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Panama

Panama, in Central America, bridges continents with Panama City’s skyline gazing over the canal, a global trade artery linking Atlantic and Pacific. Known for hats (misnamed), coffee, and the Darién Gap’s wilds, its economy thrives on shipping, banking, and tourism. Its Afro-Caribbean and indigenous roots pulse in salsa and mola textiles. Panama’s strategic heartbeat hums.

Panama

Featured Dishes from Panama

Arepa

Arepa

Arepa is a type of flatbread made of ground maize dough stuffed with a filling, eaten in northern parts of South America since pre-Columbian times, and notable primarily in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela, but also present in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Central America. Initially, arepa flour was made by grinding maize at home. In the 1950s, precooked arepa flour was invented by Luis Caballero Mejías [es], a Venezuelan engineer, and became an instant success.

Arroz con coco

Arroz con coco

Coconut rice is a dish prepared by cooking white rice in coconut milk or coconut flakes. As both the coconut and the rice-plant are commonly found in the tropics all around the world, coconut rice too, is found in many cultures throughout the world. It spans across the equator from Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, South America, Central America, West Africa, East Africa, the Caribbean and Oceania. Rice cooked in coconut milk is common in Indonesian cuisine, with each region having developed their own version of it. Plain coconut rice is usually made from white rice, coconut milk, ginger, fenugreek seed, lemongrass and pandan leaves, with the most common coconut rice recipe in Indonesia being nasi uduk from Jakarta. Other coconut milk rice recipes include nasi gurih from Aceh and Javanese nasi liwet. Nasi kuning is Indonesian yellow rice which is similar to coconut rice with addition of turmeric as a coloring and flavoring agent. Other types of coconut rice recipes take the form of dumplings, such as burasa from Makassar and lemang popular in Minangkabau.

Avena con leche

Avena con leche

Avena is a beverage prepared with stewed oatmeal, milk, water, cinnamon, clove and sugar consumed in Latin America and Caribbean. Other spices such as allspice, vanilla, nutmeg, ginger, and citrus peel are popular. Avena means oat in the Spanish language. It is somewhat similar to horchata, a sweet nut milk drink from Spain. Avena is prepared using water and milk brought to a boil. Sugar and a small amount of oatmeal are added and cooked. If water is used, some amount of milk may optionally be added at the end of cooking. The oats may then be strained out, blended using a blender, or simply allowed to settle to the bottom of the pitcher. A cinnamon stick is sometimes added to the pitcher.

Bread

Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diets. It is one of the oldest human-made foods, having been of significance since the dawn of agriculture, and plays an essential role in both religious rituals and secular culture. Bread may be leavened by naturally occurring microbes (e.g. sourdough), chemicals (e.g. baking soda), industrially produced yeast, or high-pressure aeration, which creates the gas bubbles that fluff up bread. In many countries, commercial bread often contains additives to improve flavor, texture, color, shelf life, nutrition, and ease of production.

Café

Café

Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially available. There are also various coffee substitutes. Typically served hot, coffee has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks. Coffee production begins when the seeds from coffee cherries are separated to produce unroasted green coffee beans. The "beans" are roasted and then ground into fine particles. Coffee is brewed from the ground roasted beans, which are typically steeped in hot water before being filtered out. It is usually served hot, although chilled or iced coffee is common. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways (e.g., espresso, French press, caffè latte, or already-brewed canned coffee). Sugar, sugar substitutes, milk, and cream are often added to mask the bitter taste or enhance the flavor.

Calentado

Calentado

Calentao', sometimes spelled calenta'o is a Colombian cuisine dish made from reheated leftovers including rice, egg, pasta, beans, potatoes and other foods such as arepa, chorizo, and ground beef. It is generally eaten for breakfast and is often accompanied by aguapanela, arepa, coffee, juice or hot chocolate. Depending on the region it can also be served with hogao. It is sometimes referred to as Fríjoles Trasnochaos. A fried egg is usually served on top of the dish and it is called Calentao' "A Caballo" . It is usually eaten for breakfast using some of the night before's leftovers.

