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Guatemalan Cuisine
Most traditional foods in Guatemalan cuisine are based on Maya cuisine, with Spanish influence, and prominently feature corn, chilies and beans as key ingredients. Guatemala is famously home to the Hass avocado. There are also foods that are commonly eaten on certain days of the week. For example, it is a popular custom to eat ''paches'' (a kind of tamale made from potatoes) on Thursday. Certain dishes are also associated with special occasions, such as fiambre for All Saints Day on November 1 and tamales, which are common around Christmas. History Regional Guatemalan cuisine is relatively obscure, due in part to its geographic isolation in volcanic highlands, and also due to the civil war in the second half of the 20th century which discouraged international visitors. Guatemalan cuisine is heavily influenced by Mayan cuisine, with some Spanish influences as well. Many dishes are hyper-regional and are not available outside specific towns. Maize is an important staple food i ...
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Tamale Oaxaqueño Thumb
A tamale, in Spanish language, Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalization, nixtamalized maize, corn, which is steaming, steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, herbs, chili pepper, chilies, or any preparation according to taste, and both the filling and the cooking liquid may be seasoned. ''Tamale'' is an Anglicisation, anglicized version of the Spanish word (plural: ). comes from the Nahuatl . The English "tamale" is a back-formation of , with English speakers interpreting the ''-e-'' as part of the Word stem, stem, rather than part of the plural suffix ''-es''. Origin Tamales originated in Mesoamerica as early as 8000 to 5000 BC. The preparation of tamales is likely to have spread from the indigenous cultures in Guatemala and Mexico to the rest of Latin America. According to archae ...
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Calathea Lutea
''Calathea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Marantaceae. They are commonly called calatheas or (like their relatives) prayer plants. About 200 species formerly assigned to ''Calathea'' are now in the genus ''Goeppertia''. Calathea currently contains around 60 species. Native to the tropical Americas, many of the species are popular as pot plants due to their decorative leaves and, in some species, colorful inflorescences. The young leaves and bracts can retain pools of water called phytotelmata, that provide habitat for many invertebrates.Jalinsky, J., T.A. Radocy, R. Wertenberger, & C.S. Chaboo. 2014. Insect diversity in phytotelmata habitats of two host plants, Heliconia stricta Huber (Heliconiaceae) and Calathea lutea Schult (Marantaceae) in the south-east Amazon of Peru. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 87(3): 299–311. Description Foliage Calathea leaves are often large and colorfully patterned. The leaves are often variegated with brig ...
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Hilachas
Hilachas is a dish originating in Guatemalan cuisine that is similar to ropa vieja. It generally consists of boiled, shredded beef served with tomato sauce and tomatillo, potatoes, carrots and Guajillo chiles. The name translates to "rags" and is very common throughout Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. .... References Guatemalan cuisine Beef dishes {{meat-stub ...
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Kak'ik
''Kak'ik'' is a soup made from a type of turkey called "chompipe" and is typical of Guatemalan cuisine. It is a food of pre-Hispanic origin. The name is of Mayan origin: it derives from the Q'eqchi' words ''kak'' (red) and ''ik'' (hot or very spicy). In 2007, it was declared part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation. Although there are regional variations, the traditional recipe of the Las Verapaces region includes chompipe, garlic, onion, peppermint, coriander and ''Eryngium foetidum'' (''zamat'') leaves. The red color is due to the ground annatto. Its red color can be associated with the blood that was used in pre-Columbian ritual sacrifices. It is generally accompanied with rice, white tamales wrapped in ''Calathea lutea ''Calathea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Marantaceae. They are commonly called calatheas or (like their relatives) prayer plants. About 200 species formerly assigned to ''Calathea'' are now in the genus ''Goep ...
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Pepián
Pepián is a thick meat stew from Guatemala. It is one of the oldest and most recognizable dishes of Guatemalan cuisine having as its origin the influences from Guatemala's colonial past and the indigenous cuisine. The meat-based stew, thickened with gourd seeds, can be made with beef or chicken (beef is more common in urban centers) it includes in traditional recipes tomatillo, tomato and hot chili. Guatemalan restaurants in the United States usually consider the dish to be of Maya origin. It is a popular street food in Guatemalan cities. In Guatemala it is considered a national dish. '' Pipián'' is a similar dish from Mexican cuisine. See also * List of stews This is a list of notable stews. A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been Cooking, cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables (such as carrots, potato ... References {{reflist Guatemalan cuisine Stews Ancient dishes ...
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Loroco
''Fernaldia pandurata'' (common name: loroco ) is a vine with edible flowers, widespread in El Salvador, Guatemala, and other countries in Central America.Morales, J.F. (2009). Estudios en las Apocynaceae neotropicales XXXIX: revisión de las Apocynoideae y Rauvolfioideae de Honduras. Anales del Jardin Botanico de Madrid 66: 217-262. ''Fernaldia pandurata'' is an important source of food in Guatemala and El Salvador. The plant's buds and flowers are used for cooking in a variety of ways, including in pupusas. The name "loroco" is used throughout Mesoamerica to refer to ''Fernaldia pandurata''.Azurdia, César; Loroco (''Fernaldia pandurata'', Apocynaceae), a Mesoamerican species in the process of domestication ''Fernaldia pandurata'' is an herbaceous vine with oblong-elliptical to broadly ovate leaves . long, 1.5–8 cm broad, inflorescences are generally somewhat shorter than the leaves, with 8–18 flowers, the pedicels 4–6 mm. long; bract In botany, a bract is ...
