Colombian cuisine

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Colombian cuisine is a compound of the culinary traditions of the six main regions within Colombia (Pacific, Amazonian, Andean, Orinoco, Caribbean, and Insular). Colombian cuisine varies regionally and is particularly influenced by Indigenous Colombian, Spanish,^[1] and African cuisines,^[2] with slight Arab influence in some regions.^[3] As one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, Colombia has one of the widest varieties of available ingredients depending on the region.

History of Colombian food

Colombian food is a unique blend of indigenous, European traditions, and Afro-Caribbean influences. The two largest indigenous groups prior to European conquest were the Tairona, who lived along the Caribbean coast, and the Muisca, who lived in the highlands to the South.^[4] Arepas, made from ground corn, are one of the oldest cooked dishes in Colombian cuisine and a popular modern dish. It is believed that the name derives from the word for corn in the Chibcha languages.^[4]

Regional cuisines

Colombian dishes and ingredients vary widely by region; however, some of the most common ingredients includes an endless variety of staples. Cereals such as rice and

Among the most representative appetizers and soups are patacones (fried green plantains), sancocho de gallina (chicken soup with root vegetables), ajiaco (potato and corn soup), and buñuelos (Christmas season deep fried dough balls).

Representative snacks and breads are

Representative side dishes are papas criollas al horno (roasted Andean potatoes), papas chorreadas (potatoes with messy cheese), and arroz con coco (coconut rice). Organic food is a current trend in big cities, although in general the country's fruits and vegetables are very natural and fresh.^[7]

Representative desserts are

Typical sauces are hogao, a tomato onion sauce, and ají, a spicy raw cilantro-based sauce used as a condiment for many dishes and sides and that can be used for most foods. Ají sauce comes in many different varieties based on region and ranges from a sweet flavor to very spicy, Ají picante ranges from 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville.

Some representative beverages are coffee (

• In the city of Medellín, the typical dish is the bandeja paisa. It includes beans, rice, ground meat or carne asada, chorizo, fried egg, arepa, and chicharrón. It is usually accompanied by avocado, tomato, and special sauces.
• In the city of
  plantain, corn, coriander, yuca root, and other seasonings. Sancocho is usually served with a portion of rice, tostadas (fried plantains), a chicken leg covered in hogao (a tomato and onion sauce), and a slice of avocado
  . The city is also known for its empanadas (a fried corn dough filled with potatoes and meat), marranitas / puerquitas (a fried ball of plantain filled with chicharron, also known as pork rinds), pandebono (a delicious cheese bread made with yucca dough), and aborrajados (sweet ripe fried plantains filled with cheese and served with guava paste).
• In Bogotá and the Andean region, ajiaco is the traditional dish. It is also a type of soup made with chicken and potatoes, and flavoured with a locally grown subtle herb called "guasca". Caldo de costilla or caldo de res is a beef broth soup made with beef ribs, corn, and potatoes, and is often consumed for breakfast on cold mornings.
• On the Caribbean coast, spicy dishes including
  fish and lobster can be found. Coconut rice is a common dish in coastal cities. The cuisine of the Caribbean is also influenced by Arab traditions, with dishes such as Kibbeh
  .
• In the Llanos, barbecued meats, such as the "ternera llanera", and river fishes like the "amarillo", are commonly eaten.
• In the Amazonas, the cuisine is influenced by Brazilian and Peruvian traditions.
• Inland, the dishes reflect the mix of
  Wayuu
  culture.
• In the Andean region of
  Nariño, a traditional dish is broiled guinea pig (cuy asado), due to influence of Inca cuisine
  .
• In the
  spices
  . They are wrapped in plantain leaves and boiled for three to four hours. Pandebono is eaten for breakfast with hot chocolate.
• On the Islands of San Andres, Providencia, and Santa Catalina, the main dish is
  cassava root (yuca), sweet potato, white yams, and pumpkin, seasoned with chili peppers and herbs
  . They also have crab soup which is considered a delicacy. It is made with the same ingredients as rondon, without the fish.

Name	Image	Description
Arepas		ground maize dough divided into balls and pan-fried or grilled corn cakes
Aborrajado		deep-fried plantains stuffed with cheese
Arroz con coco		rice with coconut and raisins
Hormigas culonas		large roasted ants, a santandereanas food from Colombia's Santander Department
Butifarras soledeñas		sausage from Soledad, Atlántico
Carimañola		yuca fritter stuffed with ground meat, onion and seasonings
Chunchullo		pig, lamb, cow small intestine
Hogao		Criollo sauce
Queso blanco		white cheese also referred to as queso fresco
Suero		a topping similar to sour cream
Patacones		Green plantain fried or deep fried squished and fried
Empanadas		small fritters, made with a mixture of shredded meat, pork, beef, or chicken'
Chicharron		deep fried pork rind
Lentejas (lentil soup)		a standard meal in many Colombian kitchens. The basic method is to soak the lentils for a few hours before adding chopped onion, garlic, and sometimes diced or grated carrots. It is then served with avocado, rice, tomato, and sweet plantain[9]

