Real Life and Times in the Dominican Republic
Platanitosâ - These potato chip like snack foods are made from the plantain/ platano. They are sliced very thin and fried and salted. they come in small single snack bags that can be purchased in almost any Colmado or store in Dominican Republic. They are nice and crunchy and make a great little snack. There are a few different flavors (garlic, light salt, barbecue) to chose from but for me the plain ones are always the best. Made by Frito Lays.
Potato chips -Of course there are the basic potato chips. Frito Lay among one of the many brands recognizable world wide are sold here. There are barbeque chipa and one of my favorite for lovers of Salt and Vinegar chips ate the limon flavored chips. They have the same zip as the vinegar chip, which is not easy to find, maybe in the tourist areas or in the bigger markets.
Tortilla chips - Here they do sell tortilla chips but they are not everywhere. Doritoes are sold in snack size bags and are found in most Colmados.
Chicharrones de Cerdo- These are in general fried pork skins. These are not like the ones I was accustomed to in USA. These are less greasy and are very crispy. There are different flavors, of which, again, the lime / limon ones are my favorites.
Nuts - Nuts, mainly peanut/maní and cashew are found in many places. Driving down the roads in the city there are many vendors at the stop signs with small plastic bags of nuts. These are self-packaged and are a nice little snack to be had. They are also sold in the Colmados in these hand made packages. Planters are in the country but can be quite expensive. The national brand is not very expensive. *NOTE peanut butter is not seen much, maybe in the larger markets, but it is expensive.
Crackers/ Galletas - Galletas are translated to be cookies but they are what I would call crackers. These are a common snack food to see people eating in the Colmados. You can purchase a single serving pack of a few different types of crackers in the small stores.
Chupa Chups - These lollies have been around since 1958. Created in Spain and now the best selling lollipop in the world. The name comes from the word chupar which means to suck or lick. The logo was designed by Salvador Dali. It is little fruit flavored, creamy lollipop in more than 40 flavors and shapes. Always good to refresh a dry mouth. Also good to have on hand if you need to give a treat to a young one. These lollipops are loved by all. http://www.chupachupsgroup.com
As with all countries Dominican Republic has a plethora of snacks and munchies available. Their snacks are not what I was accustomed to but I fast grew to love their snacks or as they are called there, picadera. These snacks, when eaten with friends, usually consist of a plate of sliced or cut up ham or salami. Added to this plate is some cheese (queso) and olives (aceituna). Many times they will squeeze a limon (lenom) on the cheese and meat which gives this plate an extra great flavor. Then there are some crackers thrown into the mix along with a few toothpicks and you have your typical, hanging out with friends, snack plate.
There are many other snacks all depending on how simple, fast, or formal you would like to get. The packaged snack foods like potato chips, Doritoesâ, Cheetosâ and the like are everywhere. There are a few tropical and Dominican variations to these bagged snacks. Platanitos (a potato chip looking snack made from platanos), Chicharrons (fried pork skins in a bag), Their version of Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips have limon on them instead (they are one of my favorites).
You can buy many nuts, fruit and other natural type snacks in the street as well as in the stores.
Here we have a sampling (I wish there was a way to give you tasty samples instead of just the words to read ...jeeje/ LOL!). So maybe next time you are in Dominican Republic or places where Dominican products are sold you will know what the things are and give them a try.
Did you know that you can purchase some of the typical foods on line at Amazon? I have listed a few of my favorites that they carry. So if you cannot find what you want in your local grocery store they now offer these foods on line. Now I know you are excited ¡Que Bueno!
MoFongo Snaxâ - These tasty picadera are a mixture of Platanitos, Chicharron, and Yuquitas with a little ajo/ garlic added for flavor. Frito Lay calls it an irresistible combination! These are the same ingredients that are used to make the real Mofongo but fried up and put in a handy little bag. The bag also says "to enjoy while playing dominoes, watching a ball game, or in the Colmadón". The best thing about this snack is that it has 3 different flavors in the bag. You can try and see which you enjoy the most.
+enlarge picture/image MoFongo bag
