Esencias Panameñas

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Esencias Panameñas

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We serve authentic Panamanian cuisine, catering and online pre-orders with heritage recipes and premium ingredients. Order today.

Authentic Panamanian cuisine by Chef Yadira 🇵🇦
Catering for local events & nationwide shipping of frozen & specialty foods
📦 Ships safely to all 50 states | Local pickup available
⬇️ Order online or book your event today

10/24/2026

CELEBRATING WORLD TRIPE DAY - CELEBRANDO EL DIA MUNDIAL DEL MONDONGO!

Some Recipes Are More Than Food. They're Memories. 🇵🇦❤️

Did you know that one of Panama's traditional comfort foods is mondongo, a hearty stew made with beef tripe?

For me, mondongo brings back memories of watching my mother prepare it in our kitchen. I can still picture her scrubbing the tripe with freshly cut limes, using a special scrubbing board reserved just for that task. She worked patiently, cleaning and rinsing until everything met her standards. Then came the slicing, each strip perfectly cut with the precision only years of experience could teach.

As a child, I never imagined that one day I would appreciate the patience and care behind that ritual. Today, I realize that she was teaching me more than how to prepare food. She was teaching me to respect the ingredients, take pride in my work, and never cut corners.

Traditionally served with white rice, sweet plantains, and fresh salad, mondongo is more than a meal to me. It's a taste of home, a mother's love, and a piece of our Panamanian culinary heritage worth preserving.

This World Tripe Day, I'm celebrating the traditional dishes and family memories that inspire the cookbook I'm developing for Esencias Panameñas.

What dish takes you back to your mother's kitchen? I'd love to hear your story. ❤️

10/23/2026

🇵🇦❤️ PLANTINTÁ: A SWEET TASTE OF PANAMA'S AFRO-ANTILLEAN HERITAGE!

Have you ever tasted a dessert that tells a story of migration, tradition, and the blending of cultures?

Meet Plantintá (Plantain Tart), a beloved traditional dessert from Colón, Panama, with roots in Jamaica and a special place in Panama's Afro-Antillean culinary heritage. 🇯🇲🇵🇦

Despite its name, Plantintá isn't the typical American-style tart! It's a pastry turnover filled with sweet, mashed, overripe plantains. And that beautiful, vibrant red filling? Hibiscus flowers, also known as sorrel, can provide a natural alternative for achieving that signature color.

Every bite carries a little piece of history -- a reminder of the people who brought their culinary traditions to Panama and passed them down through generations. ❤️

Now, you can bring a taste of Panama into your own home!

🍌 Craving the real thing? Order your Plantintá from Esencias Panameñas!

📦 Local to us? Ask about pickup or delivery. Live elsewhere? We ship via FedEx to all 50 states, so you can enjoy a taste of Panama wherever you are in the USA.

👩🏽‍🍳 Prefer to make it yourself? Get your copy of Panama on a Plate, my cookbook, and discover the flavors and culinary traditions of Panama in your own kitchen.

✨ Ready to enjoy or ready to make -- either way, a little taste of Panama is waiting for you!

🛍️ Visit https://esenciaspanamenas.com/ to order your Plantintá or get your cookbook today!

10/21/2026

🇵🇦🍰 A TASTE OF PANAMA: RON ABUELO RUM CAKE!

If you love a moist, flavorful cake with a touch of warmth and sweetness, let me introduce you to Dulce de Ron -- Panama's beloved rum cake!

Made with sponge cake designed to absorb the rich flavors of rum, this dessert is a delicious treat with a sweet, spiced character. Traditionally, Panamanian rum cake is made with Ron Abuelo, a rum produced in Panama that gives this dessert a special connection to its homeland. 🇵🇦🥃

Whether you're celebrating a special occasion or simply craving something delicious, this is a dessert worth discovering!

❤️ Want to try it? Order from Esencias Panameñas at https://esenciaspanamenas.com/. Enjoy local pickup or delivery, or have your order shipped via FedEx to any of the 50 states in the USA.

👩🏽‍🍳 Love making traditional recipes at home? My cookbook, Panama on a Plate, features this Ron Abuelo Rum Cake recipe so you can bring a taste of Panama into your own kitchen!

✨ Taste Panama. Celebrate its traditions. Share something delicious.

🛍️ Visit https://esenciaspanamenas.com/ to order or get your cookbook!

10/18/2026

🎉 HOLIDAY & END-OF-YEAR CATERING NOW BOOKING! 🇵🇦

The holiday season is approaching! Now is the perfect time to start planning the food for your holiday parties, corporate gatherings, family celebrations, and end-of-year events.

Make your celebration stand out with the distinctive flavors of authentic Panamanian cuisine from Esencias Panameñas!

Whether you're hosting a gathering with family and friends or organizing a company celebration, let us help you make your event deliciously memorable.

✨ Start planning your holiday menu today!

📍 Serving the DMV area.

🌐 Explore our catering services and submit an inquiry at: https://esenciaspanamenas.com

📅 Planning a holiday event? Don't wait until the last minute to start organizing your catering!

