Manizales Cuisine: Paisa Heartiness at 2,000 Metres
Manizales's food is the paisa tradition of the Eje Cafetero — hearty, generous, and based on beans, corn, and pork; the city's university population has added innovative restaurants while the traditional Caldas food culture remains strong
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Changua Soup
Changua – a milk and egg soup traditional in the highlands of Caldas and Cundinamarca – is Manizales' most distinctive breakfast; the soup's combination of warm milk, poached eggs, cilantro and crusty bread (calado) is a warming and sustaining start to a cool Andean morning
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Sancocho Caldense
Sancocho caldense—a slow-cooked stew of chicken or beef with corn, yuca, potatoes, and plantain—is Manizales' most important social meal; sancocho is served at family gatherings, after church on Sundays and at the Feria food stalls
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Manizales cheese
The dairy farms of the Caldas mountains produce excellent regional cheeses - queso campesino, quesito and cuajada are used throughout Caldas cooking; quesito (soft, slightly sour farmer's cheese) with arepa de chócolo is Manizales' perfect snack
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Lechona Caldense
Lechona — a whole pig stuffed with rice, peas and spices, slow-roasted for hours — is the coffee region's most impressive feast preparation; The Manizales version, served at festivals and large family events, is one of the best in Colombia
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Mazamorra Chiquita
Mazamorra chiquita - a thick corn porridge with beans - is the traditional Caldas dinner; the slow-cooked combination of dried corn and beans, eaten with piloncillo (unrefined sugar) dissolved in milk, is the Andean interior's most sustainable evening meal
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Coffee and bread culture
Manizales' coffee and bread culture (pandebono, almojábanas and buñuelos) – the afternoon merienda of coffee with hot pastries – is perhaps the most important daily ritual; the cafes that serve freshly baked bread with the local coffee are the city's social hubs