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The Melting Pot
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1990-2009 - Venezuelan and Colombian immigrants
A basic arepa recipe made with masarepa, water, salt, and a hot skillet, ready to eat plain, buttered, cheesed, or split for fillings.
Difficulty
Easy
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
20 minutes
Total time
30 minutes
Servings
6 arepas
Region
Venezuelan and Colombian American kitchens
Era introduced
1990-2009
Introduced by
Venezuelan and Colombian immigrants
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Arepas are much older than their recent American restaurant popularity. They come from northern South American maize traditions and are central to both Venezuelan and Colombian cooking, with different regional styles, fillings, and serving customs. In U.S. suburbs and cities, bags of masarepa made the dish approachable for home cooks, while restaurants and food trucks introduced many Americans to crisp griddled arepas served plain, buttered, with cheese, or split and filled.
Drafted with preparation guidance from Bon Appetit (https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/article/how-to-make-arepas), background from Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/topic/arepa), and masarepa context from The Spruce Eats (https://www.thespruceeats.com/masarepa-precooked-corn-flour-for-making-arepas-3029290).
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