This morning I decided to cook myself an American “desayuno” (breakfast):
PANCAKES!

In other words, when I woke up this morning “Yo tuve antojo” (I had a craving) for pancakes.

“O sea, yo tuve ganas de comer pancakes.”
(In other words, I felt like eating pancakes.)

How To Say In Other Words In Spanish

By the way, the two most commonly used conversational Spanish phrases for “in other words” are “O sea” and “Es decir.”

Por ejemplo (for example) . . .

Es decir, yo tengo ganas de comer helado de fresa. (In other words, I feel like
eating strawberry ice cream).

Back to my American-style breakfast of pancakes . . .

But I noticed this morning that I did not have any pancake mix. Yes, they sell pancake mix and “jarabe” (syrup) in Colombia 🙂 But very few people here in Medellin eat Pancakes. They prefer to eat “arepas” for “desayuno.” Mainly, the Colombians who have traveled to the States eat pancakes.

How To Say Batter In Spanish

So I decided to make my pancake “masa” (batter) “desde cero” (from scratch — literally “from zero”). You can also call a homemade batter “masa casera.” “Casera” coming from the Spanish word “casa” which means house.

How To Say Flour In Spanish

But when I took out a bag of “harina de trigo” (wheat flour) from the “armario de cocina” (kitchen cabinet), I noticed that the bag of “harina” (flour) had tiny little black bugs or beetles in it.
That’s when I realized that I had a very interesting Spanish word to share with you today:

GORGOJO

Those little black “insectos” (also known as “weevils” in English) which are found in pancake mix, cornmeal, and flour are called “gorgojos” in Spanish.

“Cuando yo era pequeño,” (when I was little), I remember seeing “gorgojos” in the Jiffy cornbread mix at home.

If you plan on taking a trip to Latin America as a tourist, I doubt that you will ever have a chance to use the word “gorgojo.” But if you live in Latin America, or if you live in an English
speaking country and you have a Spanish speaking “esposo/a” (spouse) or a Spanish-speaking “familia
política” (in-laws) or a Spanish-speaking “empleada” (maid), knowing the word “gorgojo” may come in handy.