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| Headquarters | Venezuela |
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| Website | https://es.allofpan.com |
The Harina P.A.N. (abbreviation for National Food Product {English}), [1] is the first brand of boiled maize flour in Venezuela. [2] The brand itself became a synecdoche, as it became a noun commonly used to indicate any similar maize flour.
Harina P.A.N. is used to make the maize flour dough also known as "masa de arepa" or "Masarepa", which is used to make Venezuelan dishes such as arepas, hallacas, empanadas, bollos Pelons, and several Colombian dishes. Harina PAN is commonly found in varieties made from white and yellow corn. It contains no additives or gluten and is considered suitable for those with restricted diets.
The traditional preparation of arepa flour is very labor-intensive, requiring soaking, dehusking, and drying maize before pounding it in a large mortar.
Precooked arepa flour was invented in the 1950s by Dr. Luis Caballero Mejías, a Venezuelan engineer who used the profits from his patent to finance a Technical Schools system. [3]
In 1954, the Venezuelan beer and malted drinks company Empresas Polar developed an industrial production method, launching the brand in 1960. [4] Its spokesmen said that had been the idea of Czech master brewer Carlos Roubicek, one of the first employees of the Polar Brewery, and Juan Lorenzo Mendoza Quintero, son of the founder Lorenzo Mendoza Fleury, taking advantage of the Remavenca machinery and the corn flakes manufactured in that plant to improve the beer flavor. In fact, Empresas Polar does not accredit Luis Caballero Mejías, for the development of the process that served for the production of maize flour.
The brand name Harina P.A.N. was proposed by Empresas Polar's then President and Chairman of the Board Carlos Eduardo Stolk. He selected the acronym "P.A.N.," in Spanish "Producto Alimentacion Nacional," or in English, "National Food Product","to represent a food product for mass consumption for all Venezuelans."
The original slogan was "Se Acaba la piladera", which means "No more pounding". The marketing has remained essentially unchanged since then. The precooked flour was later mass-produced and sold in larger quantities.[ citation needed ]
For decades, Harina PAN has been an essential ingredient for Venezuelans, and also in Colombian cooking, with websites dedicated to locating the nearest distributor in several countries in the world. Pre-made arepa flour is specially prepared for making arepas and other maize dough-based dishes, such as Venezuelan Hallaca, Bollo, and Empanada. The most popular brand names of corn flour are Harina PAN in Venezuela, and Areparina in Colombia. Pre-made arepa flour is usually made from white corn, but there are yellow corn varieties available.
To Venezuelans, Harina PAN forms a part of their national identity by making up a large portion of their diet.
Arepas are one of the most popular dishes made with Harina P.A.N. They are made by grilling or frying a dough made from the flour. Arepas can be filled with a variety of ingredients, such as cheese, meat, or beans. They are a popular breakfast food, but they can also be eaten at any time of day.
Cachapas are another popular dish made with Harina P.A.N. They are made by griddling a thin pancake made from the flour. Cachapas are typically filled with cheese and cooked corn kernels. They are often served with a side of meat or beans.
Hallacas are a traditional Venezuelan dish that is made during the Christmas season. They are made from a corn dough that is filled with a variety of ingredients, such as meat, beans, vegetables, and spices. Hallacas are wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. They are a labor-intensive dish, but they are considered a symbol of Venezuelan culture.
In addition to its culinary significance, Harina P.A.N. has also become a symbol of Venezuelan identity. It is a reminder of the country's agricultural heritage and its rich indigenous culture. Harina P.A.N. has also been used as a symbol of resistance during times of political and economic turmoil. During the recent economic crisis in Venezuela, Harina P.A.N. was one of the few foods that was still relatively affordable. As a result, it became a symbol of hope and resilience for many Venezuelans.
Hominy is a food produced from dried maize (corn) kernels that have been treated with an alkali, in a process called nixtamalization. "Lye hominy" is a type of hominy made with lye.
In North America, a corn tortilla or just tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flatbread, made from hominy, that is the whole kernels of maize treated with alkali to improve their nutrition in a process called nixtamalization. A simple dough made of ground, dried hominy, salt and water is then formed into flat discs and cooked on a very hot surface, generally an iron griddle called a comal.
Cornmeal is a meal ground from dried corn (maize). It is a common staple food and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but it is not as fine as wheat flour can be. In Mexico and Louisiana, very finely ground cornmeal is referred to as corn flour. When fine cornmeal is made from maize that has been soaked in an alkaline solution, e.g., limewater, it is called masa harina, which is used for making arepas, tamales, and tortillas. Boiled cornmeal is called polenta in Italy and is also a traditional dish and bread substitute in Romania.
