The Days of the Dead (November 1 and 2) are not only one of the most dramatic of Oaxacan fiestas but among the most family centered. Altars dedicated to los difuntos (“departed ones”) appear everywhere — outside churches, on shop premises, and especially at family gravesites and in the home, where everyone is preparing for the annual reunion with late friends and relatives. At this time every marketplace in Oaxaca blazes with piles — absolute mountains — of fuschia-red cockscombs and intense orange marigolds. Tall sugarcanes with long fronds and huge banana leaves tower like jungles nearby. The flowers will be used to adorn the altars and the giant fronds to mark arched entries for the souls of loved ones to pass through.
People buy their late cousin’s favorite kind of cigarettes or their departed father’s usual beer to place on the home altar, on the theory that they’ve probably been waiting for it since last year. The other offerings usually include fresh fruit, candies in all kinds of macabre memento more shapes, decorated breads made from a sweet egg-enriched dough like that for Pan Resobado, and this traditional spiced preserved pumpkin. Every home altar holds a plate of calabaza en tacha — an offering that represents about four days’ labor of love.
The pumpkin — I use a regular Halloween pumpkin or sometimes the green West Indian type — is soaked first in a solution of the same cal (slaked lime) used to treat corn for tortillas. The alkali makes it firm enough to absorb the sugar without disintegrating. Oaxacan cooks like to make the preserve very sweet; I have slightly reduced the amount of sugar. It may not be traditional, but I like to serve it with vanilla ice cream.
Sweet Preserved Pumpkin (Calabaza en tacha)
Ingredients
- 1 7- to 8-pound pumpkin
- ½ to ¾ cup cal (slaked lime)
- 4-5 short chunks (3 to 4 inches) fresh sugar cane optional
- 3½ pounds panela or piloncillo (Mexican brown loaf sugar) or 3½ pounds (about 8 cups) dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons allspice berries bruised
- 1 6-inch piece
canela
Instructions
- Cut the pumpkin into 6 equal wedges. Remove and discard the seeds and stringy pulp, then cut each wedge in half crosswise. Prick the rind all over with the tines of a fork to help the cal and sugar penetrate.
- Pour 5 quarts cold water into a stainless steel or heavy duty plastic bucket. Add ½ cup of the cal and stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve thoroughly. Taste the solution; it should have a noticeably astringent "bite." If not, stir in more cal a tablespoon at a time. Add the pumpkin wedges and loosely cover the bucket. Let stand overnight (about 10 hours) in a cool dark place or the refrigerator.
- The next day, remove the pumpkin and rinse well under cold running water. The texture should now be firm.
- Prepare a large heatproof earthenware vessel or nonreactive stockpot. You have to make a sort of prop in the center to lean the pieces of pumpkin against. For flavor as well as support, use the optional sugar cane placed together in a bunch. Or simply place one of the curved pieces of pumpkin in the center. In either case, rest the wedges of pumpkin against the supporting “platform,” arranging them like petals coming out from the center.
- Using a hammer, break up the loaf sugar into small pieces (no larger than ½ inch) and scatter over the pumpkin. Add the allspice and canela. Add enough water to cover the pumpkin by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat; cover the pot loosely and simmer over very low heat for 5 hours. Remove from the heat and let stand overnight, uncovered or just loosely covered.
- The next day, return the pumpkin to a simmer over low heat and cook for 5 hours. Let stand again overnight. On the third day, return to a simmer; this time the syrup should be absorbed after 2-3 hours. Watch very closely as the syrup disappears since the dish tends to scorch easily at this point. Let cool completely before serving. It will keep in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 1 week.