Crema de maiz

Crema de maiz

Cornmeal porridge or corn soup

Frijoles

Frijoles

A bean is the seed of any plant in the legume family used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying, but fresh beans are also sold. Most beans are traditionally soaked and boiled, but they can be cooked in many different ways, including frying and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout the world. The unripe seedpods of some varieties are also eaten whole as green beans or edamame (immature soybean), but fully ripened beans contain toxins like phytohemagglutinin and require cooking. The word 'bean', for the Old World vegetable, existed in Old English, long before the New World genus Phaseolus was known in Europe. With the Columbian exchange of domestic plants between Europe and the Americas, use of the word was extended to pod-borne seeds of Phaseolus, such as the common bean and the runner bean, and the related genus Vigna. The term has long been applied generally to seeds of similar form, such as Old World soybeans and lupins, and to the fruits or seeds of unrelated plants such as coffee beans, vanilla beans, castor beans, and cocoa beans.

Fruta

Fruta

In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering (see Fruit anatomy). Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propagated using the movements of humans and other animals in a symbiotic relationship that is the means for seed dispersal for the one group and nutrition for the other; humans, and many other animals, have become dependent on fruits as a source of food. Consequently, fruits account for a substantial fraction of the world's agricultural output, and some (such as the apple and the pomegranate) have acquired extensive cultural and symbolic meanings.

Gallo pinto

Gallo pinto

Gallo pinto or gallopinto is a traditional dish from Central America. Consisting of rice and beans as a base, gallo pinto has a long history and is important to Nicaraguan and Costa Rican identities and cultures, just as rice and beans variations are equally important in many Latin American cultures as well. It has similarities with the Cuban moros y cristianos dish. It is served with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The beans in gallo pinto are cooked with garlic, oregano and onion. When the bean juice is in equal parts with the beans, they are then combined with leftover or previously prepared rice. The rice is prepared with bell peppers, salt and onions. Gallo pinto means "spotted rooster" in Spanish. 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.

Hojaldra

Hojaldra

Deep-fried flatbread

Hot chocolate

Hot chocolate

Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved or melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener. It is often garnished with whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate made with melted chocolate is sometimes called drinking chocolate, characterized by less sweetness and a thicker consistency.

Huevos

Huevos

Humans and their hominid relatives have consumed eggs for millions of years. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especially chickens. People in Southeast Asia began harvesting chicken eggs for food by 1500 BCE. Eggs of other birds, such as ducks and ostriches, are eaten regularly but much less commonly than those of chickens. People may also eat the eggs of reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Fish eggs consumed as food are known as roe or caviar. Hens and other egg-laying creatures are raised throughout the world, and mass production of chicken eggs is a global industry. In 2009, an estimated 62.1 million metric tons of eggs were produced worldwide from a total laying flock of approximately 6.4 billion hens. There are issues of regional variation in demand and expectation, as well as current debates concerning methods of mass production. In 2012, the European Union banned battery husbandry of chickens.

Mamallena

Mamallena

Bread pudding with raisins

Pastelito

Pastelito

Cuban pastries are baked puff pastry–type pastries filled with sweet or savory fillings. Traditional fillings include cream cheese quesitos, guava (pastelito de guayaba) and cheese, pineapple, and coconut. The sweet fillings are made with sweetened fruit pulps. The cream cheese filling is also a slightly sweetened version of cream cheese, that resembles the flavor and texture of a cheesecake. The savory fillings are usually beef, but sometimes chicken or ham and cheese are used. The beef fillings consist of a seasoned but not spicy meat, made in a tomato-based sauce. It is typical to include raisins and green olives as part of the meat filling. It is also typical for a sweet glaze to be applied to the top of even savory fillings. The pastries are typically consumed at any time as a snack. In Miami, one can find many "window cafeterias" with customers having a pastelito with coffee throughout the day.

