Venezuela

A round, thick cake of pre-cooked ground white or yellow corn (masarepa), griddled or grilled until a firm golden crust forms around a soft, moist interior, eaten plain, split and filled, or topped.

A Venezuelan feast-day beef roast — traditionally eye-round — slowly braised in a sauce built on caramelized papelón (raw cane sugar) and red wine until the meat is mahogany-black and the sauce is a glossy, bittersweet reduction.

A creamy New World coconut-milk custard sweetened with sugar and thickened with egg yolks, slow-cooked and chilled — a Latin American dessert whose name means "it tastes good to me."

A thick, golden griddle cake made from freshly ground sweet corn (maíz tierno) batter, cooked on a budare and folded over a filling of queso de mano or queso telita — a soft, hand-pulled Venezuelan cheese.

A Venezuelan staple of slow-cooked black beans built on a sofrito of onion, garlic, ají dulce, and tomato, finished with papelón (raw cane sugar) and cumin to produce a thick, creamy, sweet-savory pot.

Beef flank steak slow-braised until completely tender, then hand-pulled into long fibrous strands and returned to a Venezuelan sofrito of tomato, onion, ají dulce, and garlic until the meat absorbs the sauce.

A cold, sweet, milky rice drink blended smooth with milk or condensed milk, cinnamon, and sugar, served over ice as a street refreshment.

Golfeado is a Venezuelan sweet yeast‑leavened wheat bread rolled into a spiral, topped with papelón raw sugar, anise, and white cheese, traditionally served for breakfast.

A Venezuelan feast dumpling of annatto-tinted cornmeal masa encasing a slow-cooked beef-pork-chicken guiso garnished with olives, capers, and raisins, folded in plantain leaves and boiled.

A Venezuelan beef-rib broth simmered with chunks of starchy root vegetables and corn on the cob, eaten as a hearty Sunday family soup.

A ring-shaped fried fritter from Venezuela's Zulia region, made from cornmeal dough sweetened with papelón and often plantain.

Venezuela's national assembled plate of carne mechada (sofrito-braised shredded beef), caraotas negras (sweet-savory black beans), arroz blanco (plain white rice), and tajadas (fried ripe plantain slices), arranged side by side on one plate.

A Venezuelan rolled enriched bread spiralled around a filling of ham, raisins, and green olives (often with bacon), baked into a glossy log and sliced into pinwheels; a Christmas staple.

A Venezuelan everyday beverage of unrefined whole-cane sugar dissolved in water and sharpened with fresh lime juice, served cold or warm.

A long crusty roll stuffed with grilled beef (or chicken), peppers, melted cheese and a battery of sauces, a Venezuelan night-street sandwich.

A Venezuelan llanero dish of dried, salted meat or fish that is shredded fine and sautéed with onion, tomato, and ají dulce.

A Venezuelan feast pie of spiced shredded chicken in a savory-sweet sauce enclosed in an exceptionally crumbly, sandy shortcrust pastry.

A street food consisting of a soft corn tortilla wrapped around fresh string cheese, pickled red onion, and a drizzle of crema, traditionally sold in a plastic bag.

A communal, slow-simmered multi-meat stew built on a citrusy broth with starchy root vegetables, traditionally reserved for celebrations and feasts across Latin America and the Caribbean.

A Venezuelan finger-shaped snack of a thin wheat-dough strip spiral-wrapped around a stick of salty white cheese and deep-fried until golden and crisp.