I Had No Idea Cheese Arepas Would Taste So Good!
The first time I had arepas was pretty recently and they were the Venezuelan kind. However, the first time I made arepas was the Colombian cheese arepas. To me, both taste fantastic. It wasn’t until I was talking with a Colombian friend of mine that I found out about the friendly (or not so friendly) debate between the two countries. The matter in question: which country do arepas belong to?
Of course, my Colombian friend was adamant about telling me that arepas come from Colombia. Well, let’s find out!
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What Are Arepas?
Arepas, to me, are like a corn flour bread/ corncake fusion food. They’re made primarily of pre-cooked corn flour (called masarepa) and water.
Interestingly, arepa comes from the indigenous word erepa, which means “corn”.
The fun thing about arepas is that they can be made with different ingredients. For example, the ones I made were mixed with mozzarella cheese. The Venezuelan ones I ate were filled with shredded chicken (the Venezuelan ones have a pocket that you can use to stuff meats or cheeses and vegetables to form a sandwich).
My Colombian friend informed me that they often eat arepas for breakfast with huevos pericos (Colombian-style scrambled eggs with tomato and scallions) and Colombian hot chocolate (similar to Mexico’s Abuelita brand) and a piece of cheese.
Venezuelan arepas, on the other hand, are generally eaten at any time of the day.
I asked my friend how to eat arepas since I wasn’t sure whether to use my hands or a fork. She told me that they generally eat arepas, cheese arepas included, like Mexicans eat tortillas–with their hand using it as a guide (kind of how we here in the United States will use a knife to help guide our food onto a fork).
If you’re still not very familiar with Arepas, I can tell you that they remind me a lot of Salvadorean pupusas or Mexican gorditas.
The Debates
Whatever anyone from these two countries thinks regarding who owns the rights to these yummy, delicious foods, the fact is they originated from indigenous tribes in Colombia, Venezuela, as well as Panama (NPR.ORG).
The other debate is which country makes the best arepas? That’s all personal preference, in my VERY humble opinion.
Colombian arepas may not be very elaborate compared to the Venezuelan version. To me, it’s more similar to a Mexican tortilla.
The Venezuelan arepa, on the other hand, is often stuffed with meats, cheese, avocado, and other condiments and vegetables.
To me, both arepas taste good. Personally, I guess I would eat the Colombian version as a snack and the Venezuelan one as a meal. But, that’s just me.
Arepa Variations
There are SO many different arepa variations. These are just a few I found online:
- Arepa de Pabellón: Shredded meat and black beans
- Arepa de Dominó: Black beans and white cheese (crumbled)
- Reina Pepiada: Mashed chicken, avocado, and mayonnaise
- Sweet Arepa: The dough is mixed with sugar
- Arepa Costeñas: Eggs & grated Costeño cheese
- Arepa de Choclo: Sweet corn
- Arepas Paisas: Made with white hominy corn
- Arepas Santandereanas: Chicharrón, cassava (yuca
- Arepa de Huevo: Egg
- Arepa Valluna: Spread with butter on top
- Arepa Boyacense: Sugar or panela and Colombian cheese
- Arepa de Queso: Cheese arepas
- Arepa de Yuca: Cassava
- Arepa de Plátano Maduro: Sweet (ripe) plantains
- Arepa de Arroz: Made with rice instead of corn
My Experience Making Cheese Arepas
“These don’t look too hard to make”.
I thought this to myself as I looked through various websites and YouTube videos to figure out how to make arepas. I chose to make the Colombian variety since I was asking my Colombian friends about them. Plus, they looked a tad bit easier to make for a first-timer (that’s just my opinion).
Also, my Colombian friends were messing around and told me the Colombian version was the real deal so I went with it, haha. Like I was saying before, I do like the Venezuelan versions too, though!
I was SO excited to try the Colombian version but I was nervous, too, because I didn’t want to mess them up. I wanted to taste the real thing!
How to Make Colombian Arepas with Cheese Youtube Video
I searched through various YouTube videos and found one that caught my attention because it looked very easy and practical. Plus, the guy in the video, Timothy, was super easy to understand and very, very thorough in his explanations.
Although he is not Colombian, he is very familiar with Colombian culture and he says in his video that he has visited Colombia several times. In fact, he says every time he goes, he likes to try arepas from different places (he loves them that much).
Interestingly, his YouTube channel is called ArepasDelGringo. If you are not aware, “gringo” is a term used in Spanish-speaking countries to refer to a person who is not Hispanic or Latino.
That’s how you know he REALLY loves these foods ;-D
He begins by explaining what arepas are and how they’re eaten. Then he shows you step-by-step instructions. Like I was saying earlier, he’s very detailed. It might entice you to go out and buy some masarepa so you can make your own 😉
Disclaimer
Just a little disclaimer: I used the yellow masarepa version the first time I made arepas. The only reasoning behind this is that I like yellow corn tortillas better than I do the white ones so I thought maybe I’d like the yellow corn arepas more than the white ones.
After making the version made with white corn, I thought the yellow masarepa had more flavor (this is only my personal opinion).
If you’d like to try the one made with pre-cooked yellow corn meal, you can find it HERE on Amazon.
What I’ve Learned About Making Colombian Arepas
Making cheese arepas was a very pleasurable experience and the arepas tasted good, too. I only added mozzarella cheese to mine and they were FANTASTIC!
Next time, however, I am thinking of making a sweeter version because, you know, who doesn’t like sweets?
Also, I’ve learned that I really enjoy working with my hands! I felt like I was back in my childhood playing with playdough. That’s not a bad thing! Sometimes we need to get back to the simple things in life 🙂
