Cochinito de Piloncillo

Cochinito de Piloncillo is a typical Mexican bread with "piloncillo"—a type of brownish sweetener made from sugar cane.

The Cochinitos de Piloncillo were oven-cooked for the first time in Veracruz state during the sixteenth century. The name comes from the animal they have the shape of: the pig. When they conquered and colonized Mexico, the Spaniards introduced a series of new animals such as horses, cows, sheep, donkeys, and pigs. Those animals were completely strange to the Prehispanic people and later on, when they learned how to make bread they started to experiment with new ingredients using different types of shapes in the bread they baked.

In the present day, the tradition has been gradually lost and just a few places bake them now, mainly in small towns where the Prehispanic traditions remain.