Almojábana is a type of bread made with cuajada cheese and corn flour.[1][2]

Almojábana
TypeBread
Region or stateLatin America
Associated cuisineChile, Argentina, Colombia, Puerto Rico
Main ingredientsCorn flour, butter or margarine, eggs, cheese, sugar, leavening agent

About edit

An almojábana is a small, bun-shaped bread with a tart flavor. It has some variations between Hispanic America and Spain.

The etymology stems from Andalusi Arabic and that in turn from classical Arabic المُجَبَّنة "almuǧábbana" (made of cheese) the measure II passive participle of the root ج-ب-ن, the same root as جُبْن "jubn" (Cheese).[3]

Versions edit

Colombia edit

 
A traditional breakfast in Bogotá and the surrounding region consisting of hot chocolate, cheese, and two kinds of bread: almojábana (on left) and pan de queso (on right).

Almojábanas are made with masarepa or pre-cooked white cornmeal, cottage cheese, butter, baking powder, salt, eggs, and milk.

Puerto Rico edit

In Puerto Rico almojábanas are small fried round balls eaten in the northwest part of the island. They are made with rice flour, wheat flour, sugar, milk, butter, baking powder, salt, eggs, and fresh white cheese called queso de país. A sweeter version is served on Christmas using coconut milk and vanilla. Sweet almojábana are rolled into cinnamon-sugar and served with a guava sauce. The Almojában Festival is celebrated in Lares, Puerto Rico in October.[4]

Spain edit

Spanish almojábanas do not use cheese; they are made with wheat flour, olive oil, salt, eggs, and honey or sugar or both. They are typical from southern Aragón, southern Alicante, Murcia and La Gomera island.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Porup, Jens (2009). Colombia (5th ed.). Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet. ISBN 9781741048278.
  2. ^ "Colombian Cheese Bread Almojabanas". Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  3. ^ "almojábana | Definición | Diccionario de la lengua española | RAE - ASALE". Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Lares Municipality". enciclopediapr.org. Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades (FPH). Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.