As Latin American neighborhoods grow in the US, the melding of various ethnic and cultural recipes can be seen in how people are eating.
While researching this arepas recipe, I spoke with a Colombian friend of mine about the food's place in his country.
He said that arepas are not common throughout the nation, but mostly in the area around the city of Medellin in the Northwest.
Recently my friend was in South Boston in a Latin market and found arepa flour prominently displayed. Asking the clerk why they carried arepa flour, an obscure ingredient in his mind, the clerk replied that it had become increasingly popular not only amongst the Colombian population, but amongst many of the various Latin American populations.
Arepas are a corn based dish that are easier and faster to make than tortillas or tomales. The quality of the arepa flour also does not degrade if not super-fresh as it does for good flour for tortillas.
As I wrestle with the idea of what Latin American and Caribbean cuisine is, a convenient category placed on a vast area of diverse cultural differences, I am finding more and more a convergence and sharing of recipes, ingredients, and techniques within Latin communities in inner cities.
Not necessarily the fusion cuisine of the 80's coming from expensive restaurants serving bizarre for bizarre's sake, but an organic blending of international recipes based on availability and affordability.
I'm going to be on the lookout for more examples of this culinary melding leading to a US Latin cuisine which already includes nachos, margaritas, and chimichangas.
