{"id":17704,"date":"2021-11-17T23:10:49","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T23:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/familiakitchen.com\/?p=17704"},"modified":"2025-08-15T16:56:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T16:56:30","slug":"we-made-arepas-de-queso-in-honor-of-encanto-and-colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familiakitchen.com\/es\/we-made-arepas-de-queso-in-honor-of-encanto-and-colombia\/","title":{"rendered":"Hicimos Arepas de Queso, \u00a1en honor al \u201cEncanto\u201d y a Colombia!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Arepas de queso play a starring role in Encanto<\/a><\/em>, which shines a light on Colombia the way Coco<\/a><\/em> did for Mexico. This Disney pel\u00edcula, with music by one of our favorite Boricuas Lin-Manuel Miranda<\/a>, tells the story of the familia Madrigal. They live in a small Colombian village, and everyone in their family has magical powers, except for \u201dnormal\u201d Maribel. Our heroine must discover what makes her special: what is her magical skill<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s certainly not her mother’s gift, Maribel sighs. Her mam\u00e1 can heal everyone in their village with homemade arepas<\/a>, the daily bread of Colombia made from precooked cornmeal<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magical arepas that heal? We love that! (And so does the whole world<\/a>.) So much so that we asked two of our favorite Colombian cooks, Janeth Palacio Barrera<\/a>, and her daughter Luna, 7\u2014who were the first in line the day Encanto<\/em> opened in theaters \u2014 to show us how they make arepas, Colombian-style, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janeth and Luna were up for the cooking challenge and went into their Chicago kitchen to make a batch of traditional cheese arepas. They used the same recipe and techniques Janeth learned from her mother when she was growing up in Medell\u00edn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tradici\u00f3n continues, and today Luna is the one learning to make the family arepa recipe. \u201dI like to make arepas because I love cooking,\u201d says Luna. \u201dI love to eat arepas because they taste so good. I love arepas made with a lot of cheese.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Arepas
These arepas con queso are so good, says Luna. She loves their cheesy-delicioso, chewy texture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eating Arepas in the U.S. and Back Home in Colombia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arepas are a daily comida back home in Colombia, says Janeth. This corn meal staple is sold just about everywhere in their country, off-the-griddle hot. (Not sure how arepas are different<\/a> than pupusas or empanadas? Read this<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dWe eat a lot of arepas in Colombia. The arepa accompanies all the meals,\u201d Janeth says. But in their home in the States? Different story. Yes, there\u2019s a Colombian neighborhood in Chicago where she can find fresh arepas for sale, but it’s an hour from where Janeth’s family lives. So Janeth buys precooked corn meal from her local Latino market to make this traditional treat several times a month. Thankfully, \u201dthey are very easy to make,\u201d says Janeth. \u201dLuna, my husband and my son just love them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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