Colombian cuisine - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Colombian cuisine refers to the cooking

Cooking

Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...

traditions and practices of Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. Along with other cultural expressions of national identity, Colombian cuisine varies among its many distinct regions. Colombians typically eat three meals a day: a large breakfast, a medium lunch between 12-2, and a light dinner. Colombian coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

is well known for its high standards in taste compared to others.

Regional cuisine

In Bogotá

Bogotá

Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

and the Andean region, ajiaco

Ajiaco

Ajiaco is a Colombian potato soup, and is eaten in Colombia.The soup is typically served with table cream, capers and avocado all mixed in just before eating in the proportions each individual prefers. Ajiaco is so heavy that it is usually considered a full meal...

is a traditional dish. It is a soup made of chicken, corn, many different types of potatoes, avocado, and guascas, a local herb. Traditionally, cream and capers are added at the table before eating. Ajiaco

Ajiaco

is served with white rice, salad with a hint of lemon, avocado, or sweet or salty tostadas. For breakfast, people in Bogotá

Bogotá

often eat changua

Changua

Changua is a typical hearty breakfast soup of the central Andes region of Colombia, in particular in the Boyacá and Cundinamarca area, including the capital, Bogotá. The dish has Chibcha origins....

, a milk, scallion and egg soup.

Along the Caribbean coast, pork and Whale liver are used in mild spicy food. Coconut rice

Coconut rice

Coconut rice is a dish prepared by cooking white rice in coconut milk or coconut flakes.As both the coconut and the rice-plant are indigenous in places all-around the world, coconut rice too is found in many cultures throughout the world .- Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Puerto Rico:Off the...

is a common dish along the coastal cities. Suero, which is a cross between yogurt and sour cream, is widely consumed, and was introduced by Arab immigrants in Barranquilla

Barranquilla

Barranquilla is an industrial port city and municipality located in northern Colombia, near the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region with a population of 1,148,506 as of 2005, which makes it Colombia's...

and other coastal cities. The arepa

Arepa

An arepa is a dish made of ground corn dough or cooked flour, popular in Colombia, Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. It is similar in shape to the Salvadoran pupusa...

has many forms in the Caribbean region, which include arepa limpia, arepa de huevo (arepa with egg), and arepa de queso (arepa with cheese).

In the Llanos

Llanos

The Llanos is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the Flooded grasslands and savannas Biome....

of the east, barbecued meat

Barbecue

Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

is common, due to the cowboy-like culture. Dishes such as the ternera llanera are cooked on a vertical spit over an open fire. Freshwater fish such as the amarillo are also eaten. In the Amazon, Brazilian and Peruvian influences can be seen in the local food. Local resources such as beef and other livestock, as well as freshwater fish, are typical ingredients in Amazonian cuisine.

The tamales Tolimenses are considered a delicacy in the Tolima region. These tamales are made of corn dough, and are filled with a mixture of peas, carrots, potatoes, rice, chicken, pork, and various spices. They are wrapped in plantain

Plantain

Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...

leaves and boiled for three to four hours. Lechona is a whole roast pig stuffed with rice, vegetables, and pork, and is typically eaten on Sundays. This dish is now enjoyed throughout the country.

Dishes and foods

Native fruit

Colombia is home to numerous tropical fruits and rarely found elsewhere. There are several varieties of bananas including a very small, sweet version. Others include zapote (Quararibea cordata), nispero

Níspero

Níspero, nipero and mespel are terms referring to certain fruit-bearing trees, or to their fruit in particular:* Common Medlar , the origin of the term * Loquat , widely traded under these names today, in particular in temperate...

(Manilkara achras) lulo (Solanum quitoense), uchuva (Physalis peruviana), passion fruit, borojó (Borojoa patinoi), curuba (Passiflora tarminiana), mamoncillo

Mamoncillo

Melicoccus bijugatus, commonly called Spanish lime, genip, guinep, genipe, quenepa, mamoncillo, or honeyberry, is a fruit-bearing tree in the soapberry family Sapindaceae, native or naturalised over a wide area of the tropics, including South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and parts...

(Melicoccus bijugatus), guanábana (Annona muricata), guava

Guava

Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...

, mango

Mango

The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...

