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                                                                                                           local Thursday 30 January 2025






























            Food culture in Aruba


            (Oranjestad)  -  Like  many  a  staple  in  Aruban  cuisine   eggnog),  chuculati  pinda  ily  find  around  the  island.  naire and Curacao
            other  cultures,  an  impor-  and  can  are  largely  influ-  (hot  chocolate  with  pea-  These  include,  Saco*,  bas-  *Pan di ham: Derived from
            tant  aspect  of  the  Aruban  enced  by  Latin-American   nut  butter),  and  home-   ket, pastechi, kroket, dedi-  the  Venezuelan  Pan  de
            cultural identity is our con-  and  Latin/Afro-Caribbean   made fruit punch. Desserts  tos, Johnny cake and more.  Jamon  (rolled  up  bread
            nection  to  food  and  food  Stews.  Some  of  the  more   include,  bolo  di  pistachio  These  snacks  are  usually  with ham, raisins and olives)
            traditions.  The  local  food  unique  stews  and  soups   (pistachio  cake),  bolo  di  sold  at  local  snack  trucks  *Saco: Saco literally means
            traditions consist of a melt-  from  the  ABC  Islands*  in-  cashupete (cashew cake),  and  cafes,  often  located  “bag”. Saco contains fried
            ing pot of different cultural  clude  sopi  di  bonchi  cora   quesillo  (flan),  bolo  preto  on the side of the road. In  potatoes,  plantains,  chick-
            and religious eating habits  (red kidney bean soup with   (dark  fruit  cake),  drigidek  the area of Tanki Leendert  en (and ribs) and a Johnny
            and dishes.                  pig  tail),  sopi  mondongo   (gingerbread),  pan  boyo  and Tanki flip, for example,  cake,  served  in  a  paper
                                         (tripe  soup),  carni  stoba   (bread cake) and more.     there  are  many  of  these  bag.
                Breakfast, lunch and     (beef  stew),  comcomber                                  trucks  parked  on  the  side
                       dinner            stoba (West Indian gherkin    Snacks and tasty delights   of the road and often open  Source: Voeding, voedings-
            The  routine  of  breakfast,  stew) and much more.        Besides  meals  and  dishes  until late at night—offering  gewoonten  en  gerechten
            lunch  and  dinner  on  the                               that are eaten on the din-   tasty and filling snacks post  op  Aruba  (Nutrition,  Food
            island is one that does not          Dinner Time          ner table, Aruba also has a  night-life fun. q            Traditions  and  Dishes  on
            completely  follow  a  Euro-  Dinner  time  can  vary  sig-  food tradition that includes                           Aruba)  by  Biblioteca  Na-
            pean or American routine,  nificantly  from  household    snacks and other tasty de-                                cional Aruba
            despite  the  major  influ-  to  household.  Unlike  the   lights  that  you  may  eas-  *ABC  Islands:  Aruba,  Bo-
            ences  from  these  parts  of  U.S.  or  in  Europe,  dinner
            the  world  on  our  culture  time  typically  does  not
            and way of living. When it  consist  of  a  whole  (warm)
            comes to the three impor-    meal. Instead, the evening
            tant meals of the day, most  “meal”  can  typically  con-
            of  the  Aruban  population  sist of something lighter, like
            follows  a  Latin-American  a sandwich, though it is not
            influenced routine.          uncommon to see leftovers
                                         from  the  main  meal  re-
                     Breakfast           heated  and  eaten  again.
            Breakfast  in  Aruba  is  quite  Tea  and  coffee  are  often
            simple:  a  cup  of  coffee  also  served  with  the  eve-
            or  tea,  some  bread,  and  ning snack.
            sometimes  an  egg.  Some-
            times,  due  to  the  need  of   (Religious) Holidays
            a  quick  “to-go”  breakfast,  Christmas  is  probably  the
            you  may  also  find  many  biggest    global   holiday,
            snack trucks and cafes that  and  every  culture  has  its
            sell  sandwiches,  pastechis  own  spin  on  what  their
            (meat  pie),  arepas  and  Christmas cuisine entails. In
            empanadas  early  in  the  Aruba,  our  Christmas  cui-
            morning.                     sine is again largely based
                                         on  Latin-American  influ-
                    Main Meal            ences,  most  notably  form
            The  main  meal  is  typically  Venezuela.  Ayacas  and
            eaten  in  most  households  the  famous  pan  di  ham*
            around  noon  or  in  the  af-  are  two  crucial  holiday
            ternoon. This can consist of  dishes,  along  with  stuffed
            meat,  fish,  and  chicken—  turkey,   roasted   glazed
            stewed  or  fried—with  fun-  ham  topped  with  pineap-
            chi  (polenta)  or  rice  with  ples,  arroz  con  pollo  (rice
            stewed vegetables. Often,  and  chicken)  and  potato
            fried  or  boiled  plantain  salad,  among  other  items.
            or  pan  bati  (Aruban  pan-  Traditional  drinks  include
            cake) is included. Stews are  ponche  crema  (Aruban
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