Bolivian cuisine is the indigenous cuisine of

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

from the Aymara and Inca cuisine traditions, among other

Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

and Amazonian groups. Later influences stemmed from

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

, French, and

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

due to the arrival of conquistadors and immigrants from those countries. The traditional staples of Bolivian cuisine are

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechuan languages, Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the Amaranthaceae, amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are high in prote ...

and

beans A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...

. These ingredients have been combined with a number of staples brought by the Spanish, such as

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

, and

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

. Bolivian cuisine differs by geographical locations. In Western Bolivia in the

Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish language, Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla people, Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extens ...

, due to the high, cold climate, cuisine tends to use spices, whereas in the lowlands of Bolivia in the more Amazonian regions, dishes consist of products abundant in the region: fruits, vegetables, fish and

yuca ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although a perennia ...

Influences

Bolivian cuisine has been influenced by the Inca cuisine, Aymara cuisine,

Spanish cuisine Spanish cuisine () consists of the traditions and practices of Spanish cooking. It features considerable regional diversity, with significant differences among the traditions of each of Spain's regional cuisines. Olive oil (of which Spain is ...

, and to a lesser extent the cuisines of other neighboring countries, like

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. European immigration to Bolivia is not as common when compared with other Latin American countries, and while German, Italian,

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

and other cuisines have influenced the cuisine of Bolivia,

remains the primary influence.

Foods of Bolivia

Foods * Arroz con queso * Charque * Ají of noodles * Saice * Fricasé * Pique macho (beef, sausages, onions, peppers, egg and fries topped with sauce) * Salteñas * Sopa de maní * Silpancho Sauces * Ají * Llajwa Drinks *

Singani Singani is a Bolivian eau-de-vie or brandy distilled from white Muscat of Alexandria grapes. Only produced in the high valleys of Bolivia, it is the country's national distilled spirit and considered part of its Culture of Bolivia, cultural patri ...

* Yungueño * Mocochinchi

Sweets

Sweets in Bolivia use typical sweeteners like honey and

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

. '' Manjar blanco'' is a common ingredient used as a filling in place of ''dulche de leche'' for regional variations of traditional desserts like '' alfajores''. Sweet fruits like

bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – berry (botany), botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called pla ...

guava Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava '' Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), nativ ...

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

, passion fruit, and raisins are commonly used, especially coconut which features in numerous dessert preparations like '' cocadas'', ''budín de coco'' (coconut pudding) and '' pastelitos''. Some local fruits like the '' achacha'' come from the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

, while others still are native to the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. Known as "custard apple" in English, the ''

cherimoya The cherimoya (''Annona cherimola''), also spelled chirimoya and called chirimuya by the Quechua people, is a species of edible fruit-bearing plant in the genus ''Annona'', from the family Annonaceae, which includes the closely related sweetsop ...

'' fruit, believed to be native to the

, is commonly used to make ice cream and other sweets.

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

once described the ''cherimoya'' as "the most delicious fruit known to men". ''Helado de canela'' is a type of

sorbet Sorbet (, ) is a frozen dessert made using ice combined with fruit juice, fruit purée, or other ingredients, such as wine, liqueur, or honey. Sorbet does not contain dairy products. Sherbet is similar to sorbet, but contains dairy. Etymolog ...

flavored with cinnamon. ''Tawa-Tawas'' are

fritter A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables, or other ingredients which have been Batter (cooking), battered or breading, breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-frying, deep-fried. Fritters ar ...

sweetened with '' miel de caña''. Bunuelos are fried sweet fritters commonly eaten for breakfast with a sweetened beverage called ''api'' made with '' morocho'' corn, cinnamon, milk and sugar. Another breakfast food is the Andean fruit '' tamarillo'', a common ingredient for compotes,

marmalade Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...

s and assorted desserts.

Meal structure

Breakfast (''desayuno'')

Although a Bolivian breakfast can be very rich, most Bolivians start their day simply with a black coffee (''cafe tinto'') and a piece of bread. A typical Bolivian breakfast is a piece of bread, often a marraqueta, paired with butter and jam.

Lunch (''almuerzo'')

''Almuerzo'' is the most important meal of the Bolivian day, so much so that daily life tends to revolve around it. Long lunches are traditional throughout the country, so businesses and shops often close between the hours of 12 and 2 pm, so that the workers have time to return home for lunch. A typical Bolivian lunch would consist of several courses, including a soup, a main course of meat, rice, and potatoes, then a dessert and coffee. Lunch is taken at a leisurely pace and is traditionally followed by a nap, the oft-cited '' siesta''.

Tea (''té'')

Bolivians observe an afternoon tea break similar to those in England. Usually the tea breaks take place around 4 and 5 pm at '' salones de té'' (tearooms). These tearooms often double as bakeries so that tea and pastries are enjoyed together.Bolivian Food Customs and Traditions
BolivianBella.com Retrieved 2012-03-22 Cups of

black tea Black tea (also literally translated as red tea from various East Asian languages) is a type of tea that is more tea processing, oxidized than oolong, yellow tea, yellow, white tea, white, and green tea, green teas. Black tea is generally st ...

are usually taken with

biscuits A biscuit is a Flour, flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and Unleavened bread, unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing (food), icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also ...

such as '' galletas Maria'' or more traditional humintas. Often, Bolivians drink

coca Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. Coca leaves contain cocaine which acts as a mild stimulant when chewed or ...

or herb tea when not having black tea.

Dinner (''cena'')

Dinner is a lighter, much more informal affair than lunch; it typically takes place at 8 pm or later. It is common to end the day with a traditional Bolivian soup.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolivian Cuisine South American cuisine Latin American cuisine