Habichuelas con dulce (sweet beans)

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Talldrink

El Mujeron
Jan 7, 2004
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I LOVE habichuelas con dulce, and all the other home-made Dominican 'sweets' that I had growing up: dulce de leche, coco con leche, dulce de cereza, dulce de naranja, etc. Even juices are hard to get here: like morir so?ando and others. But growing up in a predominently black area, I couldnt explain how good this was to us to my very american friends.

This weekend my mom made me some habas con dulce (sweet lima beans) which are actually my favorite!! My brother came over just for the occasion, I had friends over and the kids couldnt understand what the whole fuss was about! And then I was faced with explaining them to my children. How do I even begin to explain what has been an acquired taste? I mean, the concept of eating beans with SUGAR and cinamon, etc? The whole thing grossed them out so bad that they wouldnt even give the beans the time of day.

I never really learned how to make any of this. I only learned how to make flan, but then again, who doesnt know how to?! At any rate, has anyone else here found that our old traditions of making such dulces at home will be dead after a few of these generations?

I must admit, at least with me and my close friends it looks like it will... :(
 
C

Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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Santiago
As much as I can't stand habichuela con dulce or mondongo or for that matter malta india, my wife has already got our young daughters enjoying the hab. and the malta india. I think you have to get to them while there young because once they're older they will probably be like me - they would rather drink toilet water, blech. :)
 
M

M.A.R.

Silver
Feb 18, 2006
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Malta INdia with sweet condensed milk yuk!!! I don't know how I didn't go into glycemic coma or anyone else for that matter, wow I haven't had that or the malta by itself for sooo long ever since I got grossed out when in the DR they always used to tell me the story of people finding those huge roaches in the bottles after they finished the whole drink, yuK!!!!!
 
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laurapasinifan

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Sep 19, 2005
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Talldrink said:
I LOVE habichuelas con dulce, and all the other home-made Dominican 'sweets' that I had growing up: dulce de leche, coco con leche, dulce de cereza, dulce de naranja, etc. Even juices are hard to get here: like morir so?ando and others. But growing up in a predominently black area, I couldnt explain how good this was to us to my very american friends.

This weekend my mom made me some habas con dulce (sweet lima beans) which are actually my favorite!! My brother came over just for the occasion, I had friends over and the kids couldnt understand what the whole fuss was about! And then I was faced with explaining them to my children. How do I even begin to explain what has been an acquired taste? I mean, the concept of eating beans with SUGAR and cinamon, etc? The whole thing grossed them out so bad that they wouldnt even give the beans the time of day.

I never really learned how to make any of this. I only learned how to make flan, but then again, who doesnt know how to?! At any rate, has anyone else here found that our old traditions of making such dulces at home will be dead after a few of these generations?

I must admit, at least with me and my close friends it looks like it will... :(
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sorry I am with the kids on this one......just the idea was contradictive.....

but hey I dont like iced coffee either....

if you others are talkign about the drink Malta.....nasty nasty stuff...

I was on las carreras last trip a kid wanted some money to buy something to eat....so when i went into a small little food shop that I know the owner. I bought him one of the patties with meat inside and I walked over to the stand up cooler with the glass door and pointed to the MALTA to see if he wanted it to drink...


NO NO NO and waved his finger...

ha ha ha ha

but Carol if I ever get invited back to your house and sweet beans are served..just forget everything I have written here... ha ha ha

bob
 
S

suarezn

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Feb 3, 2002
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Habichuelas Con Dulce is definitely an acquired taste and I have yet to find an American who likes them. I guess it's akin to people here growing up with Football and Turkey for Thanksgiving (personally I think "who gives a damm...") but to them is tradition. It's like gravy (absolutely gross, I think). When I was a kid Good Friday was THE DAY for Habichuelas.
TD: We can consider ourselves lucky that we got to experience this. Unfortunately just like you, my kids are growing up American and of course they don't have the same traditions we do. If they are young enough take them down there for Semana Santa and maybe they will get into the mood as they see the other kids enjoying this Dominican tradition. For instance my oldest son looves dulce de leche and Jalao...No Habichuela for him though...
 
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cuas

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May 29, 2006
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Few years ago while pregnant my husband stopped at a bodega for something to drink. He got his soda I got my malta. He looked at me as I am crazy and said you are going to drink alcohol, then he said you cannot walk with the open bottle on the street. We are going to have a ticket. After that he was bringing me malta.
They call malta alemana with leche condensada levanta muerto. If you can afford it you do not use just malta but malta alemana.