Patacones

Patacones

Tostones are twice-fried plantain slices commonly found in Latin American cuisine and Caribbean cuisine. Most commonly known as tostones in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Nicaragua, Cuba, Honduras and Venezuela, fritos in Dominican Republic, they are also known as tachinos or chatinos (Cuba), bannann peze (Haiti), patacones (in Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Costa Rica and Peru) and, sometimes, patacón pisao in Colombia. Green (unripe) plantains are peeled, sliced lengthwise, diagonally, or widthwise, and then fried twice. The raw slices of plantains are fried for one to sixty minutes on each side until they are golden in color, and removed and patted to remove excess cooking oil. Afterward, they are pounded flat with a hinged utensil made for the task, called a tostonera, or less conveniently, with any kitchen utensil with a sufficiently large flat surface—for instance, between two plates. The flattened plantain slices are then fried once again until they are crisp and golden brown. Tostones are salted and eaten much like potato chips/crisps or French fries/chips. In some regions, it is customary to dip them in mojo (a garlic sauce) or ají. In Colombia they are sometimes served with hogao sauce or topped with seasoned shredded beef. In Costa Rica, they are often eaten with a paste-like dip made from black beans. In the Dominican Republic, they are commonly served with fresh lime wedges to squeeze over them and salt for sprinkling. In Guatemala on the Caribbean side, they are usually served as a side dish with fish or any poultry, sprinkled with a little salt. In some countries, they are served topped with cheese as an appetizer or with shrimp ceviche, pulled chicken, or avocado salad. They can also be bought prepared from supermarkets. This dish is found in all varieties of Caribbean cuisine. In Nicaragua, they are typically served with fried cheese and sometimes with refried beans. In Puerto Rico, they are commonly seasoned with garlic salt and eaten with fry sauce, mojo, or pique verde boricua.

Salchicha

Salchicha

A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders.

Toast

Toast

Toast is sliced bread that has been browned by radiant heat. The browning is the result of a Maillard reaction altering the flavor of the bread and making it crispier in texture. The firm surface is easier to spread toppings on and the warmth can help spreads such as butter reach its melting point. Toasting is a common method of making stale bread more palatable. Bread is commonly toasted using devices specifically designed for such, e.g., a toaster or a toaster oven. Toast may contain more acrylamide, caused by the browning process, which is suspected to be a carcinogen. However, claims that acrylamide in burnt food causes cancer have not been proven. Butter or margarine, and sweet toppings, such as jam or jelly, are commonly spread on toast. Regionally, savory spreads, such as peanut butter or yeast extract, may also be popular. Toast may accompany savory dishes such as soups or stews, or it can be topped with ingredients like eggs or baked beans to make a light meal. Toast is a common breakfast food. A sandwich may also use toasted bread.

Arroz con leche

Arroz con leche

Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and commonly other ingredients such as sweeteners, spices, flavourings and sometimes eggs. Variants are used for either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly combined with a sweetener such as sugar. Such desserts are found on many continents, especially Asia, where rice is a staple. Some variants are thickened only with the rice starch, while others include eggs, making them a kind of custard. Rice puddings are found in nearly every area of the world. Recipes can greatly vary even within a single country. The dessert can be boiled or baked. Different types of pudding vary depending on preparation methods and the selected ingredients. The following ingredients are usually found in rice puddings:

Barquillo

Barquillo

Barquillo is a crispy rolled wafer pastry originating in Spain. It is made from the basic cookie ingredients of flour, sugar, egg whites and butter rolled out thinly and then shaped into a hollow cylinder or a cone. It was traditionally sold by roadside vendors known as barquilleros who carried a characteristic red roulette tin . It was introduced to Latin America and the Philippines during colonial times. In Spain and former Spanish colonies, barquillos are commonly regarded as a type of Christmas cookie. It is also popular during various fiestas. It spread to neighboring countries and today is extremely popular in East and Southeast Asian countries. The Spanish name barquillo means "little boat". It is derived from the ancient tradition of heating the biscuits in convex or boat-shaped molds. Barquillos are also known by a variety of names. In English it is also known as biscuit roll, cookie roll, crispy biscuit roll, egg roll, crisp biscuit roll, or love letter. The Chinese name for this snack, "蛋卷", can be directly translated into English as "egg roll". However, the food item known in the West as egg roll is very different. Barquillos are thin wafers made from flour, sugar, egg whites and butter that is rolled into the shape of a long hollow tube or a cone. They can also be sold simply folded over twice in a fan shape. In Spain, it was traditionally sold by roaming roadside vendors known as "barquilleros" (or "barquilleras") during festive events. In Madrid, barquilleros are particularly associated with the fiesta of San Isidro Labrador, where the vendors typically dress in castizo (chulapo) attire.

