Page 7 - aruba-today-20231228

a7
local Thursday 28 december 2023

Food culture in Aruba

(Oranjestad) - Like many other cultures, an im-
portant aspect of the Aruban cultural identity is
our connection to food and food traditions. The
local food traditions consist of a melting pot of
different cultural and religious eating habits and
dishes. peanut butter), and homemade fruit punch.
Desserts include, bolo di pistachio (pistachio
Breakfast, lunch and dinner cake), bolo di cashupete (cashew cake), que-
The routine of breakfast, lunch and dinner on include sopi di bonchi cora (red kidney bean sillo (flan), bolo preto (dark fruit cake), drigidek
the island is one that does not completely fol- soup with pig tail), sopi mondongo (tripe soup), (gingerbread), pan boyo (bread cake) and
low a European or American routine, despite carni stoba (beef stew), comcomber stoba more.
the major influences from these parts of the (West Indian gherkin stew) and much more.
world on our culture and way of living. When it Snacks and tasty delights
comes to the three important meals of the day, Dinner Time Besides meals and dishes that are eaten on the
most of the Aruban population follows a Latin- Dinner time can vary significantly from house- dinner table, Aruba also has a food tradition
American influenced routine. hold to household. Unlike the U.S. or in Europe, that includes snacks and other tasty delights
dinner time typically does not consist of a whole that you may easily find around the island.
Breakfast (warm) meal. Instead, the evening “meal” can These include, Saco*, basket, pastechi, kroket,
Breakfast in Aruba is quite simple: a cup of cof- typically consist of something lighter, like a deditos, Johnny cake and more. These snacks
fee or tea, some bread, and sometimes an egg. sandwich, though it is not uncommon to see are usually sold at local snack trucks and ca-
Sometimes, due to the need of a quick “to-go” leftovers from the main meal reheated and fes, often located on the side of the road. In the
breakfast, you may also find many snack trucks eaten again. Tea and coffee are often also area of Tanki Leendert and Tanki flip, for exam-
and cafes that sell sandwiches, pastechis (meat served with the evening snack. ple, there are many of these trucks parked on
pie), arepas and empanadas early in the morn- the side of the road and often open until late
ing. (Religious) Holidays at night—offering tasty and filling snacks post
Christmas is probably the biggest global holi- night-life fun. q
Main Meal day, and every culture has its own spin on
The main meal is typically eaten in most house- what their Christmas cuisine entails. In Aruba, *ABC Islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao
holds around noon or in the afternoon. This can our Christmas cuisine is again largely based on *Pan di ham: Derived from the Venezuelan Pan
consist of meat, fish, and chicken—stewed or Latin-American influences, most notably form de Jamon (rolled up bread with ham, raisins
fried—with funchi (polenta) or rice with stewed Venezuela. Ayacas and the famous pan di and olives)
vegetables. Often, fried or boiled plantain or ham* are two crucial holiday dishes, along with *Saco: Saco literally means “bag”. Saco con-
pan bati (Aruban pancake) is included. Stews stuffed turkey, roasted glazed ham topped with tains fried potatoes, plantains, chicken (and
are a staple in Aruban cuisine and can are pineapples, arroz con pollo (rice and chicken) ribs) and a Johnny cake, served in a paper bag.
largely influenced by Latin-American and Lat- and potato salad, among other items. Tradi-
in/Afro-Caribbean Stews. Some of the more tional drinks include ponche crema (Aruban Source: Voeding, voedingsgewoonten en gerech-
unique stews and soups from the ABC Islands* eggnog), chuculati pinda (hot chocolate with ten op Aruba (Nutrition, Food Traditions and Dishes
on Aruba) by Biblioteca Nacional Aruba
Aruba to me

ORANJESTAD — You are back
and we would like to portrait
you! By inviting you to send
us your favorite vacation
picture while enjoying our
Happy Island.

Complete the sentence: Aruba
to me is ……. Send your pic-
ture with that text (including
your name and where you are
from) to: news@arubatoday.
com and we will publish your
vacation memory. Isn’t that
a special way to keep your
best moments alive? Please
do note: By submitting photos,
text or any other materials,
you give permission to The
Aruba Today Newspaper, Ca-
ribbean Speed Printers and
any of its affiliated companies
to use said materials, as well
as names, likeness, etc. for paper, we strive to make you She wrote to us saying: “Aruba
promotional purposes without a happy reader every day means celebrating my ‘23’
compensation. again. birthday!”
For today we received a lovely
Last but not least: check out message from Alexa Chipps Thank you for sending us this
our website, Instagram and who’s visiting us from Wash- wonderful message sharing
Facebook page! Thank you ington, Pennsylvania, USA. what Aruba means to you
for supporting our free news- with us and our readers!q