A friend of mine went for some training to Costa Rica. They stayed with locals. As appreciation she offered to make something tipico Dominican. Habichuela con dulce. When the locals saw her mixing beans with coconuts and canela and clavos, they refused to even taste it.

Habas con dulce is a specialty.
 
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laurapasinifan

Silver
Sep 19, 2005
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cuas said:
Few years ago while pregnant my husband stopped at a bodega for something to drink.
.........
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I think this will be my favorite quote this week!! ha ha ha ha

poor soul should have stopped at the doctors office as well ha ha ha




just teasing..have a good day

bad bob
 
Bronxboy

Bronxboy

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2007
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Fyi

cuas;[B said:
586049If you can afford it you do not use just malta but [/B]malta alemana.
Click to expand...

I have heard women using this malta to abort babies, seriously.
 
Bronxboy

Bronxboy

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2007
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Tamborista said:
That is seriously in poor taste Bro.
Does anybody ever engage brain before hitting the keyboard?

tambo'
Click to expand...

Sorry to offend but just keeping it real.

Brain is always in full effect.

Again, sorry.

Delete if necessary!!!!
 
2

2LeftFeet

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Dec 1, 2006
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You are supposed to drink Malta with condensed milk??? I didn't know that. I drank it straight out of the bottle. I couldn't get past the first sip.Now I know why!!!!-- oops
 
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laurapasinifan

Silver
Sep 19, 2005
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2LeftFeet said:
You are supposed to drink Malta with condensed milk??? I didn't know that. I drank it straight out of the bottle. I couldn't get past the first sip.Now I know why!!!!-- oops
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it is like anything else that tastes like sh.....well bad... ha ha

you have to mix it with something that tatses good , just to say you ate it.

bad bob
 
M

MommC

On Vacation!
Mar 2, 2002
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I absolutely LOVE habichuelas con dulce.......

AND Malta Morena or Malta India - ice cold from the fridge, right out of the bottle!

But then again I'm Canadian not American so I guess sarezn still doesn't know an American that likes either! Unless of course he was referring to a
NORTH American :D;):bunny:
 
C

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
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The only problem for me is the excess sugar. If they weren't so sweet I'd love them.

Habichuelas con dulce (Sweet creamed beans) - Dominican Cooking

Try it with a bit less sugar - and Aunt Clara's recipes are restrained compared to most Dominican cooks.

My mother makes some soupy white bean dishes and then adds sugar (and vinegar). I don't know if that's a personal quirk or a family tradition (Moroccan/Sephardi Jewish cookery).

Malta Morena too - if it was less sweet it would be great stuff. It is a well-known breastfeeding booster. It's bitter Irish cousin, Guinness, is used for that purpose too, and unlike MM it is alcoholic.

I hate condensed/evaporated milk though. Won't go near anything that has the stuff.
 
T

Talldrink

El Mujeron
Jan 7, 2004
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Wow guys, thanks for the great responses. So many of you can relate!

I do believe the sweet beans are an acquired taste because they are something we just grew up with. I mean they put vegetables, little cookies, raisins, and all other sorts of condiments. I especially like them when they have just been turned off - HOT!

About the malta: the malta that is mixed with the condensed milk is the ALEMANA - that is the one that is bitter and unsweetened. This type mixed in with the condensced milk is supposed to do wonders and it serves as the original Red Bull. It is called la bebida de los cueros because I guess it gave them wings? LOL

Bronxboy - I heard things like what you mentioned done with the malta. and I assume that if you mix the right concoxion with it, you can kill a bull too. So to your defense - I believe it. But I'm sure they dont just do it with the malta alone...

What about arepas? I like the sweet ones. but nobody makes them like the ones made en el campo over there. YUMMMY!! When I used to visit Ocoa, they always served for breakfast with chocolate de agua. I couldnt imagine eating arepa early in the morning here... but it was so everyday over there.

BTW - I think is too late for my kids. I belive you have to start feeding the stuff to them when they are a few months old, right along with the mangu and rice. My kids never liked baby food from a jar - I always gave them crema de habichuelas (beans - but strained) and rice and platanos. They were baby Dominicans from the beginning!
 
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Hipocrito Mejia

Bronze
Jan 5, 2006
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There seems to be some confusion, so I'll try to clear this up.

Malta (Malta Morena, Malta India) is already sweetened and people drink it straight out of the bottle without adding sweetened condensed milk.

Malta Alemana is also known as extracto de malta, and it is extremely bitter. Although some people drink it straight out of the bottle, it is more commonly consumed by mixing it with sweetened condensed milk. In old times, campo folk would mix it with other bitter ingredients (leaves, barks, roots) in an attempt to end unwanted pregnancies.
 
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