THE 11 TASTIEST TYPICAL CALDAS DISHES - CULTURE VOCABULARY

The typical dishes of Caldas are the product of a mixture of culinary traditions of the native aboriginal population that lived in the lands of Colombia. Specifically, of Afro-descendants who were brought in as slaves after colonization; and of the Europeans, mainly Spanish, who populated the region.

The incorporation and fusion of new ingredients, the use of new techniques in the processing and cooking of food and the exchange of knowledge resulted in a rich and innovative native cuisine.

Caldas food is part of the Paisa gastronomy tradition, a geo-socio-anthropological denomination with which reference is made to the inhabitants of Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda, Quindío, north of Tolima and north of Valle del Cauca.

Their dishes are usually made with beans, sweaty, warm, sancochos, tamales, arepas, parva de store (drunks, curds, cucas, cañas, tongues), among many others.

Regarding the geographical situation, the department of Caldas with 7,888 square kilometers and 989,000 inhabitants is one of the smallest in Colombia and is located in the heart of its Andean region, between the central and western mountain ranges.

It is part of the region known as "Eje Cafetero", declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2011 for being a living productive landscape, in which family work is mixed with the processes of production, collection and marketing of coffee hillside or mountain.

The department of Caldas was named with that name in honor of the Colombian independence scholar Francisco José Caldas (Popayán, 1768 - Santafé de Bogotá, 1816).

It was also created in 1905 through a reform made by the then President of the Republic, Rafael Reyes Prieto, with territorial assignments made by Antioquia and Cauca. At that time it encompassed the current departments of Risaralda and Quindío, known as "El viejo Caldas" or "El gran Caldas."

Its capital is the city of Manizales, with about 400,000 inhabitants and its important populations are La Dorada, Riosucio, Villamaría, Chinchiná, Salamina, Aguadas, Anserma, Neira, Palestina, Supía, Samaná, Pennsylvania and Aranzazu, among others.

Colombian authors such as Ordoñez Caicedo make a special mention of the Caldense population of Salamina.

In general, and according to him, Caldense dishes seem "to have an old culinary concern manifested in special dishes and magnificent salads, such as beets stuffed with hard-boiled egg, which is a beautiful accompaniment to any good dish."

Here is a list of how to prepare some of the most characteristic and famous meals of this very special gastronomy:

The typical dishes of Caldas Food

1- Hogao

First, the onion and tomato are sautéed, finely chopped, together with the lard. Add the water, salt to taste and a tablespoon of vinegar. Once the sauce is reduced, the hogao is ready. Ingredients:

2 long onion wedges
2 tomatoes
½ cup of lard
½ cup of water
Salt
Vinegar

2- Caldense cabbage salad

The mixture of cabbage, avocado, carrot, onion, coriander, sugar, salt, pepper and lemon is placed in the refrigerator, in order to cool it properly. Just before serving, add the tomato and oil, mixing them well. Ingredients:

½ cabbage finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
3 sprigs of coriander finely chopped
1 big onion grated
2 pintones tomatoes, diced
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch of sugar
¼ cup oil
1 lemon
½ teaspoon black pepper

3- Nail Sancocho

First of all it is important to leave a pressure cooker for half an hour. Then the meat should be cooked together with the tomato, the minced onion, the color, the coriander, the cumin, the vinegar and the salt. Once done, it is allowed to cool.

Meanwhile, the chopped plantains with the nail (characteristic of this recipe from which the name of the dish is derived) are added to the broth that continues to boil, so that they do not blacken.

When these have softened, add the potato cut into small squares. Then everything is boiled for 60 minutes and water is added if necessary.

In parallel, the cold meat is ground and cooked again until dry. Finally the meat is added to the broth and it is served with slices of ripe banana, rice, cabbage salad, homemade pickles and arepas.

3 pounds chuck or morrillo
2 tomatoes
2 long onion wedges
1 teaspoon of cumin
½ teaspoon of color
3 potatoes
3 viches bananas
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of vinegar
Coriander

4- Beets stuffed with egg

The beets are cooked for an hour and then dried and peeled. A small hole is opened on one of the sides and the pulp is extracted with a spoon.

Keep the piece of beet to later cover the hole and then leave them in cold water for eight hours.

Subsequently, the water is changed from time to time in order to fade a little. In parallel, we dissolve the gelatin in water, add the parsley and put it in the refrigerator until set.

Very carefully, each beet is first filled with two tablespoons of gelatin, the boiled eggs and finally another two tablespoons of gelatin. Later they are covered with the little piece that was left when opening the hole.

