Tortillas, Pepian and Hot Chocolate: Guatemalan Food With Kids

Guatemala is a corn country. Tortillas are made by hand at every meal, patted between palms and cooked on a comal, and the sound of that patting is the sound of every village in the morning.

The breakfast is the meal. Eggs, black beans, fried plantains, cheese, cream, tortillas and coffee, at any hotel or comedor. It is the fuel for the volcano and the boat, and the kids eat the plantains first and the beans last.

Pepian is the national dish, a thick stew of chicken or beef in a sauce of roasted seeds, tomatoes and chilis, served with rice and tortillas. It is mild and rich and the closest thing to a mole. Kak ik is the turkey soup of the Coban region. Jocon is chicken in a green tomatillo sauce and the one for children who like things simple.

The street and the market

Tostadas with guacamole from a stall in the park. Chuchitos, the small tamales in corn husk, and the big tamales in banana leaf on a Saturday. Rellenitos, mashed plantain filled with sweet black beans and fried, which every child eats. Elote loco, corn on the cob with mayonnaise and cheese.

Chocolate is the history. The Maya drank it as a bitter spiced drink, and in Antigua the chocolate shops still make it that way and the sweet way. Hot chocolate made from a tablet of ground cacao and cinnamon, melted into milk, is the afternoon drink. The workshop where the kids make their own bar is the rainy day.

Coffee from the farms on the volcano slopes, some of the best in the world, for the adults. Fresh fruit juices, horchata, and the licuados, fruit blended with milk, at every comedor. Bottled water, hot cooked food, and the fruit you peel yourself.

Planning Guatemala with kids? Start with the full Guatemala family travel guide, or send me the ages and the dates and I will come back with what is really available.