Colombian cuisine

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The Colombian food is the cuisine of the South American country Colombia . Like many national kitchens in northern South America and neighboring Central America, it has Spanish, Central African and indigenous influences.

Influences

The Indian tribes of the pre-Columbian era that inhabit the area of ​​today's Colombia include the Muiscas , whose eating habits have been fairly well researched. The importance of corn as the most important food in the region has been preserved. The Muiscas also cultivated beans, chillies, potatoes, pumpkins, cassava, quinoa and tomatoes and brewed the Chicha beer that is still popular today . Today indigenous people make up a good 3% of the population; a large part of them live in a rather remote location in the Andean regions and in the Amazon region in south-east Colombia and have partly preserved cooking and eating traditions.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the Spanish began to settle what is now Colombia. The colonial rulers introduced plants such as beans, rice and wheat and spices such as cumin, oregano and cinnamon. They also established the keeping of chickens, cattle and pigs as farm animals. The Spaniards also established a cultural exchange between the coastal and Andean regions by establishing trade routes between settlements they founded in the Andes and the coastal regions.

The indigenous indigenous population was used as labor by the Spanish colonial rulers, but quickly decimated by diseases such as measles and smallpox. Replacement was found in slaves from central Africa. The slaves brought preparation methods from their homeland and some ingredients such as the okra with them. In the regions bordering the Pacific coast, the descendants of African slaves still make up 90% of the population and shape the cuisine there.

Regions

Due to different living and vegetation conditions as well as ethnic concentration in Colombia, which is rich on the coast but also on mountains, different regional cuisines have developed over time. The demarcation is difficult; different authors name different numbers of regions. The classifications of the three authors or editors María Lía Neira Restrepo, Carlos Ordóñez Caicedo and Benjamin Villegas result in the following of all defined regions:

  1. Caribbean coast
  2. Antioquia and Viejo Caldas
  3. Cundinamarca and Boyacá Altiplano
  4. Santander and La Guarija
  5. Tolima Grande
  6. Amazonia and Llanos

Ordóñez Caicedo and Villegas also define Gran Cauca as an independent kitchen region, Neira Restrepo and Ordóñez Caicedo the Pacific coast, where over 90% of the population have African roots. Villegas also allows the capital Bogotá to have its own kitchen. In the region around the capital, which is 2600 meters high by international standards and therefore has an average maximum daily temperature of only 16 ° C, soups and stews are more popular than in the rest of the country.

Food and ingredients

The most important ingredients in Colombian cuisine are maize, cassava and potato , which have been cultivated since pre-Columbian times . Although Colombian cuisine is said to be heavily meat-heavy, meat consumption per capita is below average in a global comparison of 44 kg per capita and is a third of what is consumed in the USA. By far the most popular is poultry (27 kg per capita), followed by beef (12 kg per capita).

The Santander region is known for its goat meat dishes. Leaf cutter ants ( Atta laevigata ) are also used as food in Santander . In southern Colombia, guinea pigs ( Cuy ) are common as a meat supplier. Much fish is used on the Caribbean coast; a popular food fish is the mojarra . Inland much freshwater fish is used, including occurring in the Amazon arapaima . Annatto is often used in the kitchen of the coastal regions to color foods and dishes. A herb that is widely used and rarely used outside of Colombia is the small-flowered button herb .

Fruit is not only produced for export, but is also a significant source of food. a. Amazon guava ( Eugenia stipitata ), Brazilian guava , dragon fruit , strawberry guava and Cape gooseberry (Physalis). In the Andean regions (especially the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá ), apples, pears, plums and peaches can be grown because of the cooler climate.

Food culture

The breakfast of the urban population is rather light, in the rural area it is hearty and rich. The most important meal of the day is lunch, while dinner is a little easier. In the service sector, the importance of meals is gradually aligning with international conditions.

Grilling still occupies an important place in the Llanos kitchen. The East Colombian barbecue is called Ternera a la llanera (veal in the style of the Llanos). In the original preparation variant, which is due to the conditions of extensive cattle breeding, large pieces of veal were skewered on long sticks, which were positioned like a cone over a wood fire. Metal skewers and charcoal grills are also used these days.

