Asturian-American Migration Forum

Hello everybody,

The usual dinner in Asturias during the 40’s-50’s was a dish called “papes” (also, “farrapes”, “fariñes”, “pulientes”). It consisted in cooking cornflour (yellow) with water and a bit of salt, stirring the mixture continuously until it is cooked and thickned.
When still hot, “papes” are taken with cold milk (also sugar, honey or butter can be added with the milk). The warm-cool contrast is agreeable.

Once the “papes” are cold they became too stiff to take with cold milk. In this case, the papes are heated again adding milk, little by little, until a mixture similar to a light cream is obtained. This is called “rabón”.
“Papes” were considered as a meal for poor people, but it relieved a lot of famine. Nowadays, “papes” are not popular and, in fact, young people does not know what “papes” are.
These are some verses related with papes, fariñes..

Domingo de Ramos, (Palm Sunday,)
fariñes comiamos, (papes we ate,)
con miel y mantega, (with honey and butter,)
que nos rellambiamos (we licked our lips)

Fariñes, madre, fariñes (Papes, mom, papes)
ye comida de cuchar, (is meal to take with spoon)
por muches que como, madre, (much as I eat, mom)
non me soy a fartucar. (I am unable to satiate)

I enjoy papes but.......it is a fattening dish!
Marta.

Thanks for the interesting post. I do have one question, however, when you say "corn flour" how fine of a grind is it that is used to make papes? In the EEUU we can find corn flour, which has a powder-like consistency similar to wheat flour, and corn meal, which has a consistency more like coarse sand.

Many in the US, even those not of Asturian ancestry, cook cornmeal and eat it as a hot cereal with milk, butter, sugar, etc. If allowed to cool in a loaf pan, it can be sliced and fried in butter, then served with maple syrup, etc. Italian polenta, which is essentially the same thing, is available in our grocery stores in log shaped plastic packages, ready to be sliced and fried. Coarsely ground hominy (white corn treated with lye-water), called grits, is popular in the south, and with some of us in the north, too.

Hello Bob,
the corn flour that is used to make papes is that with a consistency more like coarse sand. Yes, papes must be the same as polenta. In fact, one of the asturian names for it is "pulientes", that is clearly a derivative of polenta. However, you can not buy papes in the grocery as in US you can buy italian polenta.
Marta

So do you have to grind your own papes? If so, it's no wonder it's no longer common to eat papes.

¿Pues, hay que moler su propio papes? Si es así, no me estraña que ya no es corriente comer papes.

Hello Art,
Bob said that polenta is availble ready to use. We can not find papes ready to use, we have to cook them. However, we don´t need to grind corn because the corn meal is available in some groceries.
Marta.

Ha. I guess you can tell I didn't understand what Bob was saying. I've never eaten polenta, so I didn't realize that you can buy it pre-moistened. I wonder if it's any good that way?

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Ha. Supongo que puedes ver que no entendía lo que escribía Bob. Nunca he comido polenta, así que no realicé que se puede comprarlo pre-humedecido. ¿Me pregunto si sabe bien así?

I like to cook the cornmeal, then let it cool in a well-buttered loaf pan. Once cold, it can be sliced and fried, and will remain good for several days. Some people like to line the loaf pan with buttered saran wrap to make it easier to remove the corn meal mush once it has solidified.

I do like it served still warm with cream and honey or maple syrup or brown sugar, as Marta has suggested. Is maple syrup available in Asturias? I don't remember seeing it in grocery stores there.