Cocada are a traditional coconut confectionery found in many parts of Latin America. They are particularly popular in Argentina,

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, Brazil,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Chile, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador. They are oven baked but are served at room temperature to provide their chewy and soft texture. Made with eggs and shredded

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

, cocadas come in a variety of colors due to the modern use of food coloring,Mounts, Debora
"Cocada Dessert Recipe"
''BellaOnline'', accessed 5 March 2010 however the traditional variations are golden brown. They are often garnished with almonds, either whole or chopped. There are hundreds of cocadas recipes, from the typical hard, very sweet balls to cocadas that are almost the creamy texture of

flan Flan may refer to: *Flan (pie), an open sweet or savoury tart, the most common UK meaning *Flan cake, a Filipino cake topped with crème caramel and caramel syrup *Flan de leche or ''crème caramel'', a custard dessert with clear caramel sauce, th ...

. Other fruit, often dried, can be added to the cocadas to create variety, which will also lend to a wide spectrum of cocada colors. Cocadas are mentioned as early as 1878 in Peru.

By country

Mexico, Colombia and Uruguay

and Mexico, Conserva de coco are sold not only as artisan candies from shops, but commonly on the streets, out of baskets, and particularly on the beaches, by men or women who carry them on large aluminum trays. In Uruguay, they are commonly sold in bakeries under the name of ''coquitos'', the more delicate versions include a cherry on the top and syrup coating, sometimes they fill the boxes of assorted ''masas''.

Brazil

In Brazil, cocada are a traditional

confectionery Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

originating from the

north-east The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

of the country. They are often long and thin rather than round, and are sold in the streets. One variation of cocada in Brazil is the "black cocada" ( pt, Cocada preta) made with brown sugar and slightly burnt coconut. In Brazil, "rei da cocada preta" (black cocada king) is used to refer to an arrogant person who thinks too highly of himself. Although similar, cocadas and

queijadinha Queijadinha is a custard tart which originated in Brazil. There are many types of "queijadinhas", but the traditional one is prepared with these main ingredients: grated coconut and cheese, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, butter and egg yo ...

s are not the same thing. The cocada is usually made from coconut and sugar only, rolled together to form an amorphous mass. Queijadinha is made with more ingredients, and gets its shape from the baking tin.

Venezuela

In Venezuela, conserva de coco is a candy and cocada is a drink blended with coconut and the confectionery or candy form is called "conserva de coco".

Gallery

File:Bogotá, Kolumbien (13208537243).jpg, Cocadas of

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, Colombia. File:Tártara-torreja-cocada.JPG, Cocadas of

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. File:Cocadas colombianas by P R.png, Colombian cocadas in jars. File:Cocadas-Lágrimas de San Isidro.jpg, Golden brown cocadas. File:(2014-11-22) Martha Benez Doces - Araçatuba - Cocada de sol Romerito Pontes (15870097095).jpg, Cocadas of

Araçatuba Araçatuba is a city located in the northwest of São Paulo state, Brazil. The city has 198,129 inhabitants (IBGE/2020) and spans . The city name comes from the Tupi language and means "abundance of araçá (a fruit, Psidium cattleianum)". Ara� ...

, Brazil. File:Cocada de Muriqui 1.png, A cocada of Muriqui, Brazil.

References

External links

''Mexico Cooks!''
photograph of cocadas. {{Mexican cuisine Brazilian confectionery Colombian cuisine Confectionery Foods containing coconut Mexican desserts Venezuelan cuisine Dominican Republic cuisine