Papelón is unrefined cane sugar, boiled down from cane juice and set in hard brown cones. Dissolve it in water, squeeze in a generous amount of lime and you have the drink that cools Venezuela, sold from roadside stalls, poured at lunch counters and kept in a jug in family fridges. It tastes like limeade that has been somewhere interesting: deeper and rounder than one made with white sugar, with a whisper of molasses and caramel.

Older versions soaked the papelón overnight with pineapple peel for a faint fruity note, and some cooks add a sprig of mint. It is the perfect jug to keep on the table through a hot afternoon of racing: simple, cheap and very hard to stop drinking.

The papelón syrup

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) papelón
• 2 cups (480 ml) water

Method

1. Put the papelón and water in the saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until every piece has dissolved, about 8 to 10 minutes. Do not let it boil hard.
2. Take the pan off the heat and leave the syrup to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Pour it through the sieve to catch any bits of cane fiber.

The drink

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (180 ml) fresh lime juice
• 6 cups (1.4 liters) cold water
• 4 cups ice cubes
• 1 lime
• a few sprigs fresh mint

Method

1. Pour the cooled syrup, lime juice and cold water into the jug and stir well. Taste: add more water if it is too sweet, or more lime if it needs a sharper edge.
2. Add the ice, lime slices and mint and pour into tall glasses.

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