish): Harina de trigo, glúten vital, peróxido de benzailo, hierro (sulfato ferroso), niacina, tiamina, ácido fólico, riboflavina, oxidante (ácido ascórbico), complejo encimático (hemicelulosa fungal y bacteriana) cilanosa alfa molisa pentasomasa

Zapallo makes a great pumpkin pie

With the upcoming Thanksgiving, I decided I'd try my hand at a FROM SCRATCH pumpkin pie. Yes, a pumpkin pie without pumpkin in a can, (because no canned pumpkin here in Chile D: ). It turned out fantastic! It was just a trial, so I only made half of this recipe

For the "mashed, cooked pumpkin":

I bought one of those small zapallos (cost CH$1.500 at my local Tottus, could probably be found for cheaper elsewhere, or you could get a couple cortes de zapallo at the feria or La Vega), cut out a quarter of the pumpkin, scooped out the seeds and scraped off the "gunk", and chopped into chunks. I then put this in the microwave for 15 minutes (covered pyrex bowl), mixing up and pouring out any water every 5 minutes. (after cooling) I then cut off the skin, and mashed it up with a potato smasher. You could also use a potato-ricer, blender, stick blender, fork, etc.

I also made some substitutions in the recipe because I'm lazy: instead of the brown sugar and evaporated milk, I replaced it with condensed milk! Condensed milk is already sweetened! (plus, brown sugar is difficult to find here in Chile). The condensed milk adds a nice, almost caramel flavor to the pie.

I also added ground cloves, because I felt, how do you not add ground cloves to pumpkin pie!?

So, basically my ingredients (I only did half since it was a test batch):

• 1 1/4 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
• half of a 396g can of condensed milk (so.... 198 grams)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

(I didn't cut down the cinnamon and ginger from the full recipe since I love strong spices, but I cut the nutmeg in half since I added cloves)

I just whisked it all together (didn't bother with a beater), poured into pie crust (I used 3 ramekins, not a big pie crust), cooked at 200C for about 35 minutes (until toothpick/fork comes out clean in the middle)

The pie filling turned out wonderful!

The pie crust... well, let's just say that apparently lard (manteca here in Chile) is not a good replacement for shortening... So good thing I did a test batch before our Thanksgiving dinner, lol!

Caster/Bakers sugar

First, you might be asking what caster/bakers sugar is.

From Cookthink.com

Caster (or castor) [or bakers] sugar is superfine refined sugar. That makes it finer than granulated sugar but not as fine as confectioners [powdered] sugar.
Caster sugar dissolves easily and so is used to give baked goods (especially meringues) a lighter texture.
If you don't have any or can't find caster sugar, you can pulse regular granulated sugar in a food processor to help break down the grains.

I don't have a food processor,or even a blender at the moment, and I did that a couple times in the US, and it just doesn't work as well.

I've searched high and low for caster sugar here in Chile so that I could make a meringue, without feeling the texture of normal sugar, but I failed to find any.

So, I did what any logical crazy person would do: I emailed the largest sugar producer in Chile. Turns out, this isn't a product for public consumption.

"Efectivamente, el caster sugar es el producto, pero hace algunos años tuvimos el formato retail de 500 grs. en el mercado, “azúcar fina”, pero nos fue muy muy mal con él. La demanda en Chile de este producto sólo es para la industria de jugos en verdad. Por eso lo discontinuamos. Quizás puedas probar nuestra “azúcar flor” la cual tiene un pequeño componente de antiaglomerante (almidón), que es utilizado en pastelería y en preparación de tragos."

“azúcar fina” = caster sugar
“azúcar flor” = powdered sugar

So, caster sugar is just used for industrial use in Chile (like for powdered juice), and the smallest size they sell is 50kg (110lbs)! The Iansa representative mentioned that they used to sell a 500g (1.1lb) version, but it went "very, very poorly" and they discontinued it.

Alas.

If you find a store with caster sugar, let me know!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog!

As an American expat in Chile I'm often intrigued, and even perplexed by food here in Chile. Whether I'm just trying to figure out how to say "cornmeal" in Spanish or trying to wrap my head around why someone would enjoy eating blood-sausage, I've been learning a lot along the way.

While I always enjoyed cooking in the US, living in Chile has made me look at it a whole other way. When bagels and Reese's peanut butter cups are not readily available, one can get creative. So, that's what my blog is about. I'll not just be presenting recipes and good places to eat, but trying to help other expats find their much needed ingredients and suitable replacements if they're not readily available.

Suggestions, comments, and criticisms are more than welcome.

Enjoy!