A richly spiced Belizean rice pudding made with coconut milk, cinnamon, and vanilla — thick, creamy, and fragrant, the dessert that every Belizean grandmother makes better than everyone else.
Rice pudding in Belize is not a timid thing. It is thick — almost sticky — made with coconut milk as well as whole milk, so it has a tropical richness that dairy alone cannot provide. The cinnamon is strong, the vanilla is present, and it is usually sweet enough to make your teeth ache in a pleasurable way. It is a dessert that announces itself. Every culture that lives with rice makes rice pudding. In Belize, the coconut milk influence comes from the Garifuna and Creole communities who cook with it constantly, while the cinnamon and vanilla come from the Spanish and Maya threads in the cuisine. The result is something that simultaneously resembles and does not resemble the rice puddings you have eaten before. It is made in large pots and served at wakes, at church events, at family gatherings. Individual portions are sold in small plastic containers at market stalls. It is eaten warm or cold — warm when it is freshly made, cold when it has been in the refrigerator and you are eating it standing in front of it with a spoon at midnight, which is perhaps its highest form.
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