Dulces Campechanos and Horchata de Coco Workshop

This workshop is run by Campeche confectioners and booked through Airbnb Experiences or local guides, using kitchens near the Mercado Principal on Circuito Baluartes Este in the Centro Historico. The 2.5-hour session opens with a walk through the market's confectionery stalls to identify cocada, ciricote, candied papaya and calabaza before the group moves into a kitchen for the hands-on portion. Participants grate fresh coconut to make cocada, boil papaya and calabaza in piloncillo syrup to produce the candied fruit Campeche sweets counters are known for, and blend the coconut-heavy horchata de coco that accompanies nearly every supper in the city. A tasting of dulce de ciricote and marzipan rounds out the workshop, and finished sweets are boxed for participants to take home. The MXN 680 price covers the market walk, all ingredients and instruction, the tastings of dulce de ciricote and marzipan, and the boxed sweets to take away; it does not include additional purchases at the market stalls beyond the identification walk. The workshop runs as a small hands-on group suited to most skill levels, since the techniques -- grating, boiling and blending -- do not require prior cooking experience. Ciricote fruit is at its best from March to June, though the workshop runs year-round using preserved or alternative seasonal fruit outside that window; travellers with coconut or fruit allergies should flag them before booking.