Page 11 - aruba-today-20230824

a11
local Thursday 24 augusT 2023

Did you know about…

The food culture in Aruba

(Oranjestad) - Like many other cul- gherkin stew) and much more.
tures, an important aspect of the
Aruban cultural identity is our con- Dinner Time
nection to food and food traditions. Dinner time can vary significantly
The local food traditions consist of a from household to household. Un-
melting pot of different cultural and like the U.S. or in Europe, dinner
religious eating habits and dishes. time typically does not consist of
a whole (warm) meal. Instead,
Breakfast, lunch and dinner the evening “meal” can typically
The routine of breakfast, lunch and consist of something lighter, like a
dinner on the island is one that sandwich, though it is not uncom-
does not completely follow a Euro- mon to see leftovers from the main
pean or American routine, despite meal reheated and eaten again.
the major influences from these Tea and coffee are often also
parts of the world on our culture served with the evening snack.
and way of living. When it comes
to the three important meals of the (Religious) Holidays
day, most of the Aruban popula- Christmas is probably the biggest
tion follows a Latin-American influ- global holiday, and every cul-
enced routine. ture has its own spin on what their
Christmas cuisine entails. In Aru-
Breakfast ba, our Christmas cuisine is again
Breakfast in Aruba is quite simple: a largely based on Latin-American
cup of coffee or tea, some bread, influences, most notably form Ven-
and sometimes an egg. Some- ezuela. Ayacas and the famous
times, due to the need of a quick pan di ham* are two crucial holi-
“to-go” breakfast, you may also day dishes, along with stuffed tur-
find many snack trucks and ca- key, roasted glazed ham topped
fes that sell sandwiches, pastechis with pineapples, arroz con pollo
(meat pie), arepas and empana- (rice and chicken) and potato sal-
das early in the morning. ad, among other items. Traditional
drinks include ponche crema (Aru-
Main Meal ban eggnog), chuculati pinda (hot
The main meal is typically eaten in chocolate with peanut butter),
most households around noon or in and homemade fruit punch. Des-
the afternoon. This can consist of serts include, bolo di pistachio (pis-
meat, fish, and chicken—stewed tachio cake), bolo di cashupete
or fried—with funchi (polenta) or (cashew cake), quesillo (flan), bolo
rice with stewed vegetables. Of- preto (dark fruit cake), drigidek These snacks are usually sold at lo- Venezuelan Pan de Jamon (rolled
ten, fried or boiled plantain or pan (gingerbread), pan boyo (bread cal snack trucks and cafes, often up bread with ham, raisins and ol-
bati (Aruban pancake) is included. cake) and more. located on the side of the road. ives)
Stews are a staple in Aruban cuisine In the area of Tanki Leendert and *Saco: Saco literally means “bag”.
and can are largely influenced by Snacks and tasty delights Tanki flip, for example, there are Saco contains fried potatoes,
Latin-American and Latin/Afro-Ca- Besides meals and dishes that are many of these trucks parked on the plantains, chicken (and ribs) and
ribbean Stews. Some of the more eaten on the dinner table, Aruba side of the road and often open a Johnny cake, served in a paper
unique stews and soups from the also has a food tradition that in- until late at night—offering tasty bag.
ABC Islands* include sopi di bon- cludes snacks and other tasty and filling snacks post night-life fun.
chi cora (red kidney bean soup delights that you may easily find Source: Voeding, voedingsgewoont-
en en gerechten op Aruba (Nutrition,
with pig tail), sopi mondongo (tripe around the island. These include, *ABC Islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Food Traditions and Dishes on Aruba)
soup), carni stoba (beef stew), Saco*, basket, pastechi, kroket, Curacao by Biblioteca Nacional Aruba
comcomber stoba (West Indian deditos, Johnny cake and more. *Pan di ham: Derived from the