Three of the main ingredients in buñuelos— corn flour, tapioca flour, and queso fresco— come from important agricultural staples in Colombia. Both corn and yucca (tapioca's origin plant) have been essential parts of the Colombian diet since indigenous cultures ruled the lands. While European cultures subsisted off of large quantities of wheat in breads and pastas, the cultures of the Americas relied on corn as their main dietary starch. Thus, you'll find variations of corn tortillas and corn cakes across most Latin American countries. Similarly, yucca is another abundant starch across many parts of Latin America, so you might find yucca included in soups, breads and other traditional foods. Fun fact: the raw yucca root is actually poisonous, so it's important to cook it very well before eating so that you don't get sick!
Finally, queso fresco is definitely the favorite cheese of Colombia. The countryside around Medellín produces a fair amount of dairy, including milk and cheese products. In fact, the area where Jennifer lives is known as "the milk route" because there are many small dairy farms in her area. Jennifer's family owns several cows, so they produce their own milk and cheese for the family. Jennifer also demonstrated to us the process of extracting queso fresco from pure cow's milk, in which she boils and condenses the milk curds until they conglomerate into a rich, salty cheese to eat alongside the buñuelos.
