Colombian · bread

Arepa de Choclo con Quesito

Arepa de Choclo con Quesito reads sweetness 4.6, richness 3.8 and salinity 2.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Colombian bread, about 42 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 2.7 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 4.6 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 0.2 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 0.2 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 3.9 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 0.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 4.6 · Richness 3.8 · Salinity 2.6 · Umami 1.5

What's in it (9)

• fresh sweet field corn — 1800 g
• masarepa — 60 g
• unsalted butter — 40 g
• sugar — 50 g
• salt — 5 g
• regular milk — 100 g
• queso fresco — 250 g
• butter — 60 g
• egg — 50 g

Time & effort: about 42 min (32 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 74.8 kcal, 3.7 g protein, 6.1 g fat, 4.5 g carbs

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. This is the sweet Antioquian arepa, sold from carts along the road to Santa Fe de Antioquia with a slab of quesito melting on top. It is a different object from the Venezuelan arepa entirely — that one is a pocket to be split and stuffed; this one is a soft griddled cake, sweeter than savoury, and the cheese sits on it rather than inside it.
2. Note the flour, because this is where recipes go wrong: masarepa is precooked, dried and reground maize, and it is not masa harina, which is nixtamalised with lime and made for tortillas and tamales. Substituting one for the other gives you the wrong flavour and the wrong texture. Masarepa is sold under the names harina P.A.N., Areparina or harina precocida in any Latin grocer.
3. Cut the kernels off the cobs and scrape the cobs with the back of a knife to catch the milk. Blend the corn with the milk and egg to a coarse batter with some texture still in it — not a smooth purée, or the arepa will be pasty.
4. Stir in the sugar, salt and melted butter. The batter should be thick enough to mound on a spoon. Fresh corn varies enormously in moisture, so if yours is loose, work in the masarepa a spoonful at a time and let it stand 10 minutes to hydrate before judging again.
5. Heat a budare, comal or heavy griddle over medium heat and butter it lightly. Spoon on 5 mm thick rounds about 10 cm across.
6. Cook 5 to 6 minutes a side. They are ready to turn when the edges look dry and matte and the underside is mottled deep gold with darker freckles; too high a heat browns them before the centre sets and they will taste of raw starch.
7. Lay slices of quesito over each hot arepa, cover the griddle with a lid or a bowl for 90 seconds until the cheese slumps but has not run, and serve at once with a knob of salted butter on top.
8. Substitutions: a mild fresh cheese such as queso fresco can stand in for the quesito antioqueño.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Tarte aux Pralines Roses — French · Lyon
• Cachapa de Jojoto — Venezuelan
• Spoonbread — Southern
• Croissant — French
• Hard Dough Bread — Jamaican

Keep reading: what sweetness, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.