Fany Gerson makes paletas from authentic
Mexican recipes at La Newyorkina.
open my own place. Luckily, paleterias are
found everywhere [in Mexico], and I even
visited a town where the paleta originated,
Tocumbo, in the state of Michoacan.”
Her company, La Newyorkina, opened
in April 2010 at Hester Street Fair, a
weekend street fair on Manhattan’s Lower
East Side. The paletas are also available
at an area restaurant and grocery store.
“I began with paletas because I thought it
would be a good thing to do at a street fair
and see how people liked it,” she says.
They have been well-received, with
some of the most popular flavors being
mango/chile, fresh coconut, avocado and
hibiscus. The recipes come from Gerson’s
experience as a pastry chef and her
knowledge of the Mexican palate.
“The presentation of the paletas is pretty
standard, but the recipes vary from
traditional ones when it comes to certain
things, such as tropical flavors. It’s hard
to find good-quality ripe fruit such as
guanabana, soursop and passion fruit, so
we use the highest-quality purées made
from fresh fruit. But the way we make
them is the old-fashioned way.”
Gerson visits Mexico anywhere from
four to eight times a year. She plans to
eventually open a Mexican ice cream shop
Richard Sandoval Restaurants
Richard Sandoval examines produce at a
market in Guadalajara.
with a variety of ice cream-related treats
along with other sweets and beverages.
Kathryn Kjarsgaard is a freelance food
writer based in Forest Park, Ill.
™
National Pasteurized Eggs, Inc. SafeEggs.com
