Dulces y postres
Mexican candy and dessert names
From colonial convent sweets like ate and jamoncillo to the chili-and-tamarind candies of the modern corner shop. Alegría means "joy", borrachito means "little drunk one", and muégano's name is a mystery even to Mexicans.
23 sweets and candy, with meanings
- Calabaza en tachaSweet
squash in the sugar vat
kah-lah-BAH-sah en TAH-chahSpanishSpanish calabaza+en+tachacentral Mexico - Chongos zamoranosSweet
Zamora hair buns
CHON-gos sah-moh-RAH-nosSpanishSpanish chongo+zamoranoMichoacán three-milks cake
pahs-TEL deh tres LEH-chesSpanishSpanish pastel+de+tres+lechesnationwide
Every name in one table
| Name | Means | Built from | Language | Say it | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alegría | joy | Spanish alegría (joy, gladness) | Spanish | ah-leh-GREE-ah | Mexico City |
| Ate | fruit paste | Spanish -ate (suffix meaning 'paste made of'), as in membrillate, guayabate | Spanish | AH-teh | Michoacán |
| Borrachito | little drunk one | Spanish borracho+-ito | Spanish | boh-rrah-CHEE-toh | nationwide |
| Buñuelo | fritter | Spanish buñuelo (fritter), of uncertain origin, possibly from a Gaulish root bunia (lump, swelling) | Spanish | boo-NYWEH-loh | nationwide |
| Cajeta | little box | Spanish caja+-eta | Spanish | kah-HEH-tah | Guanajuato |
| Calabaza en tacha | squash in the sugar vat | Spanish calabaza+en+tacha | Spanish | kah-lah-BAH-sah en TAH-chah | central Mexico |
| Camote | sweet potato | camohtli (sweet potato, edible tuber) | Nahuatl | kah-MOH-teh | Puebla |
| Capirotada | hooded dish | Spanish capirote (a tall pointed hood) + -ada | Spanish | kah-pee-roh-TAH-dah | nationwide |
| Carlos V | Charles the Fifth | Spanish Carlos+V | Spanish | KAR-los KEEN-toh | nationwide |
| Chongos zamoranos | Zamora hair buns | Spanish chongo+zamorano | Spanish | CHON-gos sah-moh-RAH-nos | Michoacán |
| Churro | ridged fritter | Spanish churro (also the name of a coarse-wooled Spanish sheep breed) | Spanish | CHOO-rroh | nationwide |
| Cocada | coconut sweet | Spanish coco+-ada | Spanish | koh-KAH-dah | Guerrero |
| Duvalín | an invented brand name | Spanish Duvalín (a coined trade name with no literal sense) | Spanish | doo-vah-LEEN | nationwide |
| Gansito | little goose | Spanish ganso+-ito | Spanish | gahn-SEE-toh | nationwide |
| Glorias | glories | Spanish gloria (glory, heavenly bliss) | Spanish | GLOH-ryahs | Nuevo León |
| Jamoncillo | little ham | Spanish jamón+-cillo | Spanish | hah-mon-SEE-yoh | nationwide |
| Mazapán | marzipan | Spanish mazapán, disputed: Arabic mawthabān (a coin, hence a small moulded thing) or Latin martius panis (March bread) | Arabic (via Spanish) | mah-sah-PAHN | nationwide |
| Muéganos | stuck-together cluster | Spanish muégano (a cluster of things stuck together), of unsettled origin | Spanish | MWEH-gah-nos | Puebla |
| Obleas | wafers | Spanish oblea, from Latin oblata (a thing offered up) | Spanish | oh-BLEH-ahs | nationwide |
| Palanqueta | little crowbar | Spanish palanca+-eta | Spanish | pah-lahn-KEH-tah | nationwide |
| Paleta | little shovel | Spanish pala+-eta | Spanish | pah-LEH-tah | Michoacán |
| Pastel de tres leches | three-milks cake | Spanish pastel+de+tres+leches | Spanish | pahs-TEL deh tres LEH-ches | nationwide |
| Pulparindo | tamarind pulp one | Spanish pulpa+tamarindo | Spanish | pool-pah-REEN-doh | Jalisco |
1 of these names were formed in one of Mexico's indigenous languages rather than in Spanish. See how Nahuatl builds words.
Back to all Mexican food names.