Go on a Culinary Adventure in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to go on a culinary adventure in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• talk about food from Spanish-speaking countries

• know a food’s origin

• use the present perfect to talk about foods you have or haven’t tried

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Adjective

Spanish	English
peruano	Peruvian

examples
¿Has comido lomo saltado peruano? Have you tried Peruvian lomo saltado?

Culinary Terms

Spanish	English	Explanation
el alfajor	alfajor	Alfajores allegedly originated in Iberia in Moorish times. Modern alfajores in South America are crumbly, dulce-de-leche-filled cookies.
el anticucho	anticucho	Anticuchos are shish kebabs frequently made from marinated or spiced beef heart.
la baleada	baleada	Baleadas are a popular Honduran dish. The most basic iteration is a folded flour tortilla filled with refried beans, cheese, and cream, but you can basically add whatever you want!
las carimañolas	carimañolas	Carimañolas are typical in both Colombia and Panama (they share a border!) They’re meat-stuffed yuca fritters.
el casabe	casabe	Casabe is flatbread made from yuca root, and it’s common in many parts of the Caribbean.
los casquitos de guayaba	guava shells in syrup	Popular in Cuba, Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, casquitos de guayaba are peeled and hollowed-out guava shells in heavy syrup.
el chapulín	grasshopper	Chapulines, or toasted grasshoppers, are a protein-rich food that is traditional in parts of Mexico.
los churros	churros	Possibly originating on the Iberian Peninsula, churros—fried dough cylinders dusted with sugar—are now found throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
el cuy	guinea pig	Cuy is roast guinea pig, and it’s popular in Peru.
el dulce de leche	dulce de leche	Dulce de leche is slow-simmered milk and sugar that has turned into a rich caramel spread. It can be eaten on its own, but it’s most commonly found accompanying other sweet foods, like as a filling for alfajores.
la enchilada	enchilada	You may have heard of these before! Enchiladas are stuffed corn tortillas that have been covered in sauce. Common throughout Mexico, there are many different types, which vary depending on both their stuffing and the sauce covering them.
la espumilla	meringue	Espumilla translates as foam. Popular in Ecuador, it’s meringue cream that has been flavored with fruit. It’s eaten like ice cream.
el esquite	esquite	Esquite is a popular Mexican street food, and it’s most easily defined as corn in a cup. No, not the whole ear of corn, but rather boiled corn kernels in a cup, often with toppings such as lime juice, mayo, or cheese.
el gazpacho	gazpacho	Originating in Andalusia, in the south of Spain, gazpacho is a cold soup made from bread, tomato, cucumber, onion, olive oil, and garlic. It’s perfect for hot days!
el lomo saltado	lomo saltado	Lomo saltado is stir-fried beef from Peru. Now one of Peru’s most popular dishes, it was allegedly created by Chinese immigrants in Peru.
el mango enchilado	mango with chili	Mango enchilado is spiced dehydrated mango.
el mazapán	marzipan	Mazapán, or marzipan, is popular throughout the world. It’s made from ground almond, sugar, and honey. In Latin America and Spain, it’s traditionally eaten at Christmas time.
el mofongo	mofongo	Mofongo, popular in Puerto Rico, is—at its most basic—mashed fried, boiled, or roasted plantains. You can also add other ingredients, such as pork cracklings. The dish has African origins.
el mole poblano	mole poblano	As its name indicates, mole poblano comes from Puebla, in Mexico. It’s a sauce made from chocolate, poblano chiles, and cinnamon, among many other ingredients. It’s frequently used to top turkey or chicken.
las natillas	custard	Natillas are popular throughout parts of the Spanish-speaking world. In Spain, it’s custard that’s often sprinkled with cinnamon, and sometimes topped with a María cookie. The recipe and preparation vary throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
el pambazo	pambazo	A pambazo is a sandwich from Mexico made with pambazo bread that is traditionally filled with potatoes and chorizo, but there are many different variations.
el pastel de tres leches	tres leches cake	Pastel de tres leches, or tres leches cake, is sponge cake that has been soaked in—as its name indicates—three different kinds of milk: milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk.
la piragua	snow cone	Piraguas are Puerto Rican snow cones. You can read more about piraguas in this article.
la pupusa	pupusa	Pupusas hail from El Salvador. They’re griddle cakes that can be stuffed with one or more ingredients, like cheese. They’re often accompanied by tomato salsa and a local sort of cole slaw. They’re so popular in El Salvador that there’s a national pupusa day! (It’s November 13 if you want to celebrate.)
el tequeño	tequeño	Tequeños are from Venezuela. They’re dough wrapped around a cheese stick and fried. They look (and taste!) like a cross between a breadstick and a mozzarella stick.
el tostón	fried plantain	Found throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, tostones are fried unripe plantain patties.
la yuca	yuca	Yuca, or cassava, is an edible starchy tuber that can be eaten many different ways.