The cultivation of coffee has a long tradition in Colombia and is widespread, and the coffee-growing areas of the central highlands have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 2011 as the “Coffee Cultural Landscape” . However, there is hardly any indigenous coffee drinking culture; A lot of coffee is drunk, but often in the form of instant coffee. A drink often associated with the Christmas season is Champús.

Due to the armed conflict in Colombia , which lasted over 50 years , food culture was a topic of secondary importance for a long time. Since 2016, Colombian cuisine has been experiencing influences from outside the country again, and the catering sector is expanding rapidly. Since 2003, a UNESCO- sponsored “Gastronomic Congress” has been held annually in Popayán , highlighting the cultural heritage of Colombian cuisine and presenting the cuisine of the host countries. In 2014, at the Gourmand Cookbook Awards in Beijing, a Colombian book was chosen as the best cookbook from a selection of 15,000 books from 184 countries.

dishes

breakfast

In the rural room, breakfast includes arepas , rice, beans, plantains and eggs as well as meat. Soups and stews are other common components of breakfast. The name for a breakfast that contains rice and beans, leftovers from the previous day's dinner, is calentado. Scrambled eggs are served in the form of huevos pericos with tomatoes, onions and arepas. A pandebono is a cornmeal-based cheese bun.

Soups and stews

Ajiaco is a potato soup with corn and chicken. Mazamorra is boiled corn infused with milk and garnished with panela . Depending on the amount of corn, the dish is consumed as a soup or as a drink. Changua is a soup with milk and eggs that is eaten for breakfast in the Bogotá area. Rondón can be found on the Caribbean coast, a stew with different fish and seafood, depending on the taste, a starchy component such as plantains, cassava or sweet potatoes, coconut milk, various vegetables and spices, and occasionally pork tails or small white dumplings. Under the name Tapao de pescado and with tomatoes and onions as ingredients, Rondón can also be found on the Pacific coast. Sancocho is a stew-like soup based on chicken and cassava, which is widespread in various varieties throughout Spanish-speaking Central America. Sopa de guandú con carne salada is a soup often found on the Caribbean coast with chickpeas and salted meat as the main ingredients. Sopa de mute is a soup popular in Santander and Boyacá based on meat, corn, potatoes, chickpeas and various other vegetables.

Main courses

The rice dish Pepitoria from the Santander region traditionally contains goat innards, goat blood and breadcrumbs; the innards and blood are now often replaced by goat meat. The most popular dish on the Caribbean coast because of its cheap ingredients is fried fish or fish cooked in coconut milk and annatto with plantains and rice. Posta Negra, a stew based on beef with a dark, sweet sauce containing cola, is also typical of the Caribbean coast . Bandeja paisa (for example: Andean plate), a mixed plate with different types of meat and sausage, beans, rice, bread and other side dishes, is associated with the Antioquia region and its capital Medellín and was unsuccessful as the national dish of Colombia in the 2000s suggested. Lechona, a whole pork stuffed with peas, onions, rice and spices, is associated with the Tolima region .

Side dishes and sauces

Ají is a seasoning sauce made from tomatoes, coriander, onions and chillies, which is also popular in the surrounding Andean countries, and is served with many main dishes and side dishes. Coconut rice with raisins is a popular side dish in Caribbean cuisine. Patacones are fried slices of plantain , which are served with many dishes and also represent Panama in a common enclosure.

Snack foods

Arepas are small, thicker corn cakes that are eaten as an accompaniment to all meals or topped or filled with other ingredients; a variant typical of the Caribbean coast is filled with egg. Buñuelos are fried dough balls that are eaten with a dip . Carimañolas are deep-fried dumplings made from cassava flour and filled with seasoned minced meat. Tamales are popular throughout Central America and northern South America and are cooked in banana leaves in Colombia.

Desserts

Bolas de alegría are balls made from puffed corn , desiccated coconut and panela. Enyucados are cassava-based sheet cakes seasoned with anise and eaten on the Caribbean coast.

beverages

In Colombia, as everywhere in Central America, fruit is grown on a large scale. While other parts of the region often produce for export, Colombia produces a lot for the domestic market: after New Zealand, the country has the world's second highest per capita consumption of fruit juices. In southwest Colombia, Champús is popular, a drink made from crushed corn, panela, fruits such as pineapple, lulo , quince or prickly annone as well as spices such as cloves and cinnamon and leaves of the orange tree. The smoothie- like drink Lulada is primarily made from Lulos in Valle del Cauca on the Pacific coast . A common soft drink is Colombiana , a shower of manufacturer Postobón with tamarind flavor .

