Name: Frejol colado
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 145 min
Total time: 680 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 500 g dried black beans, picked over and rinsed; 1500 ml water, for soaking; discard afterwards; 2200 ml fresh water, for boiling; not all is retained; 450 g light brown sugar; 200 ml evaporated milk; 4 g ground cinnamon; 1 g ground clove; 25 g toasted sesame seeds, for topping

Frejol colado: smooth Peruvian sweet bean dessert

Yield 8 servings

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 145 minutes

Passive 510 minutes

Total 680 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Frejol colado: smooth Peruvian sweet bean dessert

Frejol colado is a well-known sweet preparation around Chincha and Cañete, where a silky bean base becomes a dessert rather than a savoury stew. The name points to the important step of passing cooked beans through a sieve.

Black beans give a dark, dense base that gradually takes on the sugar, milk and warm spice flavours. Some local recipes use canary beans, chancaca or other flavourings; those are separate variations and should not be folded into this measured black-bean preparation.

After sieving, slow cooking and steady stirring are what turn the bean purée into a spoonable confection. The goal is a thick glossy paste that holds a shallow trail, not a brittle sugar candy.

Ingredients

Beans and soaking

500 g dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
1500 ml water, for soaking; discard afterwards
2200 ml fresh water, for boiling; not all is retained

Sweetening and finish

450 g light brown sugar
200 ml evaporated milk
4 g ground cinnamon
1 g ground clove
25 g toasted sesame seeds, for topping

Method

Soak the beans.Put the 500 g dried black beans in a bowl with 1500 ml water, cover and soak in the refrigerator for 8 hours; drain and discard the soaking water. The beans have swollen noticeably, with a flexible rather than brittle skin.
Simmer until tender.Transfer the soaked beans to a large saucepan with 2200 ml fresh water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently for 110 minutes. A bean crushes easily between a spoon and the side of the pot, with no chalky centre.
Sieve the cooked beans.Drain the beans, reserving 250 ml cooking liquid. Blend the hot beans with the reserved 250 ml liquid in small batches, venting the lid, then press through a fine sieve into a clean wide pan. The puree is smooth, with the tough bean skins remaining in the sieve.
Cook the sweet puree.Add 450 g brown sugar, 4 g cinnamon and 1 g clove to the sieved puree; cook on low heat for 30 minutes, stirring along the base constantly, then add 200 ml evaporated milk and stir for another 5 minutes. The spoon leaves a visible trail across the base for two seconds and the paste falls slowly in thick ribbons.
Portion and cool.Divide into eight heatproof dessert dishes and let steam escape briefly; then refrigerate at 4 °C or colder for 30 minutes until no longer hot. The mixture thickens further and the surface is no longer steaming.
Finish with sesame.Distribute all 25 g toasted sesame seeds across the eight portions before serving. Every dish has a thin, even scattering of sesame.

Practical

Practical guidance

Allow enough time for the overnight soak. The listed overall time includes 8 hours of refrigeration; cooking the dry beans without soaking changes the plan considerably. Take special care while blending hot cooked beans: work in small batches and allow steam to escape. Press the purée through a sieve before adding sugar for a consistently fine texture. Cool shallow portions promptly and refrigerate at 4 °C or below for up to 3–4 days. This is a refrigerated dessert, not a shelf-stable preserve.

Control points

The paste feels gritty.Skins remain because the beans were undercooked or inadequately sieved; cook until fully tender and pass through a fine sieve.
The bottom scorches.The sugar-bean paste was left unstirred over high heat; use low heat and a broad heavy pan while scraping the base.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size1 of 8 dessert dishes
Calories485 kcal
Carbohydrate98 g
Protein14 g
Fat5 g
Fibre10 g
Sodium65 mg

Allergens and food safety

Contains milk and sesame; use separate utensils if preparing food for sesame-allergic guests. Cool the cooked dessert promptly in shallow portions. The added sugar does not make it shelf-stable, and the bean-milk mixture must be refrigerated.

Closing

Result: A fine sweet black-bean dessert with toasted sesame.
Decisive control: Sieve tender beans finely, then stir the sweet paste on low heat.