Corn Flour In The Kitchen

Today we finished the series of articles about the flour. A journey through the history, customs, cultures, countries, etc.., Whose main food of different types of flour. The arepas, pupusas, tamales, hallaquitas the hallaca, hallaca buns, muffins, and corn tortillas are certainly emblematic of the American culinary culture. From Mexico to Patagonia find these delicious dishes based on corn flour. The arepa corn flour is the quintessential bread of Venezuela, Colombia, Panama - call tortilla as in El Salvador - Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and even in the Canary Islands. It is a disk-shaped preparation, also typical of other foods made with corn, as the Venezuelan cachapa or tortilla, which originated as a way to worship the sun and moon. The same applies to the utensil round in which they cook these foods: the griddle, also called aripo or in Mexico, comal. The versatile arepa allows that may accompany almost any food or become the main course when you have a delicious filling.

In it there are many versions as regions, which account each of these countries listed above. They also vary according to the preparation technique or the type of corn, although the majority use appeals to the convenience of pre-cooked meals, an invention such as the Venezuelan arepa itself. Pupusas from El Salvador are very similar to the arepas, the big difference is that with the stuffing is cooked inside and completely sealed.

Another is the preparation of tamales, a prehispanic dish has traditionally in Mexico, Cuba and Central America but is consumed throughout the continent. The word tamal, in its etymology defined it as "wrapped? Nahuatl (tamalli). Countries, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Bolivia have in their preparations so many different names and naming hallacas, tamales or tamales. The tamales are cooked, boiled, generally wrapped in corn husks or banana, which besides giving shape, also gives it a distinctive flavor. In Venezuela we call tamales hallaquitas - wrapped in corn husks -, in some regions are filled hallaquitas meat stews or chicken. A hallaquitas us crazy the cracklings that are very popular in Venezuela. They are made by kneading the cornmeal with fried, finely chopped sweet pepper and of course the chicharrones. The hallacas - wrapped in banana leaves - are filled with a stew of pork and beef and has several ornaments inside. It is the centerpiece of the Venezuelan Christmas dinner. In Peru they eat the green tamales and tamales that the delicious Mexican with different fillings and spice that characterizes them.

Hallaca buns are prepared by incorporating the mass of the dish and trim the excess hallacas, wrapped in banana leaves. Then there are hairless buns filled with meat. There are also muffins that are made daily in the form of rolls of about 8 to 10 cm long and 2.5 cm wide that are fired directly into the water boiled, without any coverage and that are regularly consumed as companions of the food. Finally, we can not leave out the corn flour tortillas or "tlaxcallim." It was the staple food of the ancient Aztecs. Corn tortillas are known for several thousand years. The flour tortilla was created when the Spanish brought it to the New World. Tortillas are a good alternative to bread, served with sour cream to everything from caviar. May involve meals, use them as spoons to eat, served with salad, soup or eating toast. Living in Miami is a real privilege, the Latino community is very representative and well mixed. Like you can have breakfast with good Venezuelan arepas in Doral, lunch with Argentine empanadas on the street 8 and dinner with Salvadoran pupusas Sunset. Speaking of dishes based on corn flour, the recipe of the week are hairless buns, a traditional preparation and very popular in Venezuela.

See you soon friends. Write to juliopena@dalilasgourmet.com or contact us at our website: www.dalilasgourmet.com