Venezuelan · bread

Cachapa de Jojoto

Cachapa de Jojoto reads sweetness 5.7, richness 3.5 and salinity 2.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Venezuelan bread, about 44 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 2.8 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 5.7 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 0.1 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 0.3 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 3.6 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 0.0 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 5.7 · Richness 3.5 · Salinity 2.6 · Umami 1.8

What's in it (8)

• jojoto — 2400 g
• masarepa — 60 g
• sugar — 25 g
• salt — 7 g
• unsalted butter — 60 g
• regular milk — 100 g
• queso de mano — 400 g
• egg — 50 g

Time & effort: about 44 min (34 min active) · effort: medium

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

How it's cooked (9 steps)

1. Cachapas are sold at roadside stands on the highways out of Caracas towards Maracay, folded over a slab of queso de mano so soft it slumps. They are a pancake of nothing but corn, and everything depends on the corn: jojoto is young field corn, starchy and only faintly sweet, and supermarket sweetcorn is a different vegetable that will give you a sugary crêpe.
2. Cut the kernels from the cobs and then scrape each cob hard with the back of a knife to collect the milky liquid, which is where the body of the batter comes from.
3. Blend the corn with the egg and milk to a coarse batter — leave some texture, a quarter of the kernels still recognisable. A completely smooth purée makes a rubbery cachapa.
4. Stir in the sugar, salt and melted butter. The batter should fall from the ladle in a thick ribbon. Young corn varies a great deal, so if it is thin, work in the masarepa a spoonful at a time and rest it 10 minutes before judging.
5. Heat a budare or heavy griddle over medium heat and butter it. Ladle on 12 to 14 cm rounds about 8 mm thick.
6. Cook 4 to 5 minutes on the first side, until the surface has lost its shine, small holes have opened across it and the underside is deep gold with dark freckles. Turn once and give it 3 minutes more. Higher heat scorches the sugars before the middle cooks.
7. Lay slices of queso de mano over half of each hot cachapa, fold it over like an omelette, and press gently. Queso de mano is a soft, mild, hand-stretched fresh cheese sold in Venezuelan and some Latin groceries; a very fresh mozzarella is the nearest thing.
8. Slide onto a plate, put a knob of butter on top to melt, and eat at once with your hands.
9. Substitutions: fresh mozzarella if you cannot find it can stand in for the queso de mano.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Arepa de Choclo con Quesito — Colombian
• Beignets — Southern
• Tarte aux Pralines Roses — French · Lyon
• Baghrir (Thousand-Hole Pancakes) — Moroccan
• Spoonbread — Southern

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.