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locAl Tuesday 22 april 2025

Food culture in Aruba

(Oranjestad) - Like many ban cuisine and can are peanut butter), and home-
other cultures, an impor- largely influenced by Latin- made fruit punch. Desserts
tant aspect of the Aruban American and Latin/Afro- include, bolo di pistachio
cultural identity is our con- Caribbean Stews. Some of (pistachio cake), bolo di
nection to food and food the more unique stews and cashupete (cashew cake),
traditions. The local food soups from the ABC Islands* quesillo (flan), bolo preto
traditions consist of a melt- include sopi di bonchi cora (dark fruit cake), drigidek
ing pot of different cultural (red kidney bean soup with (gingerbread), pan boyo
and religious eating habits pig tail), sopi mondongo (bread cake) and more.
and dishes. (tripe soup), carni stoba
(beef stew), comcomber Snacks and tasty delights
Breakfast, lunch and dinner stoba (West Indian gherkin These include, Saco*, bas-
The routine of breakfast, stew) and much more. ket, pastechi, kroket, dedi- *ABC Islands: Aruba, Bonaire
and Curacao
lunch and dinner on the tos, Johnny cake and more. *Pan di ham: Derived from the
island is one that does not Dinner Time These snacks are usually Venezuelan Pan de Jamon
completely follow a Euro- Dinner time can vary signifi- sold at local snack trucks (rolled up bread with ham,
pean or American routine, cantly from household to and cafes, often located raisins and olives)
despite the major influ- household. Unlike the U.S. on the side of the road. In *Saco: Saco literally means
ences from these parts of or in Europe, dinner time the area of Tanki Leendert “bag”. Saco contains fried
the world on our culture typically does not consist of and Tanki flip, for example, potatoes, plantains, chicken
and way of living. When it a whole (warm) meal. In- Besides meals and dishes there are many of these (and ribs) and a Johnny cake,
served in a paper bag.
comes to the three impor- stead, the evening “meal” that are eaten on the din- trucks parked on the side
tant meals of the day, most can typically consist of ner table, Aruba also has a of the road and often open Source: Voeding, voedings-
of the Aruban population something lighter, like a food tradition that includes until late at night—offering gewoonten en gerechten op
follows a Latin-American in- sandwich, though it is not snacks and other tasty de- tasty and filling snacks post Aruba (Nutrition, Food Tradi-
fluenced routine. uncommon to see leftovers lights that you may eas- night-life fun. q tions and Dishes on Aruba) by
from the main meal reheat- ily find around the island. Biblioteca Nacional Aruba
Breakfast ed and eaten again. Tea
Breakfast in Aruba is quite and coffee are often also
simple: a cup of coffee served with the evening
or tea, some bread, and snack.
sometimes an egg. Some-
times, due to the need of (Religious) Holidays
a quick “to-go” breakfast,
you may also find many
snack trucks and cafes that
sell sandwiches, pastechis
(meat pie), arepas and
empanadas early in the
morning.

Main Meal Christmas is probably the
biggest global holiday, and
every culture has its own
spin on what their Christmas
cuisine entails. In Aruba, our
Christmas cuisine is again
largely based on Latin-
American influences, most
notably form Venezuela.
The main meal is typically Ayacas and the famous
eaten in most households pan di ham* are two cru-
around noon or in the af- cial holiday dishes, along
ternoon. This can consist with stuffed turkey, roasted
of meat, fish, and chick- glazed ham topped with
en—stewed or fried—with pineapples, arroz con pollo
funchi (polenta) or rice (rice and chicken) and po-
with stewed vegetables. tato salad, among other
Often, fried or boiled plan- items. Traditional drinks in-
tain or pan bati (Aruban clude ponche crema (Aru-
pancake) is included. ban eggnog), chuculati
Stews are a staple in Aru- pinda (hot chocolate with