Latin American cuisine is the typical foods, beverages, and cooking styles common to many of the countries and cultures in Latin America. Latin America is a highly racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse with varying cuisines. Some items typical of Latin American cuisine include maize-based dishes arepas, empanadas, pupusas, tacos, tamales, tortillas and various salsas and other condiments. Sofrito, a culinary term that originally referred to a specific combination of sautéed or braised aromatics, exists in Latin American cuisine. It refers to a sauce of tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, garlic, onions and herbs. Rice, corn, pasta, bread, plantain, potato, yucca, and beans are also staples in Latin American cuisine.
Masa or masa de maíz is a maize dough that comes from ground nixtamalized corn. It is used for making corn tortillas, gorditas, tamales, pupusas, and many other Latin American dishes. It is dried and powdered into a flour form called masa harina. Masa is reconstituted from masa harina by mixing with water before use in cooking.
Arepa is a type of flatbread made of ground maize dough stuffed with a filling, eaten in northern parts of South America since pre-Columbian times, and notable primarily in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela, but also present in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Central America.
A pupusa is a thick griddle cake or flatbread from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala made with cornmeal or rice flour, similar to the Colombian and Venezuelan arepa. In El Salvador, it has been declared the national dish and has a specific day to celebrate it. It is usually stuffed with one or more ingredients, which may include cheese, chicharrón, squash, or refried beans. It is typically accompanied by curtido and tomato salsa, and is traditionally eaten by hand.
Hallaca is a traditional Venezuelan dish. Its origin is indigenous, but raisins, capers, olives, and sometimes bits of bacon were added in the 16th Century and after by settlers from the Iberian peninsula. Hallaca consists of corn dough stuffed with a stew of beef, pork, or chicken and other ingredients such as raisins, capers, and olives, fresh onion rings, red and green bell pepper slices. There are vegetarian hallacas, made with black beans or tofu. Hallacas are folded in plantain leaves, tied with strings, and boiled. The dish is traditionally served during the Christmas season and has several regional variants. It has been described as a national dish of Venezuela. Some speculate it originated from the Orinoquia. Characteristic of the hallaca is the delicate corn dough made with consommé or broth, and lard colored with annatto. Hallacas are also commonly eaten in eastern Cuba, Trinidad where it is called pastelle, and parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Aruba, and Curaçao.
Cachapa is a traditional dish made from maize flour from Venezuela. Like arepas, they are popular at roadside stands. They can be made like pancakes of fresh corn dough, or wrapped in dry corn leaves and boiled. The most common varieties are made with fresh ground corn mixed into a thick batter and cooked on a budare, like pancakes; the cachapa is slightly thicker and lumpier because of the pieces from corn kernels.
A gordita in Mexican cuisine is a dish made with masa and stuffed with cheese, meat, or other fillings. It is similar to the Colombian and Venezuelan arepa. There are two main variations of this dish, one of which is typically fried in a deep wok-shaped comal, consumed mostly in central and southern Mexico, and another one baked on a regular comal. The most common and representative variation of this dish is the "gordita de chicharrón", filled with chicharron which is widely consumed throughout Mexico. Gorditas are often eaten as a lunch dish and accompanied by several types of sauce.
Colombian cuisine is a culinary tradition of the six main regions within Colombia. Colombian cuisine varies regionally and is influenced by Indigenous Colombian, Spanish, and African cuisines, with a slight Arab influence in some regions.
Pamonha is a traditional Brazilian food. It is a boiled paste made from sweet corn whisked in coconut milk, typically served wrapped in corn husks.
Pasteles, also pastelles in the English-speaking Caribbean, are a traditional dish in several Latin American and Caribbean countries. In Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Caribbean coast of Colombia, the dish looks like a tamal. In Hawaii, they are called pateles in a phonetic rendering of the Puerto Rican pronunciation of pasteles, as discussed below.
Dominican cuisine is made up of Spanish, indigenous Taíno, Middle Eastern, and African influences. The most recent influences in Dominican cuisine are from the British West Indies and China.
Panamanian cuisine is a mix of Spanish, Indigenous, and African techniques, dishes, and ingredients, reflecting its diverse population. Since Panama is a land bridge between two continents, it has a large variety of tropical fruits, vegetables and herbs that are used in native cooking.
A flour tortilla or wheat tortilla is a type of soft, thin flatbread made from finely ground wheat flour. Made with flour- and water-based dough, it is pressed and cooked, similar to corn tortillas. The simplest recipes use only flour, water, fat, and salt, but commercially-made flour tortillas generally contain chemical leavening agents such as baking powder, and other ingredients.
A great variety of cassava-based dishes are consumed in the regions where cassava is cultivated.
Maize flour or corn flour is a flour ground from dried maize (corn). It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies. Coarsely ground corn flour (meal) is known as cornmeal. When maize flour is made from maize that has been soaked in an alkaline solution, e.g., limewater, it is called masa harina, which is used for making arepas, tamales and tortillas.
