Gofio is a food substance made up of unsifted roasted cereal flour, usually wheat or corn. Gofio originates from the Canary Islands, was created by the first inhabitants, the Guanches, and it is now used to prepare different food and drink recipes.

It has crossed borders to the other side of the Atlantic and is now consumed in most Latin American countries. In Puerto Rico it is made in the same way as in the Canary Islands, but it is considered a typical sweet. In Nicaragua it is a not very solid, rhombus-shaped biscuit, made from roasted, ground corn, sweetened with raw sugar and sometimes includes ginger. In Uruguay it is usually sprinkled on hot milk, eaten off a spoon, or as powder mixed with sugar.

In Chile it is currently only made of wheat and is called toasted flour. It has various culinary uses. In Argentina it is roasted wheat flour, consumed in a similar way. In the province of San Juan, it is called ‘cocho’ and in Mendoza and Patagonia, ‘ñaco’, due to the Chilean influence.

In the Dominican Republic, it is customary to say “gofio fiao” while consuming gofio, while preventing the cereal from scattering. In Puerto Rico it is eaten in wheat or burnt and ground corn powder form, almost always with sugar and wrapped in small paper cones. It is considered a typical sweet.

In Venezuela it is prepared with milk, sweetened with sugar or piloncillo (papier-mâché) and seasoned with cinnamon powder, either served hot (as a hot cornflour drink) or cold. In Colombia it is known as ‘cofio’ and is consumed with sugar as a sweet, in small paper cones. It is usually made of corn or roasted rice and then ground.

R: Valentina Romero