Bienmesabe

Bienmesabe

Bienmesabe is a sweet Spanish dessert prepared with honey, egg yolk, and ground almonds as primary ingredients. Its consistency significantly varies depending upon preparation methods used. The dessert is also popular in the cuisine of the Canary Islands. It has been described as influenced by Moorish cuisine. Several variations of the dessert exist. Honey, egg yolk and ground almonds are primary ingredients in the preparation of bienmesabe, and some versions are prepared using sugar. Additional ingredients may include lemon zest, cinnamon and sweet wine or sherry. Bienmesabe's consistency varies greatly depending upon preparation methods, and can vary from the consistency of a sticky sauce thick cream or meringue to a custard or cake. Well-chilled versions may have a toffee-like consistency. As a sauce, bienmesabe is sometimes served poured over ice cream.

Bizcocho

Bizcocho

Bizcocho is the name given in the Spanish-speaking world to a wide range of pastries, cakes or cookies. The exact product to which the word bizcocho is applied varies widely depending on the region and country. For instance, in Spain bizcocho is exclusively used to refer to sponge cake. In Uruguay, most buttery flaky pastry including croissants are termed bizcocho, whilst sponge cake is called bizcochuelo. In Chile, the Dominican Republic, and Bolivia bizcocho refers to a sweet dough (masa) baked with local ingredients, similar to the bizcocho from Spain. In Ecuador the dough of a bizcocho can either be sweet or salty. The US state New Mexico is unusual in using the diminutive form of the name, bizcochito, as the name for a locally developed and very popular cookie. The word bizcocho comes from the Latin bis coctus, which means "cooked twice", that is why it was often soaked in wine, due to the low humidity it had. The Uruguayan sponge cake is frequently related to the German pastry. It is argued that it is a derivative of krapfen, which was brought by the German immigration that went to the Río de la Plata region.

Blancmange

Blancmange

Blancmange is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar, thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured with almonds. It is usually set in a mould and served cold. Although traditionally white, blancmanges are frequently given other colours. Blancmange originated at some time during the Middle Ages from the older Middle Eastern muhallebi, and usually consisted of milk or almond milk, rice, and sugar; it was considered to be an ideal food for the sick.[citation needed]

Buñuelo

Buñuelo

A buñuelo ( Spanish: [buˈɲwelo], alternatively called boñuelo, bimuelo, birmuelo, bermuelo, bumuelo, burmuelo, or bonuelo, is a fried dough fritter found in Spain, Latin America, and other regions with a historical connection to Spaniards or Sephardic Jews, including Southwest Europe, the Balkans, Anatolia, and parts of Asia and North Africa. Buñuelos are traditionally prepared at Christmas and Hanukkah. It will usually have a filling or a topping. In Mexican cuisine, it is often served with a syrup made with piloncillo. Buñuelos are first known to have been consumed among Spain's Morisco population. They typically consist of a simple, wheat-based yeast dough, often flavored with anise, that is thinly rolled, cut or shaped into individual pieces, then fried and finished off with a sweet topping. Buñuelos may be filled with a variety of things, sweet or savory. They can be round in ball shapes or disc-shaped. In Latin America, buñuelos are seen as a symbol of good luck. "Buñuelo" and all other variations of the word in Spanish derive from the Old Spanish *boño or bonno, which itself derives from the Germanic Gothic language *?????? , and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ (thick, dense, fat).

Cajeta

Cajeta

Dulce de leche , caramelized milk, milk candy, or milk jam is a confectionery popular in Latin America, France, Poland, and the Philippines prepared by slowly heating sugar and milk over several hours. The substance takes on a spreadable, sauce-like consistency and derives its rich flavour and colour from non-enzymatic browning. It is typically used to top or fill other sweet foods. Since 1998, and at the initiative of the Argentine Center for the Promotion of Dulce de Leche and Related Products, International Dulce de Leche Day is celebrated every October 11.

