Janka, Robo, and their 4 children traveled a part of the world and visited various interesting countries. They experienced their latest adventure in Central America, from where they brought not only unforgettable experiences but also interesting insights that they shared with us:
The Hajduk family is a travel family and you have visited many different countries. Where did your last adventure take place?
Our last adventure took place in Central America. We started in the Dominican Republic. Then we flew to the mainland and traveled all the way from Panama to Mexico.
How do the inhabitants of these countries eat? What is typical for them, what must not be missing on their table?
The typical dish is gallo pinto. It is rice mixed with black beans and they eat it already for breakfast, for example with scrambled eggs, avocado, and fried bananas. Gallo pinto is also eaten for lunch with meat or fish. Fried banana - maduro, is also very typical for this region. It is a special type of banana intended for frying or grilling. I liked it very much because it had a caramel-like taste. Mexico has a different cuisine, but that is probably known to everyone - burrito, tacos, and quesadilla.
And what about milk, are dairy products part of their diet?
I think dairy products are a common part of it. They even served their local cheese with gallo pinto for breakfast. I cannot guess what kind of cheese it was, but its consistency reminded me of sheep cheese, although it was made from cow's milk. Condensed milk typical for Central America. They put it in coffee, but I also found caramel condensed milk among sweets. I must say it is one of the best local sweets. Because it is so hot in this area, it is difficult to maintain the quality of chocolate (*this is just my opinion why local chocolate is not so good), which is paradoxical because these Central American countries are large producers of cocoa beans. Also, evaporated unsweetened milk is very available. And for Christmas, their traditional cake is Tres Leches cake, a milk cake, because the 3 main ingredients are 3 types of milk: whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated unsweetened milk.
In Central Europe, we cannot imagine morning coffee without milk, how is it in Central America? Are milk and dairy products commonly available?
Cafe con leche, i.e., coffee with milk, is also very common. You get it with every breakfast. In big cities, fresh milk availability is no problem, but it is worse in smaller towns and remote areas. There, only long-life milk is sold, which is understandable because it is very hot all year round and dairy products can spoil faster.
If you had to compare the taste of milk and dairy products here and on the other side of the world, is there a difference?
The biggest difference is probably in cheeses. They do not have nearly as wide a range of different types of cheeses as we do in Slovakia.
Traveling with 4 small children is almost an Olympic discipline. Do you adapt their diet while traveling, or do they try local cuisine?
Fortunately, our children have no problem with food and new tastes. They also see that we like to try new flavors. If any of the children were more conservative, rice with chicken meat solved it, which is commonly available. Milk and yogurts are also a sure thing.
Did you miss the "taste of home" in America, which we only have in Slovakia? Is there something commonly available that we do not appreciate enough?
What I missed the most? Quality hams and salamis. Finding prosciutto there is not common. It can be found in large supermarkets but is at least 5 times more expensive than here.
Finally, one SABI question: How did you "meet" SABI products? Which is your favorite?
I remember SABI yogurts since I have memories of childhood. When I was younger, yogurts were the clear favorite, later I really liked strawberry Cottage Cheese, and now my favorite is Volovec cheese.
Follow the IG profile @janka.hajduk_posvete and get inspired by the traveling family.
