Food in Colombia
Colombia is a big country with very different landscapes. The country’s cuisine is also very different from region to region. The Indians living there also bring their culinary traditions with them, and there are also influences from the Spaniards and Africans. Beans, corn, rice, potatoes and meat are typical ingredients. There are also many tropical fruits that grow here, such as pineapple, papaya and guavas.
Arepas
The arepas are particularly typical for the whole of Colombia. These round corn cakes are eaten with almost all meals in some regions. They are also available for breakfast. You can eat it as a side dish, but you can also cut it open and fill it. There are 75 types of preparation for arepas in Colombia!
You can find a recipe for arepas with cheese here !
Breakfast
Not only arepas can be eaten for breakfast, but bread too. One variety is called Almojábana. These round rolls are baked from flour and sheep’s milk (cuajada). Then there is hot chocolate and a piece of cheese. Round rolls are also baked from cassava ; they are called pan de yuca.
Eggs are also very popular for breakfast, be it as a fried or scrambled egg, also enriched with tomatoes and spring onions. Tamales (corn dough cooked in a banana leaf) and rice with beans can be served for breakfast.
Soups – Ajiaco and Sancocho
Soups are also popular. Ajiaco is a chicken soup with (typically three kinds) potatoes, a piece of corn on the cob and capers. In Bogotá they add guasco as a spice, which we call button herb. The soup is served with a slice of avocado.
Another popular soup is sancocho. It consists of meat, tuber vegetables (like cassava or potatoes) and vegetables like corn or carrots. Depending on the meat used, the soup is called, for example sancocho de pollo, if it is prepared with chicken (pollo is chicken). Soups are often the starters, followed by the main course, usually rice with meat and vegetables.
Bandeja paisa
typical dish from the Andes of Colombia, especially Antioquia, is Bandeja paisa. Bandeja actually means tray. The region in northwestern Colombia is called Paisa.
Bandeja paisa consists of many ingredients that are arranged on the plate: rice, sausages, minced meat, fried egg, plantain, arepa, avovado, beans and bacon. You will definitely get full!
Plantains
Plantains are popular for breakfast on the coast, with cheese. Otherwise, they can be added to any fish or meat dish as a side dish. They are made from unripe, green plantains and are called patacones. When prepared from ripe plantains, they are called tajadas.
Do you know…?
In Colombia they use some vegetables that we don’t even know in Germany. These include arakacha, taro, tannia or chayote. New fruits can also be discovered in Colombia: Brazilian guava (feijoa) is a popular drink. Curuba is the fruit of the peach palm. Mamoncillo is best eaten fresh.
Beverages
In Colombia, people like to drink Agua de Panela. It’s hot water with sugar and sometimes a little lemon juice. Fruit juices and chicha, the typical drink made from corn, are also available. Lulada is the name of a juice made from the fruit Lulo.
Or how about a chocolate con queso? It’s cocoa with a slice of cheese served with it. You can see him in the breakfast photo above. Adults prefer black and sweet coffee, which is called tinto.
