Pan and Panederias

         So they that the food of Ecuador is “Cuyo”, guinea pig, but I’m pretty sure it’s pan (bread).  Pan is a staple in every household, business, and school.  It is a disaster in my household when we run out of pan, and someone immediately runs off to buy more.  My mom usually buys fresh pan everyday or every other day.  We eat it for breakfast, for dinner, for snacks, and during coffee and tea time…we eat it with cheese, jelly, chocolate, caramel.  There is always a huge, heaping bowl of pan on the table.  For those of you that know me well, I can’t resist food when it is ready and in front of me.  The table is a regular hangout area and study area for me.  Little by little I tear of piece after piece of pan, and before I know it, I make my way through 3-4 rolls.  Once I bought a jar of peanut butter, it was all over.  In the best way possible.  I have no control over my pan consumption, and I enjoy it thoroughly.  Pan probably makes up about half my diet at this point, and a wonderful half it is.

         Panaderias are everywhere.  If you walk 2 minutes in any direction from where you are, you will hit a Panaderia, and walk two minutes more, and you will hit another Panaderia.  The smell of fresh baked pan is always in the air, and it is a wonderful thing.  Panaderias provide an array of endless varieties of pans and pastries.  There are always a number of plain white varieties that are simple and delicious, along with many stuffed with jelly, cheese, chocolate, etc.  There is a much smaller selection of 1 or 2 pan integrals, but they aren’t as good as the white pans here.  And this is coming from a person always chooses the nuttiest, graniest breads possible.  I have transitioned to love fluffy, white pan for now.

         However, a few days ago, my friends and I discovered a gem panaderia near our school, that has quickly become our favorite.  The baker uses a variety of grains (wheat, rye, oats, etc.) that no other panaderias here use.  The pan there is like no other pan here.  It is grainy, crunchy, and full of odd flavors.  So far I have tried banana cinnamon, pumpkin, carrot, fig, yucca, “seedy”, dark sourdough …They are all incredible, and I frequent this panaderia most days before or after school.  But…the plain, white, fluffy, fresh-baked pan still has my heart.