Venezuela Food

Venezuelan cuisine may be described as varied for each region of the country. Some carry the heritage of the country's European ancestry, while others have the taste and effect of the African and Native American nature of the country. Here are brief descriptions of dishes for each region.

Eastern states

The beaches in this area of the country gifted the people with enough ingredients such as fish, seafood, and crustaceans. Plant ingredients such as potatoes, yam, cereals, corn, rice, and pasta are also available. Fresh fruits and vegetables are also main ingredients

Western states

Unlike the eastern states, this side of Venezuela serves food with lots of meat ingredients like goats, and rabbits. The citizens in this state usually serve this meat with tomato sauce, plantains, and cheeses. The greatest influence in this region is the Colombian cuisine.

Central region

The central region's cooking is mainly influenced by the European ancestors of the country. Italian dishes abound. There are salads, pastas, and rice. The main ingredients are poultry, beef, pork and fish.

Llanos

This is the plain area of the country that is close to the Andes. The main ingredients of the foods found in this area of Venezuela are beef, deer, morrocoy, corn, cheese, and milk derivatives.

The dishes

Despite the variety in main ingredients and cooking styles, the dishes in Venezuela are must-try especially to tourists who come to the country. Some of them are arepa (bread made of corn), cachitos (similar to croissants), chicharron (fried pork rinds), and the famous empanada (stuffed bread). Other than yummy main dishes, the country also has a wide selection of snacks. Pastelito (another classification of stuffed bread), and tuqueño (bread dough with white cheese in the middle are two of these delightful snacks which tourists may try upon visiting Venezuela.