Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

Association of Academies of the Spanish Language The Association of Academies of the Spanish Language ( es, Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, ASALE) is an entity whose end is to work for the unity, integrity, and growth of the Spanish language. It was created in Mexico in 1951 a ...

(2014)
«gallopinto»
''Diccionario de la lengua española'' (23.ª edición). Madrid: Spain. . Consulted October 19, 2018. is a traditional dish from

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. ...

. Consisting of rice and beans as a base, gallo pinto has a long history and is important to

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

n and

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

n identity and cultures, just as rice and beans variations are equally important in many Latin American cultures as well. The beans in gallo pinto are quickly cooked until the juice is almost consumed, then combined with prepared rice and other ingredients such as cooked

bell pepper The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange ...

coriander Coriander (;

, chopped

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...

s, and

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...

Etymology

Gallo pinto means "spotted rooster" in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. The name is said to originate in the multi-colored or speckled appearance that results from cooking the rice with black or red beans. The term may also be shortened depending on the region.

History

It is uncertain and disputed which country is the precise origin of the dish. Both

and

claim it as their own, and its origin is a controversial subject between the two countries. Gallo pinto is one of many various

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

n plates which involve the preparation of the most integral ingredients for many cultures: rice and beans. Gallo pinto is considered to be a product of

mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...

s; a combination of beans, cultivated by

Indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

time, and rice, a grain introduced by the Spanish. Rice, originally from Asia, was introduced by Arabs in Spain and became a main but versatile ingredients in the fifteenth and sixteenth century. With the

Spanish colonization of the Americas Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions ...

, the Spanish introduced rice quickly to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

. It is suggested that within the eighteenth century, the cultivation of rice became relevant to Central America. Asian rice was cultivated by Africans in the

neolithic period The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

, and with their arrival to the Americas as slaves by Europeans, they were already accustomed to eating rice. So this occurred as well with beans, which were cultivated centuries prior in Mesoamerica. On their travels to America, slaves were given bowls and a wooden spoon from which they ate twice a day. They ate primarily beans and European or African rice, along with

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...

, yams,

cassava ''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. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

and sponge cake. As Africans were forced to settle in the continent, various forms of rice and beans began to take form. Because the Americas had many types of beans cultivated by Indigenous people, they gave rise to a range of dishes when combined with rice.

Regional variations

Gallo pinto is found in Costa Rica,

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

, Nicaragua and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. In the Caribbean areas of these countries it is possible to find rice and beans, a similar dish prepared with

coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ...

Costa Rica

In Costa Rica there are two main variations: * Valle Central: gallo pinto is more moist, usually prepared with black beans, less greasy and is seasoned with chili, cilantro and onions. One variant includes

Lizano sauce Lizano sauce ( es, salsa Lizano) is a Costa Rican condiment developed in 1920 by the Lizano company. It is now a product of Unilever. It is a thin, smooth, light brown sauce (akin to such condiments as HP Sauce or Worcestershire sauce). It is m ...

. * Guanacaste: with a more fatty and roasted gallo pinto; made with red beans.

Nicaragua

In Nicaragua, gallo pinto is made mainly with red beans. In addition, vegetable oil is used for cooking (includes onions). The gallo pinto can be eaten in Nicaragua at any time and is the main companion of the different dishes sold in a '' fritanga'' (food stall).

References