Today arepas are an essential part of the Colombian and Venezuelan daily diet. But very few people make arepas at home, choosing to buy them at the store or have them delivered directly to their homes.


Campesina shelling corn.
Tuta, Boyaca -Colombia
 
 
 
It was Christopher Columbus who presented to the Europeans the first golden grains of corn. In his hasty search for the Indies he found a continent from which he did not bring silks nor spices, but instead he brought a grain that together with rice and wheat is basis for the triad of today's world food consumption. Totally unknown in the Old World, corn, (scientific name zea mays) had been established in The Americas for centuries. There is evidence that one type of wild corn grew in Mexico since 80,000 BC. No one knows how it evolved to become today's corn, but evidence shows that Mexican Indians used to cultivate it and consumed it at least since 4,000 BC. When the Spaniards arrived to the New World corn was already established as a crop in the whole American continent. Today in North America corn is mostly consumed as cereal in the form of corn flakes, popcorn, muffins, and polenta. Derivatives, such as corn oil and syrups are widely used. The list of corn uses in Latin America is enormously rich since corn is the basis for much of the regional cuisine. It is used to make bread, tortillas, tamales, empanadas, buñuelos and arepas, as well as to prepare drinks such as atole, champurriada, guarapo, mazato, champus and chicha. It is also used in soups, ajiaco, guisos, masamorra and polenta. It is consumed on the cob, broiled and baked. Arepas can be found in all regions of Colombia and Venezuela.
 

Colombian Arepas originated in the mountainous region of Antioquia. In the beginning of this century the masa for the arepas was prepared using a "pilón". "Pilar" was an arduous activity, which consisted of hitting the corn inside a hallowed tree trunk or "pilón" to remove its heart and skin. It was then boiled until soft and ground on a large concave stone. After a soft dough was prepared, condiments were added. The dough was shaped by hand forming arepas to look like round cakes and then baked over hot charcoals. The advent of the thrasher or "trillador" liberated our grandmothers from using the "pilón". However, the daily laborious routine of cooking and grinding the corn, forming and baking the arepas continued.