Venezuelan cuisine facts for kids

Venezuelan food is a super cool mix of different cultures! It gets its flavors from places like Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, West Africa, and the native people who lived there first. This means you'll find lots of different tastes depending on where you are in Venezuela.

Some of the main foods people eat a lot include corn, rice, plantains (which are like big bananas you cook), yams, beans, and different kinds of meat. You'll also often see potatoes, tomatoes, onions, eggplants, squash, spinach, and zucchini as side dishes. Two special ingredients found in many recipes are Ají dulce (a sweet pepper) and papelón (a type of unrefined sugar). Worcestershire sauce is also used a lot in stews. Venezuela is also famous for its many types of white cheese, often named after the area they come from.

Popular Main Dishes

Venezuelan meals are full of delicious and interesting dishes. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Name	Picture	What it is
Arepa		A round, flat bread made from corn dough. It's usually grilled or fried and then cut open and filled like a sandwich! You can fill it with shredded beef, black beans, Venezuelan cheese, ham, or fish. A famous filling is called Reina Pepiada, which means "curvy queen." It has avocado, chicken, and mayonnaise, and it's named after a Venezuelan beauty queen!
Arepa andina		These are like regular arepas but made with wheat flour. They are very popular in the mountain regions of Venezuela.
Cachapa		A sweet corn pancake, often served with fresh cheese or fried pork. It's a delicious mix of sweet and savory!
Cachitos (de jamón)		These are similar to French croissants but are filled with ham. They make a great breakfast or snack.
Caraotas negras		These are black beans, usually eaten at lunchtime with rice, plantains, and shredded meat. They are a key part of the national dish, pabellón.
Casabe		A thin, flat bread made from cassava root. It's crunchy and often eaten with other foods.
Chicharrón		These are crispy fried pork rinds. People eat them as a snack or as a side dish with meals.
Chupe andino		A creamy soup from the Andes mountains. It's usually made with cheese, shredded chicken, vegetables, and cream.
Ensalada de pollo		This is chicken salad, often made with mayonnaise, green cabbage, and carrots. It's a fresh and tasty dish.
Hallaca		A special Christmas dish! Hallacas have a mix of beef, pork, chicken, capers, raisins, and olives. This mix is wrapped in corn dough, then in plantain leaves, and finally boiled or steamed.
Huevos pericos		Scrambled eggs cooked with diced onions and tomatoes. They are often used as a yummy filling for arepas.
Hervido de gallina		A hearty hen soup with chunks of corn, potatoes, carrots, and local root vegetables like cassava and pumpkin. It's seasoned with onions, garlic, and cilantro.
Mandoca		A deep-fried ring made from cornmeal. It's a delicious treat, especially from the Zulia region.
Mondongo		A soup made from diced tripe (a type of meat) and slow-cooked vegetables.
Pabellón criollo		This is the national dish of Venezuela! It's a colorful plate with white rice, shredded beef stew, tajadas (fried ripe plantains), and stewed black beans.
Pastel de pollo		This is like a chicken pot pie, a comforting dish with chicken and vegetables under a pastry crust.
Polvorosa de pollo		A version of chicken pot pie from Caracas, made with a crumbly, buttery pastry.
Pastelitos		Fried puff pastries, very famous in the Venezuelan Andes. They are made with wheat flour dough and filled with cheese or chicken. People often eat them for breakfast.
Pasticho		This dish is similar to the Greek pastitsio and the Italian lasagna, with layers of pasta, meat, and sauce.
Polenta		Also known as "funche" in some parts of Venezuela, this is a dish made from cornmeal.

Tasty Snacks

Venezuelans love their snacks! Here are some popular ones you might find:

Name	Picture	What it is
Tajadas		These are slices of ripe plantains that are fried until they are sweet and golden. They are a common side dish.
Tequeños		These are deep-fried sticks of breaded cheese. They are super popular at parties and as a quick snack!
Tostones and patacones		Tostones are flattened, fried green plantain slices. They are often eaten with fried fish, especially at the beach. Zulian patacón is a type of sandwich that uses tostones instead of bread!
Empanadas		These are fried pastries often sold by street vendors. The dough is made from corn flour, similar to arepas, and they can be filled with cheese, black beans, or shredded beef.
Pastelitos		These are similar to empanadas but are made with wheat flour. They are very common in the Venezuelan Andes region.

Refreshing Drinks

A tequeño is prepared with bread dough with queso blanco duro (hard white cheese) in the middle.

Venezuela has many delicious drinks to try:

Delicious Breads

Bread is an important part of Venezuelan meals:

• Casabe – A flatbread made from cassava root.
• Pan dulce – This means "sweet bread" in Spanish.
• Pan de jamón – A special bread usually filled with ham, olives, and raisins. It's a favorite during the Christmas season.

Sweet Desserts

Venezuelan dessert called quesillo

If you have a sweet tooth, you'll love Venezuelan desserts:

• Alfajor – A cookie made from corn flour, often filled with arequipe (a caramel-like spread) and grated coconut.
• Bienmesabe – A sweet, creamy dessert, often made with coconut and sponge cake.
• Brazo gitano – This is the Spanish version of a Swiss roll, a rolled cake with a creamy filling.
• Conserva de guayaba – A sweet treat made from guava fruit.
• Pudín de chocolate – Classic chocolate pudding.
• Dulce de lechosa – Green papaya cooked slowly in a sweet syrup flavored with cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla.
• Mousse de chocolate – Chocolate mousse, a light and airy chocolate dessert.
• Quesillo – A local-style caramel flan, similar to crème caramel, with a smooth, sweet custard.
• Polvorosas – Buttery cookies flavored with cinnamon.

Venezuelan Cheese

A cachapa with queso de mano

Queso blanco (white cheese) is super popular in Venezuela! It's made all over the country, and each region has its own special flavors and textures. The name of the cheese often tells you where it comes from.

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See also

In Spanish: Gastronomía de Venezuela para niños