Snacks I Tried In Guatemala 2024 Trip

Happy June! I hope everyone’s June is going well so far. Last month I was away on vacation visiting some family in Guatemala. I got to try many new things and experience stuff I've never experienced before. I will be writing a post about my experiences in a future blog post. Today's theme is about food and the different kinds of snacks I was able to try. I managed to get photos of most of the foods I ate. Thanks to my grandma for reminding me to take pictures of my food, sometimes when you are hungry you want to dig in and not think about anything. I could probably name every single thing I ate but this post will be focused on the traditional snacks I tried in Guatemala. They are in no particular order.

Dobladas: 

In Guatemala I visited an indoor market in El Parque Central in the capital city of Guatemala (yes, same name as the country), where you can find just about anything: hot foods, produce, meats, cheese, flower arrangements, and artisan goods. Even if you don't buy anything, just walking around for the experience is very fun. We came across this food stand that was crowded with people. You order what you want and then eat the food at the counter. The original owner of the shop was very well known, the shop has been around for many years and the locals love their foods. Unfortunately the original owner passed of old age and her family members took over the booth. It was my first time there and I kinda wasn't hungry at the time. Quite skeptical, I preferred not to order and watched as my grandma ordered a doblada. She offered me a bite and to my surprise it was good. They served it with a little lettuce on top and some salsa on the side. It’s like a crispy large taco filled with meat and potatoes. It kind of  reminded me of Nicaraguan enchiladas. They are different from your Mexican enchiladas which are soft tortillas filled with meat smothered in sauce. The Nicaraguan enchiladas are tortillas that are dipped in batter then fried and most of the time it is filled with meat and rice. Of course you can make and fill your crispy fried tacos however you like. On my next visit I decided to order myself a whole doblada.

Rellenitos: 

Rellenitos are these little ripe plantain pancakes filled with beans. They were calling me from the counter, and I asked my grandma what they were. She told me what kind of desert it was. I was interested in trying and I ordered myself a serving. Before trying it I was kind of put off because I don't personally think beans should be deserts but I tried it anyway and it was extremely delicious. I turned to my grandma and asked her, “are you sure this is beans? I think it's chocolate.” She laughed and assured me it was beans. I couldn't believe it was beans because the taste was very sweet. Come to find out later as I write this, that they do add chocolate and cinnamon to the bean filling so I wasn't that far off thinking it was chocolate. Have you ever tried bean brownies? The chocolate masks the taste of the beans; it just ends up being a very dense brownie. Anyways the rellenitos were sprinkled with sugar on top. If you love sweets this is the one to try. The columbians stuff their plantains with cheese then fry them into little balls or patties called aborrajados. Ripe plantains have a variety of uses and you could also experiment with the fillings.

Yuca Patty: 

For the life of me I cannot remember the name of this next snack. It is cooked yuca shaped into a patty and fried with syrup on top. My grandma told me they were similar to the buñuelos we eat in Nicaragua. They in fact did not taste like buñuelos but something very different. I was a little disappointed in the flavor but I can't figure out as to why it didn't taste right. I think what makes Nicaraguan buñuelos so good is the cheese that is added to the yuca mix and the miel that is poured over top of them. They are soft and almost fluffy. I've looked everywhere online for the name of the yuca treat and I could not find it.

Traditional Candies: 

Everywhere you go they seem to be selling candies in markets,  plazas and even at street corners. These candies are unfamiliar to me and it is hard to make out what they are. A family member of mine brought me a bag of traditional candies to try. They are fruits that have somehow crystallized into soft candy. They are mostly very sweet treats but the one I got to try was crystalized chilacayote. I was told it was one of the less sweet candies. Chilacayote is a type of squash that is native to Latin America and the Caribbean. Another type of candy I tried was mazapan, it came in the form of a dense bar. This was another candy I enjoyed and is also not that sweet.

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MuffinxMilk

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