An arepa is a dish made of ground corn

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 dough or cooked flour, popular in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 and other Spanish-speaking countries. It is similar in shape to the Salvadoran pupusa

Pupusa

A pupusa is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of thick, hand-made corn tortilla that is usually filled with a blend of the following: cheese , cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency...

. Arepas can also be found in Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 and the Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

.

Characteristics

The arepa is a flat, round, unleavened patty made of cornmeal or flour which can be grilled, baked, boiled, or fried. The characteristics vary by color, flavor, size, thickness, garnishment, and the food with which it may be stuffed, depending on the region. Arepa is a native sort of bread made of ground corn (or flour), water, and salt which is fried into a pancake-like bread. It can be topped or filled with meat, eggs, tomatoes, salad, cheese, shrimp, or fish.

Making arepas

There are two ways to prepare the dough. The traditional, labor-intensive method requires the maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 grains to be soaked, then peeled and ground in a large mortar known as a pilón. The pounding removes the pericarp and the seed germ, as only the cotyledons of the maize seed are used to make the dough. The resulting mixture, known as mortared maize, or maíz pilado, was normally sold as dry grain to be boiled and ground into dough.

The most popular method today is to buy cooked arepa cornmeal or flour. The flour is mixed with water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 and salt

Salt

In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

, and occasionally oil, butter, eggs, and/or milk. Because the flour is already cooked, the blend forms into patties easily. After being kneaded and formed, the patties are fried, grilled, or baked. This production of corn is unusual for not using the nixtamalization

Nixtamalization

Nixtamalization typically refers to a process for the preparation of maize , or other grain, in which the grain is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater, and hulled. The term can also refer to the removal via an alkali process of the pericarp from other grains such as sorghum...

, or alkali cooking process, to remove the pericarp of the corn kernels. Arepa flour is lower in nutritive value than nixtamal, with its niacin value reduced by half.

Arepa flour

Arepa flour is specially prepared (cooked in water, then dried) for making arepas and other maize dough-based dishes, such as hallacas, bollos, tamales, empanadas and chicha

Chicha

For the musical genre, see Peruvian cumbiaChicha is a term used in some regions of Latin America for several varieties of fermented and non-fermented beverages, rather often to those derived from maize and similar non-alcoholic beverages...

. The most popular brand names of corn flour are Harina PAN in Venezuela and Areparina in Colombia. The arepa flour is usually made from white corn, but yellow corn varieties are available. This arepa flour was first developed and produced by Empresas Polar, who owns the PAN brand and is the primary distributor in the country.

Electric arepa makers

In Venezuela, various kitchen appliance companies sell appliances such as the Tostyarepa and Miallegro's MiArepa, similar to a waffle iron

Waffle iron

A waffle iron is a cooking appliance used to make waffles.It usually consists of two hinged metal plates, molded to create the honeycomb pattern found on waffles...

, which cook arepas using two hot metallic surfaces clamped with the raw dough inside. In Venezuela, the arepa is traditionally grilled on a budare, which is a flat, originally nonmetallic surface which may or may not have a handle. Arepas cooked this way are called tostadas. Nowadays, it is common to follow the grilling process that forms a crust, known as a concha, with twenty to twenty five minutes of cooking at high heat in an oven. Electric arepa makers reduce cooking time from 15 to 25 minutes per side to seven minutes or less.

Electric arepa makers are not popular in Colombia, with most households choosing to prepare them traditionally.

History

The predecessor of the arepa was a staple of the Timoto-cuicas

Timoto-cuicas

Timoto–Cuica people were an indigenous group compromised primarily of two tribes, the Timotes and the Cuicas, that inhabited in the Andean region of western Venezuela. They were closely related to the Muisca, or also known as the Chibchas, indigenous people of the Andes...

, an Amerindian group that lived in the northern Andes of Venezuela. Other Amerindian tribes in the region, such as the Arawaks and the Caribs, widely consumed a form known as casabe made from cassava

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

 (yuca). With the colonization by the Spanish, the food that would become the arepa was diffused into the rest of the region, known then as La Gran Colombia

Gran Colombia

Gran Colombia is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. This short-lived republic included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru and northwest Brazil. The...

 (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama).

Both Colombians and Venezuelans view the arepa as a traditional national food. It has a long tradition in both countries, with local recipes that are delicious and varied.

Venezuelan arepas

In eastern Venezuela, the most common variety is usually about three to eight inches (7.5 to 20 cm) in diameter and about 3/4 inches (2 cm) thick. Larger arepas can be found, made with either white or yellow corn. In the western Andes, they are flatter, and are typically quarter of an inch (0.6 cm) or less in thickness and three to four inches in diameter. An arepa can be eaten with a filling or with a topping. A filled arepa is called an arepa rellena or a Venezuelan tostada, although the latter term is not commonly used today. Also, there are plenty of sauces to season them while eating them, such as guasacaca and picante (hot sauce).

