Authentic Arepas

Last Sunday, my host mom woke me up at 10am. I was not very happy, that is until she told me she was going to teach me how to make arepas. Ever since a trip to Venezuela when I was 15, my mother and I have been obsessed with the cornmeal cakes. Lucky for me my host mom is originally from Venezuela and has grown up making arepas. She could do it in her sleep, with her hands tied behind her back, while singing the nation anthem of Switzerland.

Now, with arepa making there is no exact science, I do not know how many this recipe will make because it depends on what size bowl you use to start with. We started with one cereal bowl full of the cornmeal.


1. Fill cereal sized bowl with P.A.N. pre-cooked white maize cornmeal
--dump into larger mixing bowl
2. Fill same cereal bowl with water
--dump into mixing bowl with cornmeal
Fill cereal bowl half-way with water
--dump into mixing bowl
3. Add salt, more than a pinch but less than a teaspoon
4. Add milk if you desire, however only add about a tablespoon or less
5. Mix aggressively WITH YOUR HANDS, it is very important not to use a spoon, you need to feel the texture as you mix. Mix until smooth and you can no longer feel the grains, the batter should stick to your hands.
6. Add more milk if needed
7. Heat a pan on the stove until hot
8. Add about a half inch of frying oil to the pan
9. Coat your own hands in oil and mold the batter into balls (any size you like, but i would say slightly larger than a tablespoon size) once in balls, flatten between the palms of your hands (shown in picture above).
10. Cook until gold brown on one side, flip to other side, cook on high for about 4 minutes and then set the burner to low for the remaining cook time of the second side.

                                                                               To eat, cut the arepa with a knife through the center as if it were a bagel. Smoother the inside with butter, add jam, ham, cheese, whatever you want! Enjoy!