10 Essential Latin American Ingredients in Chef Gaby Melian's Kitchen

I like to keep my fridge and pantry stocked with my favorite Latin American ingredients. Here are some of the ingredients I use over and over in my kitchen—and in the recipes in my latest cookbook!

I also call it heaven on earth. This “milk jam” is basically milk and sugar cooked together until it is thick, gooey, and delicious. Taste it for yourself in alfajores de maicena (sandwich cookies with dulce de leche) and chocotorta, an Argentinean no-bake chocolate cookie and dulce de leche layer cake.

Masa harina is a type of flour made by drying and grinding masa dough, which is made from corn that has been nixtamalized, or soaked in an alkaline solution to change both its flavor and structure. It’s used to make tortillas, tamales, and pupusas. 

This type of flour is made by drying and then grinding precooked corn. It’s used to make the Latin American corn cakes called arepas.

Also called queso para freír, this fresh white cheese is very interesting because it does not melt when you cook it, it just softens. That makes it perfect for frying, as I do in the Dominican breakfast meal known as mangú con los tres golpes—or mashed green plantains with eggs, cheese, and salami.

A firm, fresh cheese similar to feta. I like to eat it crumbled into baleadas (a Honduran street dish similar to tacos), or sprinkled onto chilaquiles verdes and tostadas. 

A large precooked sausage made of pork and beef, used in mangú con los tres golpes. It’s sometimes called salchichón dominicano.

This tangy sauce is a little thinner than sour cream and used on everything from tacos de carne molida (ground beef tacos) to tostadas.

In México, tortilla chips are called totopos. They are toasted, fried, or baked triangles of corn tortillas. Find them served with guacamole or salsa, used as a base for nachos, and more!

These relatives of bananas are firm and green when unripe and soft and black when ripe. They are often fried to make crispy tostones or soft, sweet maduros.

In Puerto Rico and parts of Central America, sazón is the name given to a popular spice blend. But it’s also a Spanish word that means “seasoning,” or the way each chef adds “flavor” to their dishes.