A FOOD TRADITION
Pemón Cuisine
Pemón cuisine is associated with Indigenous Pemón communities of southeastern Venezuela, especially the Gran Sabana and surrounding Guiana Shield landscapes, with related practices among neighboring peoples. Bitter and sweet cassava, plantains, maize, freshwater fish, small game, fruits, and cultivated or gathered roots are important. Cassava is processed into safe meal, flour, breads, and fermented beverages through grating, pressing, drying, and cooking; fish and game may be roasted, smoked, or stewed. Representative foods include casabe, tumá-style fish or meat preparations, and parakari, a traditional fermented cassava drink. Local practice varies by community, and the tradition should not be presented as uniform across southeastern Venezuela.
Dishes linked to this cuisine
1–5 of 5
Cachiri
A traditional Pemón fermented cassava drink made for household and community consumption.
Casabe
A thin Venezuelan flatbread made from grated cassava that is pressed and cooked until dry and crisp.
Kumache
A Pemón cassava-yare hot sauce traditionally flavoured with roasted bachaco ants or termites and chilli.
Pemón Fariña
A dry, granular toasted cassava meal used as a durable Pemón staple and accompaniment.
Tumá
A traditional Pemón spicy soup prepared with fish, vegetables and local seasonings, commonly eaten with casabe and kumache.
Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.