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local Saturday 28 September 2024
Food culture in Aruba

(Oranjestad) - Like many other cul- (meat pie), arepas and empana-
tures, an important aspect of the das early in the morning.
Aruban cultural identity is our con-
nection to food and food traditions. Main Meal
The local food traditions consist of a The main meal is typically eaten in
melting pot of different cultural and most households around noon or in
religious eating habits and dishes. the afternoon. This can consist of
meat, fish, and chicken—stewed
Breakfast, lunch and dinner or fried—with funchi (polenta) or
The routine of breakfast, lunch and rice with stewed vegetables. Of-
dinner on the island is one that ten, fried or boiled plantain or pan
does not completely follow a Euro- bati (Aruban pancake) is included.
pean or American routine, despite Stews are a staple in Aruban cuisine
the major influences from these and can are largely influenced by
parts of the world on our culture Latin-American and Latin/Afro-Ca-
and way of living. When it comes ribbean Stews. Some of the more
to the three important meals of the unique stews and soups from the
day, most of the Aruban popula- ABC Islands* include sopi di bon-
tion follows a Latin-American influ- chi cora (red kidney bean soup
enced routine. with pig tail), sopi mondongo (tripe
soup), carni stoba (beef stew),
Breakfast comcomber stoba (West Indian
Breakfast in Aruba is quite simple: a gherkin stew) and much more.
cup of coffee or tea, some bread,
and sometimes an egg. Some- Dinner Time
times, due to the need of a quick Dinner time can vary significantly
“to-go” breakfast, you may also from household to household. Un-
find many snack trucks and ca- like the U.S. or in Europe, dinner
fes that sell sandwiches, pastechis time typically does not consist of

a whole (warm) meal. Instead,
the evening “meal” can typically Snacks and tasty delights
consist of something lighter, like a Besides meals and dishes that are
sandwich, though it is not uncom- eaten on the dinner table, Aruba
mon to see leftovers from the main also has a food tradition that in-
meal reheated and eaten again. cludes snacks and other tasty
Tea and coffee are often also delights that you may easily find
served with the evening snack. around the island. These include,
Saco*, basket, pastechi, kroket,
(Religious) Holidays deditos, Johnny cake and more.
Christmas is probably the biggest These snacks are usually sold at lo-
global holiday, and every cul- cal snack trucks and cafes, often
ture has its own spin on what their located on the side of the road.
Christmas cuisine entails. In Aru- In the area of Tanki Leendert and
ba, our Christmas cuisine is again Tanki flip, for example, there are
largely based on Latin-American many of these trucks parked on
influences, most notably form Ven- the side of the road and often
ezuela. Ayacas and the famous open until late at night—offering
pan di ham* are two crucial holi- tasty and filling snacks post night-
day dishes, along with stuffed tur- life fun.q
key, roasted glazed ham topped
with pineapples, arroz con pollo
(rice and chicken) and potato sal- *ABC Islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Cu-
racao
ad, among other items. Traditional *Pan di ham: Derived from the Vene-
drinks include ponche crema (Aru- zuelan Pan de Jamon (rolled up bread
ban eggnog), chuculati pinda (hot with ham, raisins and olives)
chocolate with peanut butter), *Saco: Saco literally means “bag”.
and homemade fruit punch. Des- Saco contains fried potatoes, plan-
serts include, bolo di pistachio (pis- tains, chicken (and ribs) and a Johnny
tachio cake), bolo di cashupete cake, served in a paper bag.
(cashew cake), quesillo (flan), bolo Source: Voeding, voedingsgewoonten
preto (dark fruit cake), drigidek en gerechten op Aruba (Nutrition,
(gingerbread), pan boyo (bread Food Traditions and Dishes on Aruba)
cake) and more. by Biblioteca Nacional Aruba