Aguapanela (Panela Water): What It Is

Name: Aguapanela (Panela Water)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: ½ pound panela (about 225 g; unrefined cane sugar, sold as panela or piloncillo in US Latin stores); Water, enough to cover (about 8 cups / 1.9 liters for this much panela, but adjust to taste)

Aguapanela is unrefined cane sugar dissolved in water: two ingredients and fifteen minutes. It is the everyday drink of Colombia, taken hot at breakfast, cold with lime in the heat, or hot with a piece of fresh cheese dropped into the cup. Makes eight servings.

Total: 30

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Have you ever tasted the sweet and comforting flavor of a good cup of aguapanela?

This traditional Colombian drink, made with panela and water, is the perfect way to sweeten your day and remind you of the warmth of Latin American homes. It's very delicious, aguapanela is very easy to prepare, and with our recipe, you can make it in just 15 minutes.

Whether to enjoy on a rainy afternoon or to accompany your meals, you're sure to love aguapanela. Dare to try it and delight your senses with its unique and delicious taste!

How to make Aguapanela or Panela Water?

Recipe for Aguapanela or panela water, the perfect accompaniment to any meal
Whether to enjoy on a rainy afternoon or to accompany your meals, you're sure to love aguapanela. Dare to try it and delight your senses with its unique and delicious taste!

What is Aguapanela?

Aguapanela, or panela water, is a drink made with panela, which is processed from sugarcane. In Colombian homes, this drink has always been prepared to accompany different daily meals, from breakfast to dinner. The best part is that it is very versatile as a beverage, as we can add different ingredients to enjoy many flavors.

How to make Aguapanela with Lemon?

It's enough to add lemon to the aguapanela, so we need a small portion of panela, some water, and the desired amount of lemon, first, we bring the water and panela to a boil, serve and add the lemon, hot like that. We can also drink it cold, let the aguapanela cool down or after it's been in the fridge we add the lemon, and it will become a refreshing drink.

How to prepare Panela Water with Cheese?

After having the panela water prepared with the previous recipe, serve immediately, hot like that, and add a good portion of cheese. Depending on the type of cheese you add, it will become stretchy, like gum. The common cheese used for aguapanela with cheese is curd cheese.

How much time is needed to make it?

It takes about 15 minutes to make aguapanela.

What are the ingredients?

To make aguapanela, you need half a pound of panela and enough water.

What type of panela should be used?

You can use any type of panela to make aguapanela, whether in block form or granulated.

How is Aguapanela made?

To make aguapanela, add the panela to a slow cooker along with enough water. Place on medium heat for 15 minutes or until it begins to boil and the panela has dissolved. Then, serve and enjoy.

How can the flavor be adjusted?

If the aguapanela is too plain for you, you can add a little more panela. If it's too sweet, you can add a little more water and put it back on the heat until it boils.

How many servings does this recipe make?

This aguapanela recipe makes about 8 glasses.

Is it necessary to use a slow cooker to make aguapanela?

Not necessarily. You can also make aguapanela in a regular pot over medium heat, stirring constantly until the panela has completely dissolved.

Aguapanela FAQ

What is aguapanela in English?

There is no single English name. It translates descriptively as panela water or sugarcane water: unrefined whole cane sugar dissolved in hot water. Panela is the block of raw cane sugar it is made from, sold in the United States as panela or by its Mexican name, piloncillo.

What is panela?

Whole cane sugar: sugarcane juice boiled down and set into solid blocks, with nothing refined out. It tastes mineral and faintly smoky, quite unlike white sugar. It is the everyday sweetener in Colombia and the base of aguapanela, guandolo and countless desserts.

How is aguapanela drunk?

Three ways. Hot on its own, usually at breakfast or before bed. Cold with lime juice, as a refreshment in hot weather. And hot with a piece of fresh white cheese dropped into the cup, which softens and is eaten with a spoon at the end. The third surprises most people who did not grow up with it.

How much water for half a pound of panela?

Around 8 cups gives a moderately sweet aguapanela, and the recipe is deliberately loose about this because Colombians adjust by taste. Start there: if it is too weak add more panela, if too sweet add water, and return it to the heat either way until it dissolves.

Can I use brown sugar instead?

It will dissolve and be sweet, but it is not the same drink. Brown sugar is refined white sugar with molasses added back; panela was never refined, and that is where the mineral flavour comes from. Piloncillo is the true equivalent and is easy to find.

Is aguapanela the same as guandolo?

Closely related. Guandolo is aguapanela made cold and sharpened with lime, and the names overlap by region. If you dissolve panela in cold water and add lime, you have made guandolo; hot and plain, it is aguapanela.

How long does it keep?

Several days refrigerated. It is often made in quantity and kept in a jug, warmed by the cup as needed. If you add lime, drink it within a day or so: the lime dulls and turns slightly bitter after that.

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