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Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) A typical Costa Rican breakfast consisting of gallo pinto, fried plantains, an egg, and orange juice Costa Rican cuisine is known for being tasty, yet fairly mild, with high reliance on fresh fruit and vegetables. The main staple, known as gallo pinto, consists of rice and beans. Gallo pinto is also known in some southern areas of Costa Rica as burra; though still recognized the name is rarely used. Also, Costa Rican gallo pinto is made with black beans, while Nicaraguans use red beans traditionally. Candy is an important dessert, in which is served after every meal. For lunch, the traditional national dish is called a casado. It again consists of rice and beans served side by side instead of mixed. There will generally be some type of meat (carne asada, fish, pork chop or chicken) and a salad to round out the dish. There may also be some extras like fried plantain (patacones or maduro), a slice of white cheese, and/or corn tortillas in accompaniment. Salsa Lizano is ubiquitous as a condiment and as an ingredient in cooking various dishes, including gallo pinto. In taverns, various small dishes (bocas) are served which include patacones with black bean dip, chimichurri (tomatoes and onions pickled in lime juice) accompanied with tortilla chips, chifrijo (rice and beans with chicharrones, which are fried pork skins, and chimichurri), ceviche (fish and/or shrimp with onions and pickled in lime juice) and vigorn (cabbage, chimichurri, yucca, served with a slice of lime). Fresh vegetables are a primary ingredient in most main dishes, and members of the squash family are particularly common. These include varieties such as zucchini, zapallo, chayote, and ayote. Potato, onion, and sweet red pepper are other common ingredients. The above vegetables are in soups (sopas) which are usually made with beef or pork ribs as a base; also found in the soup will be corn on the cob, yucca, ampi (a hairy root vegetable)and yam (camote). Costa Ricans as a rule do not like spicy hot food; some do, as you will find home-made "chiles" in restaurants which can be made with vinegar, carrots, onions, other vegetables and always habanero chiles. Coffee and banana are the two main agricultural exports of the country and also form part of the local cuisine. The plantain, a larger member of the banana family, is another commonly used fruit and can be served in a variety of ways. Ripe plantains (maduro) have a sweet flavor and can be fried in butter, baked in a honey or a sugar-based sauce, or put in soups. Green (unripe) plantains can be boiled in soups or can be sliced and fried to make patacones. Sweet corn dishes are common traditional meals like pozol (corn soup), chorreadas (corn pancakes), etc. Other Costa Rican food staples include corn tortillas, white cheese and picadillos. Tortillas frequently accompany meals, but rice is nearly always present. Ticos will often fill tortillas with whatever they are eating and eat it in the form of a gallo (direct translation: rooster, however, it resembles a soft Mexican taco). White cheese is non-processed cheese that is made by adding salt to milk in production. Picadillos are meat and vegetable combinations where one or more vegetables are diced, mixed with beef and garnished with spices. Common vegetables used in picadillos are potatos, green beans, squash, ayote, chayote and arracache. Often, picadillos are eaten in the form of gallos. Beverages The traditional breakfast drink, besides coffee, is called agua dulce ("sweet water") and is made from tapa de dulce. Sugar cane juice is boiled down in traditional trapiches and put to solidify in conical molds with the top cut off called tapas ("lids"). Then some of this tapa is scraped off and dissolved into boiling water or milk to make the agua dulce. Coffee is usually served at breakfast and during traditional coffee breaks in the afternoon, usually around 3:00pm. The traditional drinks for lunch are called refrescos or frescos for short and consist of liquefied fruits diluted in either water or milk and sweetened to taste. They come in many varieties such as melon, blackberry, strawberry, watermelon, mango, tamarind, passion fruit, guanabana and cas. Another popular drink is known as a granizado, a slush drink made of finely shaved ice and flavored syrup. The most popular flavor is kola. This is not the cola usually associated with carbonated soda but a fruity cherry flavored syrup. It is sometimes served with evaporated or condensed milk on top. The national liquor of Costa Rica, guaro, is made from sugarcane. Ticos drink guaro as a shot or mixed with juice or soda. The cost of guaro is very cheap compared to the cerveza (beer) in Costa Rica which is run by a monopoly. Imperial is the most popular and is an American style lager that is also available in Light. The Pilsen is a Bohemian style Pilsner now unavailable in a 6.0 version with higher alcohol content. The 6.0 was offered only during the 2007 holiday season. Due to its popularity, Pilsen 6.0 was still available. Until half way through 2008 Pilsen no longer made the 6.0. They instead make a newer version called Pilsen Red. It has a 5.2% content and a hint of red coloring. Bavaria is offered in Light, Dark or Gold. The Dutch beer, Heineken, is also produced in Costa Rica. Import beers can be found in some markets, but are common only in parts of San Jos or larger tourist towns. Costa Rica produces an excellent rum: Ron Centenario and the Flor de Caa rums made in Nicaragua are also widely available. v d e Cuisine of Latin America Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Guatemala Haiti Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Puerto Rico Uruguay Venezuela Categories: Costa Rican culture Latin American cuisine Costa Rican cuisineHidden categories: Articles lacking sources from December 2009 All articles lacking sources I am an expert from highfrequencyups.com, while we provides the quality product, such as uninterruptible power systems , uninterruptible power supplies, home uninterruptible power supply,and more.
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