Origins
The arepa is a pre-Columbian dish from the area that is now Venezuela and Colombia. Instruments used to make flour for the arepas, and the clay slabs on which they were cooked were often found at archaeological sites in the area.Throughout its history, the arepa has stayed mainly unchanged from the arepas that pre-columbian native peoples would have consumed, making the arepa one of the few pre-contact traditions that have remained popular in the years since colonization.
Production
- The flour is mixed with water and salt, and occasionally oil.After being kneaded and formed, the patties are fried, grilled, or baked. This production of maize is unusual for not using the nixtamalization (alkali cooking process) to remove the pericarp of the kernels
