Page 16 - AHATA

a5
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