Venezuelans prepare arepas depending on personal taste or preference and the region in which they are made. Venezuelan varieties include:

• Traditional corn (maize
  Maize
  Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
  
  )
• Corn flour (arepa blanca or viuda)
• Wheat
  Wheat
  Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
  
   flour (preñaditas in Venezuelan slang
  Slang
  Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
  
  )
• Sweet (arepa dulce)
• Cheese
  Cheese
  Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
  
   (arepa de queso)
• Coconut
  Coconut
  The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
  
  (arepa de coco)
• Andean (arepa andina)
• Manioc
  Cassava
  Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
  
   (arepa de yuca)
• Reina pepeada - filled with avocado
  Avocado
  The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
  
  , chicken
  Chicken (food)
  Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
  
  , and mayonnaise
  Mayonnaise
  Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
  
  
• Baked (arepas horneadas)
• Fried (arepa frita)
• Arepa pelúa - with yellow cheese and pulled beef
• Arepa con queso guayanés - with soft Guayanés cheese, similar to mozzarella
• Arepa con queso de mano - with firm white cheese from eastern Venezuela
• Arepa catira - with yellow cheese and shredded chicken
• Arepa de chicharrón - with crisped pork skin
• Arepa de dominó - white cheese and black beans
• Arepa de Perico - made with perico
  Perico (dish)
  Perico is a Venezuelan and Colombian popular dish prepared with scrambled eggs, butter, sautéed diced onions, and tomatoes. It may also include ground peppers, annatto and occasionally hot peppers. It can be regarded as a tropical version of scrambled eggs, and can be eaten alone, with bread,...
  
  , a Caribbean type of scrambled eggs
• Arepa viuda ("widow" arepa) - an empty arepa usually eaten with soup
• Arepa rumbera("party" arepa)- with pork meat
• Arepa llanera - with cuts of beef (parrilla or barbecue), tomato slices, avocado slices and fresh white cheese
• Arepa con cazón - with school shark
  School shark
  The school shark, tope shark, soupfin shark or snapper shark, Galeorhinus galeus, is a hound shark of the family Triakidae, the only member of the genus Galeorhinus, found worldwide in subtropical seas at depths of up to...
  
  
• Arepa de emisora - www.paisa.fm

Other fillings include guacuco (a shellfish), ham

Ham

Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...

, quail

Quail

Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...

 eggs with pink sauce, and octopus. Specialized areperas can be found across Venezuela, serving a wide array of fillings.

Colombia

In Colombia, the arepa has deep roots in the colonial farms and the cuisine of the indigenous people. While its preparation was once a tedious process of processing and cooking raw corn, today, they are usually bought already prepared or made from "instant" flours.

Arepas are usually eaten for breakfast or as an afternoon snack

Elevenses

In the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth realms, elevenses is a snack that is similar to afternoon tea, but eaten in the morning. It is generally less savoury than brunch, and might consist of some cake or biscuits with a cup of coffee or tea. The name refers to the time of day that it...

. Common toppings include butter, cheese, scrambled eggs, Colombian chorizo

Chorizo

Chorizo is a term encompassing several types of pork sausages originating from the Iberian Peninsula.In English, it is usually pronounced , , or , but sometimes ....

, and hogao

Hogao

Hogao, also known as criollo sauce, is typically used in Colombian cuisine. It is made with round onions, long green onions, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper that are sauteed during the cooking process. It is the basis of Colombian cooking and is used for meats, arepas, rice and other...

.

• Egg (arepa de huevo or, colloquially, arepa 'e huevo) - this variety originated from the Caribbean coast, but is popular in most major cities. This arepa is deep fried with a single raw egg inside that is cooked by the frying process. Egg arepas are made with yellow corn dough and fried in the same manner as Colombian empanadas, and are often sold alongside other traditional Colombian foodstuffs at food stands. One variety of egg arepa has shredded beef added as well.
• Cheese (arepa de queso, arepa de quesillo) - is either made with cheese mixed into the ingredients or filled with grated cheese before it is cooked (grilled or fried, in this case).
• Arepa Boyacense - these come from the department of Boyacá
  Boyacá Department
  Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
  
  . They are very hard and dense, and are typically about three to four inches across and filled with a sweet cheese.
• Arepa Valluna - is the variety unique to Cali
  Calì
  Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...
  
   and the rest of the Cauca valley. It is made only with cornmeal, water and salt, and it is buttered before eating, much like toast
  Toast
  Toast is bread that has been browned by exposure to radiant heat. This browning reaction is known as the Maillard reaction. Toasting warms the bread and makes it firmer, so it holds toppings more securely...
  
