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LOCAL Thursday 9 November 2023

Food culture in Aruba

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