Arepas III

Well... now that I've told you about the fillings of arepas, I think it's time to talk about types of arepas. Something we most say, is that when Columbus arrived, changes started to appear in both kinds of people, natives and europeans, but mostly because there were a crash between cultures. Ok, so... european ate and still eat bread made of wheat, right?, well, back then, as I said, natives ate corn... they learned ways to eat that, that's why most of typical food in Latin America have at least one product involving corn. In Venezuela, for centuries and until half of XX century, were known two types of bread: "Pan-de-trigo" and "Pan-de-maíz", that translates literally in Wheat Bread and Corn Bread, until the name "Pan" that translates Bread, is only used to bread made of wheat. But there were some cleaver marketing man, that used the word PAN to corn flour that is used to make arepas... when you look carefully you see little dots between the letters.. Wanna see?

Of course, there must be an image of a colorful woman (yes, black woman, afroamerican woman... yes, I know, but in here, most of the slaves cooked the arepas for the white masters... and there's even a belief that dark colored women makes better arepas than the white and pale ones... ), So there you have some kind of a joke if you look closely, this is not just Corn Flour, no... It is Flour so you can make YOUR bread... PAN-BREAD. It makes me smile sometimes...

Ok... moving on... depending on the region you are, you might find variations on the Arepas you eat. Per example, in Mérida, Barinas or places in the occident of my country,You might find Arepas Andinas (I will not translate that), that is not entirely made of corn, actually.. there is not even  a grain corn in them... but is not exactly a bread.. It has the shape of a arepa (that means flat and circular), and it is made like a bread, with different ingredients (If you want the recipe, ask for it!! Join my blog and I'll give you the recipe!) 

Kinda looks like a flat piece of bread... but I swear, it's very tasteful, and we call that Arepa too... even when is not corn in it.

Let's continue with this, there's also Arepas de Maíz Pilado. This has actually no valid translation, so I'll tell you what it is about. This is when the lumen and the husk has been removed from any kind of corn, this is the types of arepas that I talked about in the previous blog, but from these process you may also find the Yellow colored arepa, that is way more artesian than the one we eat everyday.

Here's a picture of an Arepa de Maíz Pilado Amarilla... Yes... Amarilla means yellow.

We also have the Arepa de Maíz Pelado (peeled corn arepa), better known as Arepa Pelada (Peeled Arepa), this one is made in a way different way, this one keeps its husk, but the corn is boiled with lime to make it soft. Then is grinned until it makes a paste. It keep the values of the lumen and the husk, and it taste more like mexican tortillas. Personally, i just like these when I'm on the road, aside of a big plate of chicken...

Oh yes... it taste better when is cooked with wood... Om nom nom...

We also have Arepas de plátano, or Plantain Arepas! And as you may be thinking, it is made of plantain. In this one you mix the corn dough with plantain, but it has to be very very ripen (is this the term?) and after you mixed it, you cook it as a regular Arepa... Very tasteful, specially with white cheese...

Ok... So I've told you before that I'd give you the recipe for Sweet arepas... and of course I will...
I don't work with USA metric system, so I'm sorry...

1 cup of Corn Flour, or Harina Pan.
1/4 cup of Leudant Flour.
1 Spoon of oil.
3 Spoons of sugar.
1/4 cup of Papelón rayado... yes, i know you won't find that easily...But try...
Salt
1 Spoon of star anise.
Enough water to make the dough soft and smooth.

In a bowl, mix the two flours with the other ingredients, except for the oil..  mix that until it gets a single texture and color. Then add the oil, followed by the water (I'd use around two and a half cups of water... but is up to you), you most add it in little parts, and never stop kneading, until the dough is firm and soft. You know you used too much water if it turns steaky.

In a frying pan, heat enough oil to fry the arepas. Then, make little balls with it, then squeeze the dough in your hand, not too hard, to make little rounds and flat circles, then put the arepas in the hot oil... Fry until they get a gorgeous golden color, take them out, put them in napkins... you know the process...

I recommend to eat them with white cheese.
Cheers!
Thanks for reading!