Take for example, the cemita. The Mexican cemita is a spicy meat filled sandwich. But in El Salvador, the cemita is a type of cake/bread - it's one of those hybrid situations that makes it a little too sweet for bread, but too sturdy for cake.
Notice the two toned nature of the cake, demonstrating that there are two different batters or doughs in use. Most commonly, a swirl of pineapple preserves is incorporated, although I have read of strawberry or other fruit used. Goes really well with a milky Earl Grey.
Where to get one? This slab was inexpensive at Panaderia Rio Lempa on Gessner.
The kind of stuff they call "pan dulce" in Mexico. It's an acquired taste.
ReplyDeleteWords for foods notoriously vary locally. When I learned Spanish in Mexico, no dictionary was of any use for food words. "Naranjo" meant 'sour orange', while "china" meant 'sweet orange', like "orange" does in English. And so on.
I remember a joke about a truck going from Mexico to Guatemala that declared its contents at the border as "refacciones para coches". The border guards had a good laugh, because while that means 'spare parts for cars' in Mexico, it means 'snacks for pigs' in Guatemala.