April 22, 2008

Peanut Panocha (Penuche)

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Peanut Panocha
Peanut Panocha

Over the past two weeks I have been acting like a mad scientist trying to make peanut panocha, those peanut studded raw sugar flat discs you can buy anywhere in the Philippines. They are sort of grainy, not chewy, and soft enough not to break your teeth. I searched and searched and searched online for a store that sells them, no such luck. And the more I searched for the candies or the recipe the more I got the munchies like a crazed pregnant woman. I guess the candies won't pass the FDA's approval probably due to germs, packaging, etc . Or maybe there isn't any demand for these treats and nobody but me and my family love them.

Peanut panocha, also spelled panutsa in the Philippines is a cousin of penuche. Penuche, origin is Nahuatl (Mexican), are fudgy candies made with brown sugar, heavy cream, milk, and chopped nuts. The Philippine panocha however are made of whole peanuts and very dark raw sugar, also called panucha shaped in a coconut shell and sold by the pair. I made them three times adapting a recipe I found online but the candies came out chewy. However, when I left them on the counter for a couple of days the candies dried up and started becoming grainy, the consistency almost like the ones in the Philippines although still a little bit chewy. I ran out of Philippine panocha and used gur, the Indian and Pakistani raw sugar lumps which are as tasty as the panocha but very hard to break into small chunks. If anybody knows how to make peanut panocha and the Cebuano version called peñato which are shaped into small lumps, please let me know, I'd really appreciate it.:-)

Panocha and Gur
Philippine panocha and Pakistani gur

12 comments:

Ruy said...

I love those peanut things!
Wow Oggi, your desperation just made me appreciate the ones I have downstairs.;p
I admire your determination by the way.=)

Anonymous said...

Hi;

I've been reading your column for a while and love your recipes! I tried e-mailing you at the address you have listed, but I got a message back saying your mailbox was "unavailable", whatever that means. Do you have another mailbox for usage requests? :-)

--Nikki

Anonymous said...

Is this anything like peanut brittle? What's the difference?

raissa said...

the Cebuano version called peñato which are shaped into small lumps

the Cebuano version that I know of is this kind in a vacuum pack and rectangular. Its made by Tetay's. Its my absolute favorite in this world. Its more chewy which I prefer more than than the grainy panucha. I am so happy that my sister's friend who just came from Cebu sent me some.

raissa said...

Its Titay's pala from Liloan

http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11191866/Penato.jpg

Anonymous said...

In Batangas they have 2 kinds the basa (wet)the sugar is shiny and the other they call tuyo - just like in your picture grainy

Sidney said...

The panocha seems to be very popular in the Philippines. I see them often in street stalls. Never tasted them.

Oggi said...

Ruy, I really was getting desperate when the candies won't harden. We ate them all anyway and I have gained a couple of pounds from all the candy eating.:)

Nikki, thanks. You might have typed dash instead of underscore. Try again and if you get the same message go to View My Profile and click on email to send me a message.:)

Marvin, it's different because it doesn't use white sugar and baking soda and they're not crunchy. I can say they are like hardened brown sugar but slightly softer.

Raissa, thanks for the link. It's actually the husband who had those in Cebu over 35 years ago! His younger brother used to bike to the sari-sari store to buy small lumps of penatos. He said there were still finger marks on them and they had the same grainy consistency of panocha. He said the name perhaps is generic for peanut candies or maybe the recipe has changed.
You are so lucky to have friends bring you goodies from Cebu, I'm jealous.:-)
Hey, the ones I made are chewy just the way you like them!

Alilay, are the basa chewy or crunchy? I can't remember if I had those, most probably I had the crunchy ones like thick brittle.:)

Sidney, these are only sold in wet markets or streets and sari-sari stores. Try one, they are really yummy...brown sugar and crunchy peanuts...mmm.:)

Anonymous said...

the peanuts are malutong and the sugar is hard while the tuyo the sugar crumbles when you take a bite but the peanuts still crunchy

Oggi said...

Alilay, I also love those malutong ones, never knew they're called basa.:-)

christine said...

I love these things! I've always wanted to try making my own too so thanks for sharing your recipe. :)

Oggi said...

Christine I am getting addicted to them.:)

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