Pastries and baked goods

• Almojábana, small cheese buns made with corn flour and cuajada
• Bollos (tubes of ground maize -similar to Italian polenta- or from scratched mandioc/cassava, served with coastal cheese and sometimes whey
  or butter)
• Buñuelos
  deep-fried dough balls made on Christmas season
• Achira biscuits
• manioc
  )
• Garullas (corn bread roll)
• Pan de sagú (sago bread)
• Pandebono made with cheese made with cassava flour and Costeño cheese
• Pan de Maíz similar to cornbread
• Pan de yuca (baked cheese bread made with cassava flour)
• Arequipe or guava
  jam)

• Arepa Boyacense
• Arepa de arroz
• Arepa de huevo
• Arepa de maiz
• Arepa de queso
• Arepa de yuca
• Arepa ocañera
• Arepa Paisa/Antioqueña
• Arepa Santandereana
• Arepa Valluna
• Arepas de choclo (sweet corn)
• Brown rice and sesame seed arepa
• 'Oreja de perro', rice arepas

Fruit

Fruit and juice stands are found across Colombia, particularly on the Caribbean coast. Being a tropical country, Colombia produces a large variety of fruits, such as:

Native fruit

Colombia is home to numerous tropical fruits that are rarely found elsewhere. Several varieties of banana include a very small, sweet version. Other Colombian fruits include

• Arroz con Pollo, consists of seasoned rice, chicken, and a variety of vegetables.
• chicharron, arepa, avocado and a fried egg. Along with Ajiaco
  , the bandeja paisa is considered to be one of the national dishes.
• fava beans, potatoes, ribs, peas, from Boyacá
  .
• Nariño
  .
• Lechona
  , traditional dish from the Tolima department, a mixture of yellow pea purée and pork meat, with a side of rice arepa 'oreja de perro' and corn 'insulzo'.
• Picada Colombiana, chopped specialties served as a combo platter.
• Valle del Cauca
  ; just to name a few.
• Fritanga is another popular Colombian dish made of meats, fried plantains,
  chicharrones, and yellow potatoes with aji
  sauce eaten throughout Colombia. Milanesa is another common meat dish throughout the country.
• Frijolada is a robust dish made with a base of pinto or red beans. Frijoles are normally cooked with diced pork or pork hocks, carrots, corn, platano, and sometimes bacon as well. Generally, this dish is also served with rice and avocado. It's often used as a side dish, and always included within the Bandeja Paisa meal.[9]

Soups

• Chibcha
  origins.
• cilantro
  leaves.
• Nariño region. It is a corn, beans, zapallo
  and potato stew.
• Mondongo is a very filling traditional Colombian soup containing a bit of almost everything. The base is made of diced tripe, to which is added several vegetables such as peas, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, along with garlic, cilantro, and chicken, beef, and/or pork.^[9]
• Valle del Cauca region. It combines vegetables and poultry or fish with recipes differing from one region to the other, but usually contains yuca, maize, and is frequently eaten with banana
  slices.
• Ajiaco is a traditional Andean soup that originated from Bogotá. It is a chicken, corn, and potato stew with a hint of guasca (Gallant Soldiers), a local herb.

Desserts and sweets

• Dulce de Leche
  , a milk caramel.
• Arroz con leche, sweetened rice with milk.
• arequipe
  .
• macaroons
  .
• Enyucado, cake that has grounded cassava.
• Flan, type of custard dessert.
• Bocadillo, guava paste.
• Leche asada, similar to flan but less sweet, made with condensed milk.
• arequipe
  and sometimes used as a pastry filling.
• Mazamorra, white maize drink.
• Melado, a thick syrup derived from panela.
• Merenguitos, little hardened meringue "cookies".
• Milhoja
  , similar to Mille-feuille or Napoleon (literally means thousand layers).
• Natilla, a Colombian derivation of the Spanish custard natillas, made with milk and cornstarch and spices but without eggs.
• Pastel de Gloria is a puff pastry containing guava jelly or guava paste and sometimes cheese inside, sprinkled with granulated sugar.
• Postre De Natas, milk based Colombian pudding, literally means milk skin dessert.
• Torta Maria Luisa
  , orange cake and between layers any berries jam, decorated with icing sugar.
• Tres leches cake, "three-milk" cake.