Chicheme

Chicheme

Sweet corn beverage

Chocoflan

Chocoflan

Bundt-shaped chocolate cake topped with a layer of flan

Cocada

Cocada

Cocada are a traditional coconut confectionery found in many parts of Latin America and Europe. They are particularly popular in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador and Goa Former Estado da Índia Portuguesa. They are oven baked but are served at room temperature to provide their chewy and soft texture. Made with eggs and shredded coconut, cocadas come in a variety of colors due to the modern use of food coloring, however the traditional variations are golden brown. They are often garnished with almonds, either whole or chopped. There are hundreds of cocadas recipes, from the typical hard, very sweet balls to cocadas that are almost the creamy texture of flan. Other fruit, often dried, can be added to the cocadas to create variety, which will also lend to a wide spectrum of cocada colors. Cocadas are mentioned as early as 1878 in Peru. In Colombia and Mexico, Conserva de coco are sold not only as artisan candies from shops, but commonly on the streets, out of baskets, and particularly on the beaches, by men or women who carry them on large aluminum trays. In Uruguay, they are commonly sold in bakeries under the name of coquitos, the more delicate versions include a cherry on the top and syrup coating, sometimes they fill the boxes of assorted masas.

Dulce de leche

Dulce de leche

Dulce de leche , caramelized milk, milk candy, or milk jam is a confectionery popular in Latin America, France, Poland, and the Philippines prepared by slowly heating sugar and milk over several hours. The substance takes on a spreadable, sauce-like consistency and derives its rich flavour and colour from non-enzymatic browning. It is typically used to top or fill other sweet foods. Since 1998, and at the initiative of the Argentine Center for the Promotion of Dulce de Leche and Related Products, International Dulce de Leche Day is celebrated every October 11.

Dulce frio

Dulce frio

No-bake trifle dessert made with layered cookies, evaporated and condensed milk, and fruit cocktail

Empanada

Empanada

Sweet, filled hand-held pie

Enyucado

Enyucado

Enyucado is a cheesecake in Colombian cuisine cassava cake made with cassava and coconut, sugar, and sometimes anise, and guava jam. Enyucado is from the Caribbean region of Colombia. In Costa Rican cuisine, an enyucado is a fried cassava croquette generally filled with ground meat, cheese, or vegetables.

Flan

Flan

Custard dessert topped with a layer of caramel sauce, variations include coconut, chestnut, chocolate

Flan de queso

Flan de queso

Cheese flan, cream cheese flan

Galleta Maria

Galleta Maria

Marie cookie, a brand name cookie that is commonly eaten with coffee

Helado

Helado

Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food colouring is sometimes added in addition to stabilizers. The mixture is cooled below the freezing point of water and stirred to incorporate air spaces and prevent detectable ice crystals from forming. It can also be made by whisking a flavoured cream base and liquid nitrogen together. The result is a smooth, semi-solid foam that is solid at very low temperatures . It becomes more malleable as its temperature increases. Ice cream may be served in dishes, eaten with a spoon, or licked from edible wafer ice cream cones held by the hands as finger food. Ice cream may be served with other desserts—such as cake or pie—or used as an ingredient in cold dishes—like ice cream floats, sundaes, milkshakes, and ice cream cakes—or in baked items such as Baked Alaska.

Helado de mango

Helado de mango

Mango ice cream

Hojaldra

Hojaldra

Deep-fried flatbread

Hojuela

Hojuela

A Hojuela , also called a Hojaldra, is a traditional Spanish and Latin American sweet baked-good originating in Spain. In Latin American countries, especially Colombia, and in Spain, it is commonly made during Holy Week and the Christmas season. Ingredients vary by region, but usually consist of a flour-based batter fried in oil and dusted with sugar. In Colombia, Hojuelas are commonly made during the Holiday season. They are generally eaten along with manjar blanco, natillas, and buñuelos. Hojuelas are typically made with wheat flour, eggs, water, and half a cup or less of orange juice. Strips of the batter are fried in vegetable oil. In Chile, hojuelas derive from a traditional recipe using palm syrup.[citation needed]

Mamallena

Mamallena

Bread pudding with raisins

Mazamorra

Mazamorra

Mazamorra, or masamorra, is the name for numerous traditional dishes from the Iberian Peninsula and Hispanic America. In Argentina, mazamorra is a traditional dish. It is a dessert with native roots made with white maize, water, sugar, and vanilla. A variant, the most consumed in the country, is mazamorra with milk. In this recipe, milk is added to the previous ingredients. Mazamorra is usually made with the same boiled maize used to make locro.