, apple

Apple

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

, pear

Pear

The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....

, blackberry

Blackberry

The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...

, strawberry

Strawberry

Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...

and many others.

Meat dishes

Ajiaco

is a traditional Andean dish that originated from Bogotá. Basically it’s a chicken, corn, and potato stew with a hint of guasca

Galinsoga parviflora

Galinsoga parviflora is a herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae family. It has several common names including Guasca , Mielcilla , Galinsoga , gallant soldier ....

(Gallant Soldiers

Galinsoga

Galinsoga is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members include Galinsoga parviflora, Galinsoga urticifolia, and Galinsoga quadriradiata....

), a local herb. Sancocho

Sancocho

Sancocho is a traditional soup in several Spanish and Latin American cuisines. Variations represent popular national dishes in the Canary Islands of Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela...

is a traditional dish that originated in the north coast. It is made basically with any kind of meat along with corn

Corn

Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...

, potato

Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...

, yuca

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

, plantain

Plantain

Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...

and local spices that are cooked together to form a soup

Soup

Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...

. Bandeja Paisa

Bandeja paisa

Bandeja paisa, also known as bandeja de arriero, bandeja montañera, or bandeja antioqueña, is a typical fusion cuisine Colombian dish...

originates from Antioquia and is made with several ingredients making necessary to use a platter (Bandeja in Spanish, hence the name). It is made of beans, rice, fried eggs, chorizo

Chorizo

Chorizo is a term encompassing several types of pork sausages originating from the Iberian Peninsula.In English, it is usually pronounced , , or , but sometimes ....

, pork rind

Pork rind

Pork rind , is the fried or roasted skin of a pig. Frying melts most of the fat from the pork rind...

and other ingredients depending on the location. Tamale

Tamale

A tamale — or more correctly tamal — is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa , which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating...

s are corn “cakes” wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed. They can be filled with everything from chicken, potatoes, peas, carrots, to rice. The tamales vary in shape and fillings in each region, and almost every region has its own variation. Some well known variations are from Tolima, Santander

Santander Department

Santander is a department of Colombia. Santander inherited the name of one of the nine original states of the United States of Colombia. It is located in the central northern part of the country, east of the Magdalena River, bordered to the south and southeast by Boyacá, to the northeast by Norte...

, Cúcuta

Cúcuta

Cúcuta is a Colombian city, capital of Norte de Santander, in the northeast of the country. Due to its proximity to the Colombian-Venezuelan border, Cúcuta is an important commercial center. The city has the constitutional category of Special District. It is located at the most active...

, Bogotá

Bogotá

and Valle del Cauca; just to name a few. Fritanga

Fritanga

In Nicaragua, a fritanga is the name used for restaurants that make authentic home cooked Nicaraguan foods. The staple foods at a fritanga are Gallo Pinto , arroz blanco , carne asada , tajada frita , platano frito , maduros , yuca, queso frito , tortilla and...

is another popular Colombian dish made of meats, fried plantains, chicharrones, and yellow potatoes with aji sauce eaten all over Colombia. It is often used for sharing with friends and family.

Soups

Changua

(milk soup with eggs) is a typical breakfast soup

Soup

of the central Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

region of Colombia

Colombia

, in particular in the Boyacá

Boyacá Department

Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...

and Cundinamarca

Cundinamarca Department

- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....

area, including the capital, Bogotá

Bogotá

. The dish has Chibcha origins. Caldo de costilla

Caldo de costilla

Caldo de costilla is a dish typical of Colombian cuisine, from the Andean region. It is made mainly from beef ribs boiled in water with slices of potato, some garlic, onion and cilantro leaves....

(Spanish for rib broth) is a dish typical of Colombian cuisine, from the Andean region. It is made mainly from beef ribs boiled in water with slices of potato

Potato

, some garlic

Garlic

Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

, onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

and cilantro leaves.

Common Dishes Found on a National Level

Common appetizers and side dishes found in Colombian cuisine
Common breads found in Colombian cuisine
Varieties of arepas found in Colombian cuisine
Common main dishes found in Colombian cuisine
Common beverages found in Colombian cuisine
Common fruits consumed in Colombia
Common desserts and sweets consumed in Colombia

External links

Colombian Recipes Wiki

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