RouteManizales

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

Google Maps Apple Maps

1
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
2
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
3
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
4
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
5
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
6
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