Merengue

Merengue

Meringue is a type of dessert or candy, of French origin, traditionally made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or cream of tartar. A binding agent such as salt, flour or gelatin may also be added to the eggs. The key to the formation of a good meringue is the formation of stiff peaks by denaturing the protein ovalbumin (a protein in the egg whites) via mechanical shear. They are light, airy and sweet confections. Homemade meringues are often chewy and soft with a crisp exterior, while many commercial meringues are crisp throughout. A uniform crisp texture may be achieved at home by baking at a low temperature (80–90 °C or 176–194 °F) for an extended period of up to two hours. The Oxford English Dictionary states that the French word is of unknown origin. The name meringue for this confection first appeared in print in François Massialot's cookbook of 1692. The word meringue first appeared in English in 1706 in a translation of Massialot's book. The first documented recipes recognizable as meringues are found in two considerably earlier 17th-century English manuscript books of recipes which give instructions for confections called "white biskit bread" in the book of recipes written in 1604 by Elinor Fettiplace (c. 1570 – c. 1647) of Gloucestershire and called "pets" in the manuscript of collected recipes written by Lady Rachel Fane (1612/13 – 1680) of Knole, Kent. Slowly baked meringues are still referred to as "pets" in the Loire region of France due to their light and fluffy texture.

Natillas

Natillas

Natillas is a term in Spanish for a variety of custards and similar sweet desserts in the Spanish-speaking world. In Spain, this term refers to a custard dish made with milk and eggs, similar to other European creams as crème anglaise. In Colombia, the delicacy does not include eggs, and is called natilla. Natillas is a diminutive of nata ("cream", in English), that is, crema de leche (milk cream), referring to the consistency of the dish. In Spain, natillas is a custard dish typically made with milk, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and cinnamon. The dish is prepared by gently boiling the milk and slowly stirring in the eggs (often just the yolks) and other ingredients to create a sweet custard. It is often served with a María biscuit on top.

No me olvides

No me olvides

Ice cream with cake or a cookie, top with caramel, whipped cream, marshmallow topping, nuts

Orejitas

Orejitas

Ear-shaped cookies/pastries

Paleta

Paleta

An ice pop is a liquid/cream-based frozen dessert on a stick. Unlike ice cream or sorbet, which are whipped while freezing to prevent ice crystal formation, an ice pop is frozen while at rest, becoming a solid block of ice with an icy texture. It is a fusion of flavored liquid, like juice or a sweetened water-based liquid. The stick is used as a handle to hold it. Without a stick, the frozen product would be a freezie. It can be calorie restricted, but commercial options usually contain added sugars, corn syrup and artificial ingredients. An ice pop is also referred to as a popsicle in Canada and the United States, a paleta in Mexico, the Southwestern United States and parts of Latin America, an ice lolly or lolly ice in the United Kingdom and Ireland, an ice block in New Zealand and Australia, an ice drop in the Philippines, an ice gola in India, ice candy in the Philippines, India and Japan, ai tim tang or ice cream tang in Thailand, and a kisko in the Caribbean. The term icy pole is often used in Australia, but is a brand name.

Pan dulce

Pan dulce

Pan dulce, literally meaning "sweet bread", is the general name for a variety of Mexican pastries. They are inexpensive treats and are consumed at breakfast, merienda, or dinner. The pastries originated in Mexico following the introduction of wheat during the Spanish conquest of the Americas and developed into many varieties thanks to French influences in the 19th century. The creative contribution of French baked goods to Mexico's cuisine peaked in the early 20th century during the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. Skilled Mexican bakers adopted French techniques to create new bread designs with colorful names. Today it is estimated that there are between 500 and 2,000 types of bread currently produced in Mexico. Among these are: A beso , from Mexico, is made by creating round domes on the top with a drop filling of jam in the middle.

Papaya pie

Papaya pie

Papaya pie is a dessert made with ripe papayas, often combined with ingredients like lime juice, sugar, and spices, baked in a pie crust. It can be served plain or with toppings like whipped cream or ice cream for added flavor.