Historically significant drinks that still occur today are the beer-like chicha and the sugar cane schnapps Guarapo . Beer was introduced in the late 19th century by the German emigrant Leo Kopp ; The Bavaria brewery founded by Kopp is now the second largest brewery in South America and has been part of SABMiller (now Anheuser-Busch InBev ) since 2005 . Mixed beer drinks are also popular in Colombia; a specialty is Refajo, the name for a mixed beer drink made from beer and Colombiana.

Aguapanela, water boiled with Panela, is drunk hot or cold and is also used as a base for making coffee. The drink is often associated with breakfast. Canelazo is a hot alcoholic mixed drink made from schnapps, panela, cinnamon and lemon juice, which is common in the cooler Andean regions. Chirrinche, a fermented mixture of sugar cane juice and water, to which various herbs are added, is also produced in the Andean regions. Masato is a fermented drink made from cassava, rice, corn and pineapple.

gallery

  • Ajiaco

  • Arepas de huevo (Arepas with egg)

  • Bandeja paisa

  • Lechona

  • Ternera a la llanera

  • Aguapanela

  • Aguila brand beer

  • Canelazo

  • Champus

  • Guarapo

literature

  • Rodolfo Ardila Cuesta (Ed.): Cocina palenquera para el mundo . Fundación para el Desarrollo Social, Bogotá 2014, ISBN 978-958-8496-44-3 ( unesco.org [PDF]).
  • María Lía Neira Restrepo (Ed.): Colombia - Cocina de Regiones . MNR Comunicaciones & Ediciones, Bogotá 2012, ISBN 978-958-8238-64-7 .
  • Carlos Ordóñez Caicedo: Gran libro de la cocina colombiana . MinCultura, Bogotá 2012, ISBN 978-958-753-067-4 ( gov.co [PDF]).
  • Benjamin Villegas: Taste of Colombia . 3. Edition. Villegas Editores, Bogotá 2001, ISBN 958-9138-98-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jorge Luis Garcia: The Foods and Crops of the Muisca . University of Central Florida, Orlando 2012, pp. 27 ( caracol.org [PDF]).
  2. ↑ Receipes4Us.co.uk: Colombian Cuisine and Recipes. Retrieved April 2, 2018 .
  3. ^ Neira Restrepo, p. 21
  4. ^ Neira Restrepo, p. 21
  5. ↑ OECD.org: Meat consumption. Retrieved May 11, 2018 .
  6. ↑ UncoverColombia.com: Traditional Food in Santander, Colombia You Have to Try. Retrieved February 25, 2018 .
  7. ^ AdoptionNutrition.org: Colombia. Retrieved May 11, 2018 .
  8. ↑ a b EveryCulture.com: Colombia. Retrieved May 10, 2018 .
  9. ^ Ingolf Bruckner: Colombia . 4th edition. Reise Know-How Verlag, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-8317-2820-6 , p. 597 .
  10. ↑ UNESCO.org: Immigrants cooking at XIII Gastronomic Congress of Popayan. Retrieved February 25, 2018 .
  11. ^ Colombia.co: The best cookbook in the world is Colombian. Retrieved May 11, 2018 .
  12. ^ Neira Restrepo, p. 12
  13. ↑ RevistaDiners.com.co: ¿Es la bandeja paisa el plato nacional? Retrieved May 10, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Colombia.co: Typical Colombian Foods You Should Definitely Try While Visiting Colombia. Retrieved May 10, 2018 .
  15. ↑ PLOS.org: Global, Regional, and National Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Fruit Juices, and Milk: A Systematic Assessment of Beverage Intake in 187 Countries. Retrieved November 19, 2017 .
  16. ↑ ElTiempo.com: Aguapanela / El lenguaje en el tiempo. Retrieved May 10, 2018 .
  17. ↑ Deleitese.co: Estas son las 10 bebidas típicas colombianas. Retrieved May 11, 2018 .