Food & Drink

Chivo en Coco is part of Falcón's cuisine: young goat meat, slow-braised in coconut milk until it falls apart tenderly. The dry hills around Pecaya are goat country. For generations, families have raised these hardy animals, which find food even where cattle would long since have starved. Cheese and milk, too, mostly come from the same herds.

From that same goat's milk comes Queso de Cabra, a fresh, slightly tangy cheese. It appears in Falcón at almost every meal — in the arepa at breakfast, as a standalone dish at dinner. The arepa itself is baked from cornmeal, sliced open, and filled. Found throughout Venezuela, in Falcón it's often served with exactly this goat cheese.

Cocuy has its place at festivals and family gatherings, though it's never poured by the liter — only "aguantaíto," in small glasses and slowly. It usually appears more toward the end of a meal than the beginning, while families often linger together for a long time afterward. With Chivo en Coco, the smoky, dry spirit works better as an occasional companion than as a drink to accompany the food itself.

To understand the cuisine of Falcón, think less about recipes and more about the harsh land it comes from. Here, goats stand in for cattle, agave for sugarcane, patient cooking for quick meals. Chivo en Coco, Queso de Cabra, and Cocuy Pecayero tell, on the plate, the very same story as the dry hills of Pecaya themselves.