Pastelito

Pastelito

Cuban pastries are baked puff pastry–type pastries filled with sweet or savory fillings. Traditional fillings include cream cheese quesitos, guava (pastelito de guayaba) and cheese, pineapple, and coconut. The sweet fillings are made with sweetened fruit pulps. The cream cheese filling is also a slightly sweetened version of cream cheese, that resembles the flavor and texture of a cheesecake. The savory fillings are usually beef, but sometimes chicken or ham and cheese are used. The beef fillings consist of a seasoned but not spicy meat, made in a tomato-based sauce. It is typical to include raisins and green olives as part of the meat filling. It is also typical for a sweet glaze to be applied to the top of even savory fillings. The pastries are typically consumed at any time as a snack. In Miami, one can find many "window cafeterias" with customers having a pastelito with coffee throughout the day.

Pesada de nance

Pesada de nance

Sweetened nance fruit porridge, top with queso blanco (white cheese)

Plátanos en tentacion

Plátanos en tentacion

Ripe plantains cooked in syrup, caramelized plantains

Pudin de pan

Pudin de pan

Bread pudding is a bread-based dessert popular in many countries' cuisines. It is made with stale bread and milk or cream, generally containing eggs, a form of fat such as oil, butter or suet and, depending on whether the pudding is sweet or savory, a variety of other ingredients. Sweet bread puddings may use sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit, nuts, as well as spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, or vanilla. The bread is soaked in the liquids, mixed with the other ingredients, and baked. Some other names bread pudding goes by is "poor man's pudding", "bread and butter pudding" or just "pudding". Savory puddings like breakfast strata may be served as main courses, while sweet puddings are typically eaten as desserts. In other languages, its name is a translation of "bread pudding" or even just "pudding", for example "pudín" or "budín". In the Philippines, banana bread pudding is popular. In Mexico, there is a similar dish eaten during Lent called capirotada. In Liverpool in the United Kingdom, a moist version of Nelson cake, itself a bread pudding, is nicknamed "Wet Nelly".

Raspado

Raspado

Shaved ice is a large family of ice-based desserts made of fine shavings of ice and sweet condiments or syrups. Usually, the syrup is added after the ice has been frozen and shaved—typically at the point of sale; however, flavoring can also be added before freezing. The dessert is consumed worldwide in various forms and ways. Shaved ice can also be mixed with large quantities of liquid to produce shaved ice drinks. Many shaved ices are confused with "Italian ice", which is derived from the similar Italian dessert known as "granita". However, Italian ice, also known as "water ice", often has the fruit juice or other ingredients, like almond, incorporated into the sugared water before it is frozen. Shaved ice—especially highly commercial shaved ice —is often flavored after the ice has been frozen and shaved. Snow cones are an example of shaved ice that is flavored after production. The use of stored and gathered ice for use in confections has been documented in ancient Persia since 400 BCE onward.

Sopa borracha

Sopa borracha

Sponge cake soaked in liquor, served with dried fruit, raisins, prunes

Suspiro

Suspiro

Meringue cookies, also refers to cake frosting in the Dominican Republic

Torrejas

Torrejas

French toast is a dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights . When French toast is served as a sweet dish, sugar, vanilla, or cinnamon are also commonly added before pan-frying, and then it may be topped with sugar (often powdered sugar), butter, fruit, or syrup. When it is a savory dish, it is generally fried with a pinch of salt or pepper, and it can then be served with a sauce such as ketchup or mayonnaise.

Torticas

Torticas

Shortbread cookies, Torticas de Morón are shortbread cookies from the city of Moron

Yema

Yema

Yema is a sweet custard confectionery from the Philippines. It is made with egg yolks, milk, and sugar. The name yema is from Spanish for "egg yolk". Like other egg yolk-based Filipino desserts, it is believed that yema originated from early Spanish construction materials. During the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, egg whites mixed with quicklime and eggshells were used as a type of mortar to hold stone walls together. Filipinos reused the discarded egg yolks into various dishes. Among them is yema, which is possibly based on the Spanish pastry Yemas de Santa Teresa.

