The best-known Mapuche desserts are bolitas de indio, catutos or multrún with honey, ulpo made with toasted flour, and sweet preparations with piñones, the seeds of the araucaria tree, such as piñones in syrup, piñón sopaipillas and muday. They are built on ingredients from southern Chile like the piñón, wheat mote, toasted flour, potatoes, honey and wild fruit such as murta. Some are old preparations and others are modern versions made with those same ingredients.
Mapuche cooking does not have a pastry tradition like the European one, and its sweet dishes tend to be simple, made with whatever each season provides. Many are eaten at breakfast or at once, the Chilean afternoon tea, and several appear on the table during We Tripantu, the Mapuche new year, celebrated around the winter solstice in late June. These 7 recipes can be made at home with ingredients found at markets and supermarkets.
Mapuche Dessert Recipes
1. Bolitas de Indio
Bolitas de indio, also called milcaos con leche, are made with raw potato that is grated and squeezed dry, shaped into small balls and cooked in milk with sugar, cloves and orange zest. They are one of the simplest desserts on this list and one of the best known in the south. They are served cold or warm, bathed in the milk they cooked in.
See the bolitas de indio recipe
2. Catutos or Multrún with Honey
Catutos or multrún are made by grinding cooked wheat mote into a dough that is shaped by hand into elongated pieces and browned on a griddle, in a skillet or in the oven. They come in a savory version, served with pebre, and a sweet version, which is the one on this list. For dessert they are served warm with honey or with rose hip jam.
See the catutos or multrún with honey recipe
3. Ulpo or Cocho Made with Toasted Flour
Ulpo is toasted flour mixed with warm milk or cold water and sweetened with sugar or honey. Depending on how much liquid it has, it turns out as a drink or as a thick porridge eaten with a spoon, which is how it is served as a dessert. It is ready in under 5 minutes and has always been made in the Chilean countryside.
See the ulpo or cocho made with toasted flour recipe
4. Piñones in Syrup with Ulmo Honey
The piñón, the seed of the araucaria tree, is one of the staple foods of the Mapuche Pewenche people. This is a modern preparation that boils the piñones until soft, peels them and leaves them in a thick syrup with ulmo honey. They end up with a texture similar to chestnuts and work as a dessert on their own or alongside cheese and ice cream.
See the piñones in syrup with ulmo honey recipe
5. Piñón Sopaipillas
These sopaipillas combine piñón flour with wheat flour and a teaspoon of honey in the dough, which is then fried like a regular sopaipilla, the Chilean fried dough round. They have a darker color and an earthy aroma. They are eaten warm with pebre or with honey, and the sweet version is a good way to taste the flavor of the piñón.
See the piñón sopaipillas recipe
6. Murta Jam
Murta or murtilla is a wild berry from the south, traditional in Mapuche culture, harvested in late summer and autumn. The jam is made by cooking the berries with sugar until they form a thick syrup, and it has a sweet, aromatic flavor. It is spread on bread or cookies and also goes with simple desserts.
7. Piñón Muday
Piñón muday is a sweet drink made with cooked, ground piñones, water and honey. Freshly made, it is a thick, nourishing juice, and if left to rest for a few days it ferments and develops a slight alcohol content. Although it is a drink, it usually goes with the same occasions as the desserts on this list, especially in winter.
Mapuche Desserts by Main Ingredient
| Dessert | Main ingredient | How it is served |
|---|---|---|
| Bolitas de indio | Potato, milk and sugar | Cold or warm, in their milk |
| Catutos with honey | Wheat mote | Warm, with honey or jam |
| Ulpo | Toasted flour | Thick, with a spoon |
| Piñones in syrup | Piñón, sugar and ulmo honey | Cold, with cheese or ice cream |
| Piñón sopaipillas | Piñón and wheat flour | Warm, with honey |
| Murta jam | Murta and sugar | On bread or cookies |
| Piñón muday | Piñón and honey | Cold, as a drink |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What Are the Best-Known Mapuche Desserts?
The best known are bolitas de indio, made with grated potato cooked in milk with sugar, catutos or multrún made from wheat mote and served with honey, and ulpo made with toasted flour. Sweet preparations with piñones are also common, such as piñones in syrup, piñón sopaipillas and muday, a piñón drink with honey.
2. Which Mapuche Dessert Is the Easiest to Make?
Ulpo is the quickest, because it only needs toasted flour, milk or water, and sugar or honey, and it is ready in under 5 minutes. Next come bolitas de indio, which need potatoes, milk, sugar and cloves and cook in about 10 minutes after the potato is grated and squeezed.
3. What Ingredients Does Mapuche Cooking Use in Its Sweets?
Sweets of Mapuche tradition mostly use ingredients from southern Chile, such as the piñón of the araucaria, wheat in the form of mote or toasted flour, potatoes, honey and wild fruit such as murta and maqui. Sugar arrived later and is now used in many recipes, although honey is still common.
4. What Do People Eat at We Tripantu?
At We Tripantu, the Mapuche new year celebrated in late June, people share dishes made with winter-season ingredients, such as catutos, sopaipillas, boiled piñones, mote, grilled meats and drinks like muday. The food varies by community and area, so there is no single menu.
