Making Mocochinchi

I get really excited when I can think of a food or drink that is solely Bolivian. I admit there isn't too many Bolivian dishes that are not influenced by the many countries that it borders. Even the Saltena, Bolivia's most famous empanada looking pastry comes from a woman who came from Salta, Argentina, to Tarija, Bolivia. 

So when I'm researching Mocochinchi, my favorite childhood and now adulthood drink, made from dehydrated whole peaches, sugar, and cinnamon, and I find that it's a "Bolivian"drink, I get really really excited. Bolivia Bella goes on to describe regional favorites. 

In Santa Cruz, you can buy the dehydrated peaches in the open markets. I snag a pound of dehydrated peaches because you really can't find these in the U.S. except maybe in Miami or Virginia, where there is a huge population of Bolivians. Using sliced dehydrated peaches don't really work for this particular drink because the fun is eating the reconstituted peaches afterwards like a dessert.

Here is a lowdown on how to make your own mocochinchi if you ever find yourself with whole dehydrated peaches.

My recipe is very non-scientific but I basically tossed a handful of dehydrated peaches into a huge vat of hot water, cinnamon sticks, palm sugar (or reg sugar), to taste. I've had different variations of this from really sweet (almost syrupy) to more cinnamony. I like it less sweet and more spicy/peachy but it's all up to you.

Once it is done, serve the drink with at least one or two dehydrated peaches. Some people like to eat this at the end and others just like the drink without the peach since the texture takes some getting used to. I personally love sucking on the peach and the seed once I am done drinking it.

Serving it in a nice wine glass could up the luxe factor. Haha.