TABLE OF CONTENTS
Best Colombian Vegetable Types
Papa criolla is a potato variety that's native to South America and it's especially popular in Colombia. These tubers are small in size, similar to a golf ball. The flesh is yellow to dark yellow, an indication of high lutein and zeaxanthin content.
The Colombian papas criollas grow wild in the highlands of the Andes. The skin is thin and tender. These potatoes are often used in traditional dishes such as ajiaco soup, but they are also roasted, fries, boiled, mashed, or even skewered and grilled.
Chuño is an unusual variety of Andean naturally freeze-dried potatoes. The name comes from a Quechua word ch'uñu, which can be literally translated as freeze-dried potatoes. The potatoes have a very long shelf life and are often used in dishes such as stews and soups.
Before consumption, the potatoes need to be soaked in water in order to rehydrate. There are two basic varieties of these potatoes – black and white. White chuños are soaked in cold water, then sun-dried, while the black variety is left to freeze overnight, and is then crushed in the morning in order to extract the liquid, but at night, it gets frozen again, so the process is repeated until the potatoes are totally dehydrated.
Papa pastusa is a potato variety that's native to Colombia. These tubers have yellow or dark yellow skin without spots. The flesh is yellow in color, and the texture is soft and starchy. The potatoes are usually oval in shape, and when cooked, it easily becomes very tender, which is why it's used in a traditional soup called ajiaco.
These versatile potatoes are also often used to make french fries and mashed potatoes. They're grown in all the potato-growing regions in Colombia.
Papa sabanera is a potato variety that's native to Colombia. These tubers have purple skin and they're a bit harder and bigger than other species. Sabaneras are most suitable for french fries because they absorb less fat and become more crunchy.
These potatoes are used in a traditional soup called ajiaco, but the sabaneras are also served as an accompaniment to asado grilled meat dishes, when they are usually steamed and seasoned with salt. Papa sabaneras are cultivated in rainy and cold climates, and in Colombia, they're predominantly grown in Cundinimarca, Boyacá, Tolima, Santander, Huila, and Magdalena.
Cuchinito or exploding cucumber is a tropical fruit that’s often enjoyed as a vegetable. The plant is native to warm and humid regions from Mexico to Ecuador. The fruits are light green and covered with long and soft spines. When ripe, the fruit bursts open and expels small seeds.
Once fully grown, but still unripe, the fruits are often enjoyed raw in salads or pickled. They can also be steamed, boiled, or fried as a vegetable, along with the young shoots and leaves. The cuchinito plant is often cultivated in gardens throughout Central America and in the Andean region of South America.
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