In today’s blog post, I will talk about an email that a customer sent me. He wrote:
“Patrick, yo soy americano y me gusta cocinar los platos latinos. Please explain what’s an arepa?” In one of the emails that you sent this week you said that a customer wrote you and said:
‘I tried to make arepas, but did not get them to cook through properly. Plus, I’m not sure we have the proper ‘harina’ here. I used the one Mexicans use for
tamales and tortillas'”
What’s An Arepa?
I am glad that he asked that question. Arepa is a traditional national food of Colombia. I call them Colombian tortillas. Arepas were originally a food that the indigenous people of Colombia and Venezuela ate. Arepas are made of ground corn dough.
By the way, “harina” means flour.
When I was visiting New York City last summer while listening to Latino radio a Colombian woman called in who said that she was originally from Cartagena, Colombia. The radio personality joked around with her by asking “Comes mucha arepa?” (Do you eat a lot of arepas?)
The people from Cartagena are called “costeños” (someone from the coast).
But the Paisas (people of Medellin, Colombia) are really the Colombians with the reputation for eating arepas — and NOT costeños. Paisas eat them for “el desayuno” with their “huevos” (eggs), “chorizos” (sausages) and hot chocolate but they will also eat them for “el almuerzo” (lunch) and “la comida” (dinner). Notice that in Colombia they don’t call dinner “la cena” –they call dinner “la comida.”
Even when I order fast food in Medellin from a “restaurante” with “servicio a domicilio” (home delivery service). My “pollo apanado” (batter-fried chicken) will arrive with a couple of arepas included.
But as much as Paisas like arepas, not too many people in Medellin prepare them from scratch. They usually buy them from the supermarket already prepared.
I find it funny that an American wrote me and asked “what’s an arepa?” That’s because all of my American friends in Medellin always tell me that they don’t like arepas. They all say that arepas “have no taste.”
I tell them that when I first tried arepas I didn’t like them but I enjoy them now. What changed my opinion? I discovered that you have to add your own “sabor” (flavor) like the Paisas do.
So just like the Paisas, I add a toping of “mantequilla” (butter), queso (cheese) or “hogao.” Hogao is a Colombian sauce consisting of the following:
cebolla – onions
tomate – tomatoes
ajo – garlic
comino – cumin
sal – salt
And some other “condimentos” (seasoning) that are sauteed during the cooking process.
But I really started to like arepas after I started adding a little “mantequilla” (butter) and “sal” (salt) That’s when I realized that arepas are made from the same ingredients as grits: ground corn. And just by adding some “mantequilla” and “sal,” I could make arepas taste just like grits. That really brought back a lot of childhood memories.
My father was a southerner. And every Saturday and Sunday morning, he would cook grits. If you don’t know what grits are, below you will find a YouTube video from one my favorite movies, My Cousin Vinny. Where a couple of Italian “Neoyorquinos” (New Yorkers) are exposed to grits for the first time. Kind of reminds me of the first time I was exposed to arepas as a “Neoyorquino” (New Yorker) going to Colombia for the very first time. Here’s the link:
What’s Going down i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I have discovered It absolutely helpful and it has
aided me out loads. I’m hoping to give a contribution & help different users like its helped me.
Good job.!
Thanks for the article post.Thanks Again. Will read on…
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You are so awesome! I do not think I’ve truly read through a single thing like that before. So good to discover another person with a few original thoughts on this topic. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This site is something that’s needed on the web, someone with a bit of originality!
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Hello2. And Bye2.
I was just chatting with my coworker about this today at lunch . Don’t remember how we got on the subject in actual fact, they brought it up. I do recall eating a wonderful steak salad with cranberries on it. I digress