10/15/2026

Culantro, Not Cilantro! The Flavor Behind Panamanian Cooking

Did you know that one of the key herbs in Panamanian cuisine is culantro -- not cilantro?

Although their names sound alike, these are two different herbs. Culantro has a more robust flavor and is one of the ingredients that gives traditional Panamanian dishes their distinctive aroma and taste.

🌿 So, how do we use it?

In Panama, culantro is the star ingredient in recao' verde, a green cooking base used to build flavor in beloved dishes such as arroz con pollo and tamales. It's also used in beans, soups, and stews.

Freshly chopped or blended for later use, culantro is more than an herb. It's part of the flavor foundation of our culinary heritage.

And that's the inspiration behind our name, Esencias Panameñas—the distinctive aromas and flavors that make Panamanian cooking so special.

Did you know the difference between culantro and cilantro? Tell us in the comments! 💚

10/14/2026

Make Your Next Gathering a Little More Flavorful!
Planning a party, family celebration, or special event? Let Esencias Panameñas bring a taste of Panama to your table!

Our Albondigas Agri-Dulce combine savory meatballs with a delicious sweet-and-sour flavor, making them a distinctive addition to your appetizer and hors d'oeuvres selection.

Whether you're hosting an intimate get-together or planning a catered event, give your guests something delicious to discover.

Planning an event? Explore our menu and contact us to discuss your order or catering needs.

🌐 https://esenciaspanamenas.com

10/04/2026

Exploring the Indigenous Gastronomy of Panama

My doctoral dissertation in Food Science focused on Panamanian gastronomy, with a particular focus on the food traditions of Panama's Indigenous peoples—whose cultures and culinary traditions long predate Panama as a nation.

As part of my research, I had the privilege of spending time with four of Panama's seven Indigenous peoples, learning about their foods, cooking methods, ingredients, and traditions firsthand.

I was fortunate to have some recipes shared with me, although I quickly learned that not everything is simply a “recipe.” Some knowledge is deeply connected to a community's heritage and is shared only when trust has been established. I respected that.

One of the dishes I learned about and continue to enjoy making is Moe, a traditional pumpkin soup of the Guna people of Guna Yala. 🎃

Made with pumpkin and coconut milk and traditionally served with smoked fish, Moe is a beautiful example of how simple, fresh ingredients can create deeply satisfying food.

For me, studying Indigenous gastronomy isn't just about documenting what people eat. It's about understanding the history, knowledge, traditions and people behind the food.

That is the story I continue to share as a chef, educator, speaker and culinary storyteller.

Because preserving a cuisine means preserving the stories and knowledge that made it possible. ❤️

10/03/2026

I don’t just cook Panamanian food. I learned it from the people who knew it best. 🇵🇦❤️

My connection to Panamanian cuisine began long before I became a chef, speaker, educator, or author.

I learned traditional cooking not only through formal culinary training, but also from the Panamanian women who carried these recipes, techniques, and traditions in their hands and passed them down through generations.

Those lessons taught me something I carry with me today: authentic food is about much more than ingredients. It’s about how you prepare it, why you prepare it that way, and the people and traditions behind it.

That philosophy is at the heart of Esencias Panameñas.

Through my food, culinary demonstrations, speaking engagements, educational programs, and my book, Panama on a Plate: Favorite Foods from My Birthplace, I have the opportunity to share a piece of my homeland with people who may have never experienced Panama—and with those who simply miss the taste of home. 🇵🇦

Whether I'm cooking for you, teaching you, speaking to your organization, or sharing a story from Panama, my goal is always the same:

To bring Panama to the table—and to help keep its culinary stories and traditions alive.

Because food doesn't just feed us.

It connects us to who we are, where we come from, and the people who came before us. ❤️🇵🇦

09/29/2026

☕🇵🇦 September 29th is National Coffee Day!

If you've ever been to a Panamanian home, chances are you've been offered a cup of coffee. Coffee is more than a drink in Panamá—it is part of our everyday life, our hospitality, and our culture.

Panama has been producing coffee for more than 200 years, with the Boquete region becoming especially well known for its high-quality coffee. And yes, Panama even holds the record for some of the world's most expensive coffee! 🇵🇦☕

But when I'm enjoying coffee at home, one of my favorites is Café Durán, a Panamanian coffee I've loved for years. ❤️

Last year, I made a Café Bombón with Café Durán and sweetened condensed milk, served with Panamanian corn tortillas and white cheese. And because one cup of coffee is never enough… I also made a Café Durán coffee rum cake with Café Durán coffee ice cream! 😋

☕ If you want to bring a little taste of Panama into your own kitchen, I carry Café Durán ground coffee and K-Cups at Esencias Panameñas.

So tell me… how do YOU take your coffee? ☕❤️

09/27/2026

Dulce de Tres Leches is a soft, sweet 3-milk cake that fits right in with late-summer get-togethers. Choose regular or gluten-free. Pick yours at https://esenciaspanamenas.com/product/dulce-de-tres-leches-3-milk-cake

Address

2800 10th Street NE
Washington D.C., DC
20017

Telephone

+12024305960

Website

http://www.esenciaspanamenas.com/

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