Cook Mexican Article - How To Make A Pinata

According to Wikipedia, the piñata (pronounced pignata) is a bright container generally suspended on a rope from a tree branch or ceiling that is filled with candy and toys and is used during celebrations. A succession of blindfolded, stick-wielding children and some fun loving adults will try to break the piñata in order to collect the candy inside of it. It has been used for hundreds of years to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas.

Spanish colonists are thought to have started the piñata tradition in Mexico; then the tradition went on to the Italians (pignatta). According to legend, Marco Polo introduced the piñata to the Italians after discovering it in the Orient.

Piñatas are made from easily breakable materials, such as straw, papier-mâché, or clay and are easy to make at home.

Here's how to make your own Piñata.

What You Will Need:

1 large round balloon
newspaper torn into 1 inch strips about 6 inches long
flour and water paste (recipe below)
cooking spray
paint
tissue paper
string

Flour and water paste: mix 1 part flour with 2 parts water until you have a paste the consistency of glue. Add 1 tablespoon of salt. Make sure to break up or remove any lumps.

Putting the Piñata Together:

Blow up the balloon and tie the end. Spray the balloon lightly with cooking spray.

If you're working alone, put the balloon into a shallow bowl so it won't roll around as you work with it.

Dip a strip of newspaper into the paste and apply it diagonally across the balloon leaving an area around the stem end uncovered - about 2 inches in diameter. Continue until the balloon is completely covered.

Let the paper dry overnight. Store unused paste tightly covered in the refrigerator. Add more water if it gets too thick.

Add another layer of newspaper, placing paper diagonally in the opposite direction of the first layer. Again, leaving the area around the stem of the balloon uncovered.

Depending on how strong you want the piñata, let dry and add a third layer. For small children, two layers will be enough.

When the pinata is completely dry, pop the balloon (hold onto the stem when you do it) and pull out the broken balloon.

Use the paint and tissue paper to decorate the piñata. Be creative and use bring colors. Glue tissue paper streamers to the bottom for a finishing touch.

Fill the piñata with wrapped candy or small toys or other goodies.

Make 3 or 4 small holes around the opening of the piñata and lace with string to hang the piñata.

Note that you can add more bits of paper and paste of the hole if you wish to completely enclose the piñata.

Playing the Piñata Game:

Securely hang the piñata - making sure you have space around it to swing a stick. Do not try to hold it.

Each person will take a turn being blind folded, given the stick and taking swings at the piñata until the piñata breaks and spills out it's treasures. Three swings per turn.

When the piñata is broken each person gathers up a share of the goodies. Make sure everyone shares.

Traditional Mexican Candy to Fill Your Piñata:

2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup evaporated milk
1 pinch of salt
2 tsp grated orange peel

Using a wooden spoon, stir one cup of sugar into fry pan until caramelized. Add water. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add remaining sugar, milk, and salt. Place over low heat and stir until mixture boils. Cook, stirring until it reaches softball stage. Remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm, without stirring. Add orange peel. Beat until candy loses gloss and holds its shape when dropped from spoon. Pour into lightly buttered 8-inch square pan and cut when cool.

Linda Symonds is a mexican food lover and accomplished cook. She is also co-creator of the Cook Mexican DVD Video which teaches people how to create fast and easy Mexican foods with simple step-by-step instructions available at Cook Mexican.