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Chipilín
''Crotalaria longirostrata'', the chipilín, is a perennial legume that is native to Mexico and Central America. Other common names include chepil, chepilin, chipilin and longbeak rattlebox. Description Chipilín leaves are a common leafy vegetable in the local cuisines of southern Mexico, including Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ..., and Central America, especially El Salvador and Guatemala. The leaves are high in iron, calcium, magnesium, and beta carotene. They can be boiled and served green, dried and used as an herb, or added to tamale doughs for color and flavor. When the legume, pods of the plant dry, they Dehiscence (botany), dehisce (split open), spreading the seeds over a wide area. That, combined with the fact that the plant ...
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Salsa (sauce)
Salsa is a variety of sauces used as condiments for tacos and other Mexican and Mexican-American foods, and as dips for tortilla chips. They may be raw or cooked, and are generally served at room temperature. Though the word ''salsa'' means any kind of sauce in Spanish, in English, it refers specifically to these Mexican table sauces, especially to the chunky tomato-and- chili-based pico de gallo, as well as to salsa verde. chips and dip, Tortilla chips with salsa are a ubiquitous appetizer in Mexican-American restaurants, but not in Mexico itself. History The use of salsa as a table dip was first popularized by Mexican restaurants in the United States. In the 1980s, tomato-based Mexican-style salsas gained in popularity. In 1992, the dollar value of salsa sales in the United States exceeded those of tomato ketchup. Tomato-based salsas later found competition from salsas made with fruit, corn, or black turtle bean, black beans. Since the 2000s sweet salsas combining fruits ...
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Zacapa
Zacapa () is the departmental capital municipality of Zacapa Department Zacapa () is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. It lies in eastern Guatemala with its capital in the city of Zacapa, approximately 112 kilometers (70 miles) from Guatemala City. Geography To the north lie the departments of Alta Verapaz a ..., one of the 22 Departments of Guatemala. It is located approximately from Guatemala City. Sports Football club Deportivo Zacapa competes in Liga Nacional de Guatemala, Guatemala's top division and play their home games at the Estadio David Ordoñez Bardales. Their team mascot is the Gallo (rooster). Etymology Historian and poet, Capitán Don Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán, Francisco Antonio De Fuentes Y Guzmán notes in his ''Remembrance Florida,'' the name Zacapa derives from Nahuatl Zacatl meaning grass or weed, and apan meaning in the river, a word which in turn is composed of atl also meaning water, river, and apan. Zacapa means on the river of ...
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Achiote
''Bixa orellana'', also known as achiote, is a shrub native to Central America. ''Bixa orellana'' is grown in many countries worldwide. The tree is best known as the source of annatto, a natural orange-red condiment (also called or ) obtained from the waxy arils that cover its seeds. The ground seeds are widely used in traditional dishes in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, such as ''cochinita pibil'', chicken in , , and . Annatto and its extracts are also used as an industrial food coloring to add yellow or orange color to many products such as butter, cheese, margarine, ice creams, meats, and condiments. Some of the indigenous peoples of North, Central, and South American originally used the seeds to make red body paint and lipstick, as well as a spice. For this reason, the ''Bixa orellana'' is sometimes called the lipstick tree. Etymology and common names The name, ''Bixa orellana'', was given by Linnaeus. The botanical genus name derives from the aborig ...
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Banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguishing them from dessert bananas. The fruit is variable in size, color, and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow upward in clusters near the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless ( parthenocarp) bananas come from two wild species – ''Musa acuminata'' and ''Musa balbisiana''. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are ''Musa acuminata'', ''Musa balbisiana'', and ''Musa'' × ''paradisiaca'' for the hybrid ''Musa acuminata'' × ''M. balbisiana'', depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name for this hybrid, ''Musa sapientum'', is no longer used. ''Musa ...
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Plantain (cooking)
Cooking bananas are banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking. They may be eaten ripe or unripe and are generally starchy. Many cooking bananas are referred to as plantains (/ˈplæntɪn/, /plænˈteɪn/, /ˈplɑːntɪn/) or green bananas. In botanical usage, the term "plantain" is used only for true plantains, while other starchy cultivars used for cooking are called "cooking bananas". True plantains are cultivars belonging to the AAB group, while cooking bananas are any cultivars belonging to List of banana cultivars, AAB, AAA, ABB, or BBB groups. The currently accepted scientific name for all such cultivars in these groups is Musa × paradisiaca, ''Musa'' × ''paradisiaca''. Fe'i bananas (''Musa'' × ''troglodytarum'') from the Pacific Islands are often eaten roasted or boiled, and are thus informally referred to as "mountain plantains," but they do not belong to any of the species from which all modern banana cultivars are descended. ...
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