  .
• Arepa de choclo (or chocolo) - is made with sweet corn and farmer's white cheese.
• Arepa antioqueña - a small, spherical arepa, without salt, served to accompany soups, especially mondongo
  Sopa de Mondongo
  Sopa de mondongo is a soup made from slow-cooked diced tripe and, vegetables such as bell peppers, onions, carrots, cabbage, celery, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic or root vegetables originating from Latin America and the Caribbean.-Variations:Many variations of sopa de mondongo exist in Latin America...
  
  is common in the department of Antioquia.
• Arepa paisa - a very large, flat arepa made of white maize without salt, but accompanied by meat or butter on top is common in the coffee-producing region
  Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis
  Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis , also known as Coffee Triangle is a part of the Colombian Paisa region which is famous for growing and production of a majority of the Colombian coffee, considered by some as the best coffee in the world. There are three departments in the area: Caldas, Quindío and...
  
  , often served with hogao.
• Arepa de arroz - is made with cooked, mashed rice instead of corn dough.
• Arepa santanderiana - originates from the area around Bucaramanga
  Bucaramanga
  Bucaramanga is a Colombian city, and capital city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth largest city economy and sixth largest population in Colombia, with 1,212,656 people in its metropolitan area...
  
  . It is also called arepa de maiz pelado. It is made with yellow corn and has a distinct flavor due to the pork fat added during the preparation. It is usually dry, but soft.
• Baked - is variously called arepa de maiz or arepa de queso at bakeries. Bakeries in Bogotá rarely sell the typical fried or grilled arepas, but instead sell a large, baked version, made with yellow corn flour and often with a single cube of cheese on top. It has a similar taste and texture to a North American corn muffin.

In the western part of Colombia, especially around Bogotá

Bogotá

Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

, Cali

Calì

Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...

 and Medellín

Medellín

Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...

, a traditional breakfast includes an arepa with hot chocolate.

Companies, such as Don Maíz, have started to market new, less traditional varieties in Colombian grocery stores that are growing in popularity. These include cassava

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

-flavored arepas (based on the more traditional pan de yuca) and whole-grain arepas made of brown rice, wheat germ and sesame seeds.

Similar dishes

 Colombia - The arepuela is similar to the traditional arepa. It is made with wheat flour and sometimes anise

Anise

Anise , Pimpinella anisum, also called aniseed, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Its flavor resembles that of liquorice, fennel, and tarragon.- Biology :...

, and when fried, the layers expand and the arepuela inflates, similar to miniature tortilla

Tortilla

In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...

s or pancakes. This is very common in the interior of Colombia. In the north, bollos are popular for breakfast, which are made with the same dough as an arepa, but are boiled rather than fried, which gives them a texture similar to matzoh balls or Czech bread dumplings.

 Costa Rica - Arepas can be made from batter

Batter (cooking)

Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...

, and may be similar to pancakes. There are at least two sorts, the "pancake" arepa, which is made with baking powder, and the "big flat" arepa, which is made without baking powder. These big flat arepas are, in size, not unlike the big tortillas one finds in Guanacaste (northern Costa Rica), (i.e. some twelve inches in diameter) and are made of white flour and are sugary. Once perfectly cooked, they should resemble a "giraffe skin", or a "jaguar skin" (i.e., white/yellowish with brown spots).

 Mexico - Gordita

Gordita

A gordita in Mexican cuisine is a corn cake made with masa harina and stuffed with cheese, meat or other fillings. It is similar to a pasty and to the Colombian/Venezuelan arepa. Gordita means "little fat one" in Spanish. A gordita is typically fried in a deep wok-shaped comal or baked on a...

s are similar fried dish, but are different from tortilla

Tortilla

In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...

s.

 Puerto Rico - In Puerto Rico, arepas are made with lard, butter, flour, and baking powder. Preparation and cooking varies according to city and family tradition.

 El Salvador - Pupusa

Pupusa

A pupusa is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of thick, hand-made corn tortilla that is usually filled with a blend of the following: cheese , cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency...

s are similar flat cakes, but the most important difference is the traditional dough is made from nixtamal. It is also filled before it is cooked, usually some pork, white cheese or black beans. Other stypes of pupusas are now made from of rice dough, particularly in the town called Olocuilta

Olocuilta

Olocuilta is a municipality in the La Paz department of El Salvador, just a few kilometers down the highway from Santo Tomás. This town is well-known for rice flour pupusas Since it is on the main highway which connects San Salvador with the airport and the other main highway, which goes along the...

 in the department of La Paz

La Paz

Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...

. There are also some newer versions of the dish based on plantain dough.