• Colombian cuisine
• 
  Ajiaco soup is typically served with table cream, capers and avocado, mixed in just before eating
• 
  Fried

  Red Snapper

  , fried plantain, rice and tomato
• 
  rice

  atollao
• 
  A caldo de costilla served hot and with

  cilantro

  leaves
• 
  Patacones

  are twice-fried plantain patties, often served as a side, appetizer, or snack. Here they are being fried for the second time
• 
  A traditional breakfast of Bogotá: hot chocolate with cheese, almojábanas and pan de queso
• 
  Cocadas
• 
  Bollo de yuca
• 
  empanada barranquillera
• 
  Manjar blanco
• 
  Bocadillo with leaf packaging
• 
  Arroz de lisa

Beverages

On a per capita basis, Colombia is one of the world's largest consumers of fruit juices, consuming on average more than three quarters of a serving each day.^[11]

• farmer's cheese
  in their aguapanela for it to melt.
• Aromáticas
  are hot herbal teas, often served to guests with a little cracker or cookie on the side during social visits.
• Batidos are creamy fruit drinks served cool and made with fruit and milk, occasionally sweetened with sugar. Popular flavors include papaya and blackberry.
• Champús is a thick drink made from corn, pineapple, lulo, and other ingredients.
• Chocolate caliente, Colombian hot chocolate, is a common breakfast meal, made with milk, water, and bars of semi-sweet chocolate. A special metal pitcher (called a chocolatera) is used for heating and pouring, and a utensil called a molinillo – essentially a stick with paddles at the end – is used for stirring and frothing. Colombian hot chocolate often includes cinnamon, cloves and vanilla, and is frequently consumed with sweet bread dipped in it. Fresh cheese is often dropped in to melt it and spread on the bread.
• Coca tea, an herbal tea made from an infusion of the leaves of the coca plant, considered a mild stimulant and remedy for altitude sickness.
• Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia a World Heritage site.^[12]
• Colombiana, a kola champagne soda with particular and different taste (
  genericized trademark
  ).
• Guandiolo is an Afrocolombian drink made with
  Borojo fruit that has alleged aphrodisiac
  properties.
• lulo
  and has the texture and consistency of a smoothie.
• genericized trademark
  ).
• genericized trademark
  ).
• Salpicón (which literally means large splash), made from diced fruit and soda, usually Colombiana or any Kola flavored soda. It can also be a fruit cocktail beverage (often made with watermelon or mandarin juice).^[13]

• Colombian beverages
• 
  Chicha morada served with pipeño
• 
  Cholado
• 
  Colombian coffee is known for its quality and distinct flavor

Alcoholic beverages

• Aguardiente is an alcoholic drink derived from sugarcane and flavored with anise. It is widely consumed at Colombian parties, and ranges in potency from 20% to 40%. It is a variation of the Spanish alcoholic drink.
• Canelazo is an alcoholic version of aguapanela mixed with cinnamon and aguardiente. Sugar is rubbed on the edges of the glass when served.
  • Hervido is a local variety of canelazo, traditional in
    Nariño.^{[citation needed}
    ]
• Nariño
  .
• Chicha is a formerly forbidden strong alcoholic beverage originally made by the indigenous peoples of the Andes. It can be prepared from virtually everything, but is typically made from corn. The corn is cooked and grounded with panela which is later wrapped in green plantain leaves and left alone for three days until fermented.^[14] It is later mixed with water and any chosen flavors such as orange leaves or spearmint.
• Guarapo is made from various fruits kept in a large ceramic jar and left to ferment for about 2 months. Within that time, panela is added into the liquid to make the alcohol stronger. Grapes and pineapple are typically used. Guarapo is very similar to Chicha.^{[citation needed]}
  • Chirrinche, distillated guarapo.^{[citation needed]}
• Masato is prepared with rice, sugar, water, cinnamon and whole clove (spice); it is strained and the water is preserved and let aside to have a smooth fermentation.^[15]
• Refajo is a type of shandy beverage made by mixing Kola Hipinto (in santanderian region), Colombiana (in cities like Bogota) or Kola Roman (in the Caribbean region), with beer or rum. This mixture of soda and beer is very popular and seen a lot when it comes to accompany foods that are higher in animal fat, generally at barbecues. The combination of the sweetness of the kola and the sourness of the beer and the additional effect of the carbonated soda helps tolerate the fat of some of the typical dishes without hiding their original flavor.^[16]
• Sabajón, a sweet and creamy alcoholic drink from the Cordillera Oriental. It is made from eggs and milk with added flavors and juice of fruits and liqueur on half or less concentration.^{[citation needed]}
• Viche (or biche) is a traditional home-brewed Afro-Caribbean alcoholic drink made from sugar cane popular on Colombia's Pacific Coast.^[17]

• Colombian alcoholic beverages
• 
  Aguardiente
• 
  Canelazo

See also

• Muisca cuisine
• South American cuisine

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cuisine of Colombia.