Translating Food

You may have noticed in these lessons and in the table above that we used the same word in English and in Spanish to talk about certain foods. Why’d we do that? Think about some of your favorite foods, and we’re sure non-English terms will come up. Fan of bruschetta? How about pho? Did you have breakfast tacos today, or make a wrap with a flour tortilla? These are just a few examples of food-related loanwords from other languages.

examples
¿Has probado los alfajores alguna vez? Have you ever tried alfajores?
He comido anticucho en Argentina. I've eaten anticucho in Argentina.
He probado las baleadas en Honduras. I've tried baleadas in Honduras.
He disfrutado del pastel de tres leches. I've enjoyed tres leches cake.
Han probado mango enchilado en México. They've tried mango with chili in Mexico.
He probado los casquitos de guayaba. I've tried guava shells in syrup.

Countries

Spanish	English
Honduras	Honduras
Venezuela	Venezuela

The Present Perfect

In these lessons, you reviewed the present perfect. The Spanish present perfect el pretérito perfecto compuestoo el antepresenteis used to talk about things that started in the past and which continue or repeat in the present. It's also used to talk about things that have happened in the recent past.

How Do You Form the Present Perfect in Spanish?

Present Perfect Indicative Formula

present indicative of haber + past participle of another verb

As a reminder, this is how we conjugate haber in the present indicative:

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation
yo	he
tú	has
vos	has
él, ella	ha
usted	ha
nosotros, nosotras	hemos
vosotros, vosotras	habéis
ellos, ellas	han
ustedes	han

Past Participles

Regular Past Participles

An essential part of using the present perfect correctly is knowing how to form the past participle.

To form the past participle of a regular verb, you drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and add -ado to the stem of -ar verbs and -ido to the stem of -er and -ir verbs. This is equivalent to adding -ed to many verbs in English.

Let’s take a look at some examples of the present perfect that we saw in these lessons:

examples
¿Qué comidas hispanas has probado? What Hispanic foods have you tried?
He comido pambazos en México. I've eaten pambazos in Mexico.
He probado los casquitos de guayaba. I've tried guava shells in syrup.

examples

¿Qué comidas hispanas has probado?

What Hispanic foods have you tried?

He comido pambazos en México.

I've eaten pambazos in Mexico.

He probado los casquitos de guayaba.

I've tried guava shells in syrup.

Present Perfect Trigger Words

Here are some key words that trigger the use of the present perfect.

Key Word in Spanish	Translation
alguna vez	ever
nunca	never
siempre	always

Let’s take a look at some examples of these trigger words in context:

examples
Siempre me han gustado los tostones. I've always liked fried plantains.
¿Han comido alguna vez pupusas? Have you ever eaten pupusas?
Nunca nos ha encantado el gazpacho. We've never loved gazpacho.

examples

Siempre me han gustado los tostones.

I've always liked fried plantains.

¿Han comido alguna vez pupusas?

Have you ever eaten pupusas?

Nunca nos ha encantado el gazpacho.

We've never loved gazpacho.

When to Use the Present Perfect

Talking about Life Experiences

We use the present perfect to talk about life experiences and things you have done, without saying specifically when you did them. It is also used to talk about how many times you've done something.

examples
He comido dulce de leche. I've eaten dulce de leche.
Han saboreado el mole poblano. They've tasted mole poblano.

examples

He comido dulce de leche.

I've eaten dulce de leche.

Han saboreado el mole poblano.

They've tasted mole poblano.

Recent Completed Actions

We also use the present perfect to talk about recent finished actions that have a present result.

Unfinished Situations

Finally, we use the present perfect to talk about situations that started in the past and continue until now.

examples
Siempre me han encantado las enchiladas. I've always loved enchiladas.
Nunca he probado la yuca frita. I've never tried fried yuca.

examples

Siempre me han encantado las enchiladas.

I've always loved enchiladas.

Nunca he probado la yuca frita.

I've never tried fried yuca.

Latin America, Spain, and the Present Perfect

For talking about actions that happened in the recent past, the present perfect is more widely used in Spain than in Latin America. It's more common to hear the preterite, or simple past, used in Latin America to talk about something that just happened. To talk about something that was just done, it's also very common to use acabar deor the simple past, especially in Latin America.