What is it?
Fiambre refers to a collection of processed meat foods, which are consumed after slicing and serving them as a sandwich or quick snack. Among these, you can mention meat pies and more commonly, sausages or barbecue leftovers, as long as they are eaten cold.
History
The origin of fiambre dates back to a time when people who traveled frequently had to find a way to carry their own food for the entire journey. Among these were the pack animals of Colombia, as well as coffee pickers.
After work, they would sit under the shade of a tree and, after untieing the rope that wrapped banana or bijao leaves, under which their food was hidden, they could satisfy their hunger and gain some energy before heading home.
This tradition has hardly changed today, as field workers, hikers, and runners often prepare their own version of this natural "packaged" food, with a dish based on fiambre, to not only have enough strength to complete their journey but also to ensure the food stays preserved during the trip.
Did you know?
They can be transformed into a different dish just by adding them to bread, receiving the name "companaje".
As long as it is not consumed in excess, fiambre offers multiple health benefits for the consumer, including absorption of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.
But if you already had some idea about the above, this last fact might surprise you: in local slang, the word Fiambre can be interpreted as "a dead person".
