Ajiaco () is a
soup
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling soli ...
common to
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
,
and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
.
[Clark, Melissa (October 28, 2011)]
"From Colombia, the Ultimate One-Pot Meal"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Accessed April 2016. Scholars have debated the origin of the dish. The dish is especially popular in the Colombian capital,
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
, being called Ajiaco santafereño, where it is typically made with chicken, three varieties of
potatoes
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...
, and the herb ''
Galinsoga parviflora'', known locally as ''guasca'' or ''guascas''. In Cuba, ajiaco is prepared as a stew, while in Peru the dish is prepared with a number of regionally specific variations.
History
The exact origin of this dish has been debated by scholars.
In his book ''Lexicografia Antillana'', former president of Cuba
Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso stated that the word "ajiaco" derived from "aji", the native
Taíno
The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...
word for "
hot pepper."
Cuban ethnologist
Fernando Ortiz stated that ajiaco was a meal typical of the Taíno, and was an appropriate metaphor for Cuba being a
melting pot
The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throu ...
.
In the Cuban city of Camagüey, the San Juan festival begins with the making and serving of ajiaco.
''La Calle'' magazine of Cuba stated that the inhabitants of the village of Santa María de Puerto del Príncipe began the tradition of making ajiaco using their own cooking ingredients, donations from passersby, surplus from farmers, and surplus slave provisions.
Ajiaco is believed to have become popular in Cuba during the 16th century, particularly among rural Cubans, although it was occasionally enjoyed by the
upper class
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
.
Preparation
Colombia
In the Colombian capital of
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
, ajiaco is a popular dish typically made with chicken, three varieties of
potatoes
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...
, and the ''
Galinsoga parviflora'' herb, commonly referred to in Colombia as ''guasca'' or ''guascas'', and in the U.S., where it is considered a weed, as gallant soldier.
It can be garnished with
capers
''Capparis spinosa'', the caper bush, also called Flinders rose, is a perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers.
The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), used as a seasoning ...
,
avocado
The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...
slices, pieces of
corn on the cob
Corn on the cob is a culinary term for a cooked ear of sweet corn (maize) eaten directly off the cob. The ear is picked while the endosperm is in the "milk stage" so that the kernels are still tender. Ears of corn are steamed, boiled, or ...
, or
cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
.
Cuba
In Cuba, ajiaco is a hearty stew made from beef, pork, chicken, vegetables, and a variety of starchy roots and
tubers
Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing s ...
classified as ''viandas''.
[Garth, Hanna. 2013 Food and Identity in the Caribbean. Bloomsbury Press.]
Peru
In Peru, ajiaco is a quite different dish of potatoes cooked with garlic, a mix of dried yellow and red chilies (aji mirasol and
aji panca),
hierba buena, and
huacatay, generally accompanied by rice and stewed chicken or rabbit.
See also
*
List of soups
This is a list of notable soups. Soups have been made since Ancient history, ancient times.
Some soups are served with large chunks of meat or vegetables left in the liquid, while others are served as a broth. A broth is a flavored liquid usua ...
*
List of potato dishes
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop. It is the world's fourth-largest food crop, following rice, wheat and corn. The annual diet of an average global citizen in the first decade of the 21st century included about of potato. The potato was fir ...
*
References
External links
*
{{Potato dishes
Colombian soups
Cuban soups
Latin American cuisine
Peruvian soups
Potato dishes
Stews