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🥤 DRINK

Mote con Huesillo

Chile's iconic summer drink-dessert: whole dried peaches in a spiced cane syrup poured over cooked husked wheat, served ice-cold with a spoon.
Chilean · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 75 min
~428 cal · 7g protein · 104g carbs · 1g fat · 9g fiber · 62g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Mote con huesillo is Chile's most iconic summer refreshment, a drink and a snack in one glass, sold from carts on every plaza and drunk at Fiestas Patrias. The name says exactly what it is: mote, cooked husked wheat, and huesillos, whole dried peaches (the word comes from hueso, the stone left in the fruit).
The dried peaches are soaked overnight, then simmered slowly with sugar, a cinnamon stick, and often a piece of chancaca (unrefined cane sugar) and orange peel until they plump up and the liquid becomes a deep amber, honey-coloured syrup. The husked wheat is boiled separately until tender and chewy. To serve, a spoonful of mote goes in the bottom of a tall glass, a peach or two on top, and the cold syrup is poured over.
Served very cold, it is eaten with a spoon as much as drunk: you scoop the chewy wheat, break up the soft peach, and finish the sweet cinnamon syrup. Both wheat and peach belong to central Chile's Mediterranean climate, which is why the drink tastes so completely of the place.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
Serves 6
250 g whole dried peaches (huesillos)
250 g husked wheat (mote)
3/4 cup sugar
2 oz chancaca or panela (optional, for depth)
1 cinnamon stick
from 1 orange orange peel
8 cups water
Instructions
1
Rinse the dried peaches and soak them overnight in plenty of water so they rehydrate and plump up.
✎ Chef’s note
An overnight soak (8 to 12 hours) gives a much richer, darker syrup than a quick one; the peaches carry the whole flavour.
2
Simmer the soaked peaches in their soaking water with the sugar, chancaca, cinnamon, and orange peel for about 40 minutes, until soft and the liquid turns to amber syrup, then cool and chill.
3
In a separate pot, boil the husked wheat in plenty of water for about 30 minutes until tender but still chewy, then drain and rinse cold.
4
Chill both the syrup and the mote thoroughly.
5
To serve, spoon mote into the bottom of tall glasses, add a peach or two, and fill with the cold syrup. Serve with a spoon.
Central Valley tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Central Valley. Chile's Central Valley, its agricultural and wine heartland, cooks pastel de choclo (corn pie), cazuela stew, and empanadas. Vineyards and orchards feed a comforting table.
🗺️
Chile. Chile's long coastline delivers extraordinary seafood, from ceviche to hearty fish stews, while its central valley yields corn, beans, and wine. Pastel de choclo and empanadas anchor a comforting, produce-rich table.
🌍
South America. Migration reworked the plate within living memory. Japanese arrivals in Peru and Brazil produced Nikkei cooking, Italians made pasta and pizza entirely ordinary in Argentina, Uruguay and Sao Paulo, and West African cooking carried into Bahia by the slave trade gave Brazil dende palm oil, okra and a whole ritual repertoire.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Chile
Porotos GranadosSummer stew of fresh beans, corn, squash, and basil, Chile’s pre-Columbian trinity in one pot.
SopaipillasGolden pumpkin-dough fritters, soft and faintly sweet, fried up on cold Chilean mornings and eaten with pebre or chancaca syrup.
CompletoA hot dog buried under diced tomato, mashed avocado, sauerkraut, and mayonnaise, Chile's overloaded snack-lunch.
Browse all Chile recipes →

Good to know

You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.

Make it a Chile meal

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Frequently asked questions

What is Mote con Huesillo?

Chile's iconic summer drink-dessert: whole dried peaches in a spiced cane syrup poured over cooked husked wheat, served ice-cold with a spoon.

Where does Mote con Huesillo come from?

Mote con Huesillo is a Chilean dish from Central Valley, Chile.

Can Mote con Huesillo be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

This Mote con Huesillo recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.

Is Mote con Huesillo safe for people with food allergies?

Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.

How long does Mote con Huesillo take to make?

About 90 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 75 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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