Garrapiñada, garrapiñada de cacahuate, garrapiñado, garapiñado or maní confitado is a sweet snack made from peeled peanuts, sugar and essences (usually vanilla).
It is very common in Latin American countries such as Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay where it is sold in small packages by street vendors or supermarkets, mainly in the autumn and winter seasons or in Argentina and Uruguay in December for Christmas.
The syrup resulting from the cooking process is reduced until creating the phenomenon called “sugar inversion.”
That is, it crystallizes again but remains glazed on the peanut, thus covering its entire surface.
It is then caramelized, creating the sweet and crunchy texture that characterizes it.
The name of this sweet comes from “garapiñar,” which means “to wet sweets in the syrup that forms clumps.”
It closely resembles some types of honey nuts, like the Provençal brittle made with sugar, honey, and almonds or the Italian brittle with sugar, butter, and almonds.
Similar preparations with nuts, pistachios, almonds, cashews, or sesame seeds are also highly appreciated in the Arab world.
Although garrapiñada is made with peanuts, it can be prepared with any nut or seed. In Spain, sugar-coated treats are common.
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: South American
- Seasonality: All seasons, Christmas
Ingredients
- 7 oz unsalted peanuts
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Steps
Place the peanuts and sugar in a deep pan.
Pour the water into the pan to form a syrup. At this point, add the vanilla essence.
Heat the pan over low heat until the sugar melts and starts forming a light syrup, and bubbles begin to appear. It will take about 10 minutes. During this time, there is no need to stir the peanuts.
From this moment on, the syrup will continue to reduce, so using a wooden spoon, constantly stir the mixture until the sugar has crystallized.
Slightly increase the heat and continue stirring the almonds until the crystallized sugar transforms into liquid caramel and takes on a golden hue. At this point, remove the pan from the heat.
Pour the caramel-coated peanuts onto a sheet of parchment paper and with the help of a fork, separate some peanuts from each other.
Even in Asian countries, garrapiñada is consumed, but with variations in preparation: in Japan, amanattō, a traditional sweet originally with azuki beans, is prepared, although versions of amanattō with peanuts exist.
Some halva recipes with whole peanuts cooked with palm sugar are popular in Asia.
