SANTANDER TYPICAL FOOD: THE 7 MOST POPULAR DISHES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The typical foods of Santander, in Colombia, are clearly influenced by the indigenous culture. This gastronomy is one of the most recognized in the country thanks to the variety of dishes and respect for indigenous culinary traditions, which still persist.

The natives based their diet on vegetables, spices, ants, fish and, to a lesser extent, meat.

From these traditions an exquisite gastronomy was built, to which new elements have been incorporated to enrich it.

For example, meat was hardly important among the natives; at present it is part of the regional gastronomy.

This is due to the evolution of customs and the use of new techniques when cooking.

You may also be interested in this list of typical Colombian dishes.

The 7 main typical foods of Santander

1- Big ass ants

As the name suggests, this dish is prepared with roasted ants. It is a rather curious dish and highly sought after by the most intrepid tourists.

For its preparation, queen ants of the genus Atta are used, captured only for nine weeks a year, in the rainy season.

Once they are clean, they are seasoned and roasted. According to some accounts, this dish has stimulating effects.

2- Oreada meat

This can be considered the most classic dish in Santander cuisine. To prepare it, it is necessary to previously season the meat with spices, salt, lemon and, if desired, beer.

The meat is left to dry for several days so that it can marinate and fully absorb all the juices and seasonings.

It is a dish that can be found in any local bar or café in Santander.

3- Mute

Apart from meat and fish, soups are also very characteristic of the gastronomy of the Santander region.

Mute is quite a filling soup, as it has a wide variety of ingredients.

The most prominent are the ribs of beef, pork and callus, mixed with various types of grains (such as chickpea and corn), potatoes, yucca and spices.

Its preparation requires a lot of time and it is a very flexible dish to create new variants, adding or substituting ingredients to taste.

4- Petition

This dish is among the most traditional of the gastronomy of Santander. It is based on the viscera and blood of the goat.

It resembles an omelette because of its shape, and also because it contains eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, rice, and other spices. It is normally used as a companion to other main dishes.

5- Kid

For many, this dish is the most characteristic of Santander's gastronomy. Its origins are in the Spanish miscegenation of certain areas of Colombia.

Regardless of the way of preparation (baked, grilled or stewed), the rib and leg parts should always arrive at the table with a succulent and golden appearance.

Like any other dish of this genre, goat meat goes through a marinating process of at least eight hours.

It is preferably cooked in a pressure cooker, to make it more tender. The doneness and the spices are responsible for giving the meat the right texture and flavor.

It is usually accompanied by yucca with Creole sauce, Santander arepa, pepitoria or a salad.

6- Santander tamale

The tamale is another representative dish of the typical food of Santander. Tamales are an indigenous heritage that is present in many regions of America such as Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America.

In all these localities they are so similar that their true origin cannot be established.

Santander tamales, as usual in this type of dish, use corn as the main ingredient.

With this the dough is made into which the stew and other ingredients are placed. These are cooked wrapped in banana leaf, which is another indigenous technique.

7- Veleño sandwich

In the typical food of Santander you cannot miss sweets. One of the most popular are Veleño sandwiches.

This is a guava-based sweet that is cooked by cooking the pulp of this fruit with sugar cane juice until it forms a firm, dark red paste.

References

1. Traditional Food in Santander, Colombia You Have to Try at Uncover Colombia Blog, from uncovercolombia.com
2. Typical Food in Santander at EatYourWorld, from eatyourworld.com
3. Santander Food at Bogota Foodie, from bogotafoodie.com
4. Colombian Gastronomy - vein soup, leg of beef and other delicacies in Colombia Travel Blog, from seecolombia.travel
5. Mute santandereano (Santander-Style soup) in My Colombian Recipes, from mycolombianrecipes.com