Finally they are placed in a container and kept in the fridge for twelve hours. To serve, they are cut into slices, salted to taste and a garnish olive is placed on them. Ingredients:

4 large beets
4 hard-boiled eggs
2 envelopes of lemon-flavored gelatin
1 cup of hot water
6 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
6 green olives, pitted, stuffed with red paprika, cut into slices.

5- Caldense beans

The beans are soaked for twelve hours. They cook for twenty minutes from when the pressure cooker begins to beep, along with enough water to cover them, cumin, crushed garlic, and salt.

When they are uncovered, the chopped bananas are added with the fingernail so that they do not blacken and they are allowed to soften.

Then the hogao is added, mixed and allowed to thicken over low heat, stirring from time to time to prevent them from sticking.

They are usually eaten for breakfast, in soup or cold. As scrambled eggs, it is usually served with green plantains, as well as potatoes, ripe plantains, cider, cabbages or shelled chócolo. Its ingredients are:

1 pound of kidney beans (can be browbone, red bean, ball)
2 green bananas
1 garlic
1 tablespoon of salt
½ teaspoon of cumin
Hogao (see recipe)

6- Asorrete

First, with the meat, bread, cheese, yolks, baking powder, salt and pepper, a homogeneous dough is made. Let it rest for a while and spread with a rolling pin.

Next, some wheels are pulled out with a cup. They are spread with egg white, we place them on top of them crossed slices of bacon and a caper in the center.

Then everything is heated in the oven to 300 degrees Celsius and baked for twenty minutes. It consists of:

2 Pounds of ground beef
1/2 pound of grated white cheese
1 Cup of toasted bread crumbs grated
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 egg yolks, beaten (just a little)
2 egg whites, beaten (just a little)
1/4 pound bacon, cut into strips
Capers (one for each strip of bacon)

7- Beef tongue in coriander and thyme sauce. Tongue in sauce

For the sauce, all its ingredients are sautéed until they soften. They are gently pounded on the tongue, washed well and cooked for 45 minutes in a pressure cooker (150 minutes in a regular pot), along with the beer, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper.

Then the tongue is pulled out, peeled and cut into slices. The slices are sautéed in a little oil and butter until golden brown and the league and sauce are combined in a deep frying pan to leave them on the fire for 10 or 15 minutes. Before serving it is sprinkled with minced cilantro. Its ingredients include:

3 pounds of tongue
2 tablespoons coriander chopped
Half a cup of beer or white wine
1/2 tablespoon thyme
4 tablespoons of oil
2 tablespoons of butter
½ tablespoon garlic

The ingredients for the sauce are:

4 red tomatoes, diced
1 big onion, diced, chopped long onion stems
4 tablespoons of oil
1 bouillon cube
Color
Salt and pepper to taste.

8- Wine of oranges

To make this drink, the ingredients are mixed and sifted. The liquid is bottled and buried for at least two months. When unearthed, the cachaça or foam is thrown away and served.

Juice of 24 oranges
Sugar to taste
1 tablespoon bitter drops

9- The macana

First all the ingredients are cooked together over low heat, constantly stirring until thickened. It is served hot.

2 liters of milk
4 tablespoons of butter
4 yolks, beaten
2 cups of ground sweet cookies
2 cups of sugar

10- Alfandoques

Among the desserts, this dish stands out in which a tray is spread with butter and covered with grated coconut. Put in the oven until golden brown.

First the split panelas are cooked with water over medium heat until a thick honey is generated. The coconut is added and it is poured into a short tin with butter to cool it a bit, not completely.

While still hot, it is hung from a bare wooden fork and stretched with the hands and arms until white.

Make some thin strips that are cut with scissors to form sticks that we let dry. Before they dry they can be dyed with vegetable colors.

2 black panelas
1 cup of water
½ cup of coarsely grated coconut.

11- Arepas de mote

The arepa is one of the most important and daily consumption foods in Caldas. It is not only consumed at breakfasts, but also as a companion to multiple dishes and as a substitute for bread.

It is basically a firm tortilla made from ground white corn. In the case of the Caldense mote arepa, it is thin and little salt is added.

The term "mote" translates to "cooked corn" in the Amerindian Quechua language.

References

Ordoñez Caicedo, Carlos. Great book of Colombian cuisine. Ministry of Culture, 2012.
Gastronomy of Caldas, sinic.gov.com. Retrieved on 02-23-2017
Caldas. wikipedia.org. Retrieved on 02-23-2017
Gastronomy of Colombia, es.wikipedia.org.
Colombian recipes, sites.google.com.
History of gastronomy in Colombia, historiacocina.com. Retrieved on 02-23-2017
Recipe book, somoscolombianos.com. Retrieved on 02-23-2017
Recipe book. kitchen33.com. Retrieved on 02-23-2017
Recipe book. colombia.travel. Retrieved on 02-23-2017

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