Arrope de chañar, a sweet and healthy drink

The arrope de chañar is an  indigenous  drink from the region that covers Gran Chaco. A region that, on the Argentine map, has influence on many  northern provinces. Chañar is a tree that can be found throughout the country, and the chañar rope is obtained from its fruits.

This drink is a vegetable honey to which healing properties are attributed. In northern Argentina, the chañar arrope is usually the first recommendation for respiratory disease. It is used by those suffering from asthma, cough, cold or colds. It is also used to treat diarrhea. Here are the steps for its  preparation :

 Preparation (requires time and patience) 

1. Collect the fruit: calculate 15 to 20 kg per liter.
2. Place the fruits in a saucepan with water and boil. Water should always be twice the fruits. Work on the pot takes three hours and should be stirred at times to prevent the chañar from sticking to the pot.
3. Remove from the pot when the chañar starts to release an ink and let cool.
4. Once cold should be kneaded the obtained substance and separate  seeds  and carozos.
5. It should be placed again in the pot, but being strained with a thin canvas or tulle.
6. The substance is again boiled, but this time only an hour.
7. When the substance reaches that point like a honey, thick, it means we already have a chañar rope.

 Taste of the chañar rice 

It is an extremely sweet drink, very thick and dark in color. The rope of chañar is difficult to describe, a close opinion I heard was: “It looks like candy honey half an hour.”

 Chañar's coffee 

The rope de chañar is not the only drink that is obtained from this fruit. We can enjoy the chañar coffee, a  drink  that is prepared with the roasted and ground fruit. This version of the chañar does not change its beneficial properties for the respiratory system. In addition, it would help the cleansing of the bladder and kidneys. The taste is intense, a comparison could be dulce de leche.