Latin American Ingredients: Cassava or Yuca in Colombia

Have you ever tried to peel a tree?

It’s not easy. You can just imagine trying to get that knife in there, sticking it in at the right angle to be able to peel off that thick layer of bark. Stab. Twist. Snap.

As silly as that seems, that’s how I feel when I try to peel yuca, often called cassava in English. Although it’s one of my favorite root vegetables, yuca comes with a thick bark covering that I do hate. And peeling off that hairy outer layer is about as appealing as trying to peel bark off a tree.

However, underneath you’ll find the creamy white skin of one of the best underground pleasures in Latin America.

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Food Markets in Colombia: Paloquemao

Food markets in Colombia do an outstanding job of representing the country. They're not so much about the fruits and vegetables; food markets also collect culture, the telltale bits of life that reveal who people are, what they value, and what their daily routine is like. Discover Paloquemao market with us.

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Ask a Colombian Coffee Expert

When people find out I’m a coffee educator – I teach coffee at a university in Bogota, I wrote a book about specialty coffee in Colombia, and every week I teach visitors about why coffee in Colombia is so important to the country – they invariably ask me a question about coffee. It seems like everyone is filled with coffee questions they’ve never received an answer to, and they love to be face to face with an expert to get their itch for knowledge fulfilled.

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