Agua de arroz

Agua de arroz

Rice water is a suspension of starch obtained by draining boiled rice or by boiling rice until it completely dissolves into the water. It has sometimes been used as food for people with medical conditions affecting the digestive system.[better source needed] It has been claimed to be particularly effective in the treatment of diarrhea such as that arising in cholera or gastroenteritis.[better source needed] Historically, women in various Asian regions such as China, Japan, and Southeast Asia have applied rice water as a hair treatment for hundreds of years. The use of rice water has dated back to the Heian period in Japan. Japanese women during this time period were known to have floor-length hair kept healthy by bathing it in rice water. Today, a group known as the Yao people reside primarily in Huangluo, which is a village in China. The Yao women are famous for their extremely long hair, averaging about 6 feet in length. Not only is their hair long, but it is said that it takes much longer for a Yao woman's hair to lose its color and begin to turn gray; apparently it is only when they reach their 80s that they begin to experience hair color changes. The Yao women attribute their long and healthy hair to bathing and soaking it in rice water.[dubious – discuss][medical citation needed]

Agua de pipa

Agua de pipa

Atlas cerveza

Atlas cerveza

Balboa

Balboa

Batido

Batido

Licuados are a Latin American handmade blended beverage similar to smoothies, made with milk, fruit, and usually ice. They are also sometimes called "preparados" (meaning "prepared"). Licuados and other fresh fruit juice drinks are ubiquitous throughout Mexico. They are sold by street vendors, and in special licuado shops, restaurants, and fruterias (restaurants specializing in fresh fruit). Licuados ("blendeds" or "liquifieds" in Spanish) are among a larger category of fruit drinks made with fruit juice diluted with milk or water: jugos (juice), vitaminas, aguas frescas (juice mixed with sugar and water), refrescos (nonalcoholic carbonated soft drinks), and batidos. Names for various types of shakes and smoothies vary regionally, and are not completely fixed.

Boza

Boza

Boza, also bosa, is a fermented beverage originating from Central Asia and made in parts of the Balkans, Turkey, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and North Africa. It is a malt drink made by fermenting various grains: maize and wheat in Turkey. It is one of the oldest Turkic beverages.: 77 : 46 It has a thick consistency, a low alcohol content (around 1%), and a slightly acidic sweet flavor. According to Turkish etymological dictionary Nişanyan Sözlük, boza is etymologically Turkic in origin. The dictionary states that Old Turkic buχsı or buχsum are cognates, yet it is unclear from which language it was ultimately derived and which one took it as a loanword. Ármin Vámbéry says it is an ancient Turkish word found in Kutadgu Bilig. The oldest written account of the drink is under the name buχsum and is attested from the 1073 Middle Turkic dictionary Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk by Mahmud al-Kashgari. Modern Turkish word boza is believed to be cognates with the Old Turkic buχsı or buχsum. The drink under the name boza is first attested in Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati's early 14th century Kipchak Turkic work Kitab al-'idrak li-lisan al-'atrak

Café con leche

Café con leche

Café con leche is a coffee beverage common throughout Spain and Latin America consisting of strong coffee (usually espresso) mixed with scalded milk in approximately equal amounts. The amount of milk can be higher in a café con leche en vaso or a café con leche de desayuno. Cuban and Puerto Rican establishments often prepare the drink with sugar. Sugar or sweetener is added to taste. It is similar to the Italian caffè latte and the French café au lait. Café con leche came from Spain, but its exact origin is unclear. After becoming popular in Spain, this coffee beverage has spread to other Spanish-speaking countries and areas. Café con leche is very common in Spain and Latin America, as well as diasporic Latin American communities around the world. Cuban restaurants in South Florida often have a walk-up window (ventanita) that serve café con leche.

Cafe crema

Cafe crema

Caffè crema refers to two different coffee drinks: As a colorful term it generally means "espresso", while in technical discussions, referring to the long drink, it may more narrowly be referred to as Swiss caffè crema. There is also Italian iced crema di caffè of crema (fredda) al caffè. Variant terms include crema caffè and the hyperforeignism café crema – café crème is the direct French translation, but in France it contains dairy. Caffè and crema are Italian; thus café crema mixes French and Italian.

Café Durán

Café Durán

Café Kotowa

Café Kotowa

A brand of coffee

Café Ruiz

Café Ruiz

Chicha

Chicha

Chicha is a fermented or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post-Spanish conquest periods, corn beer (chicha de jora) made from a variety of maize landraces has been the most common form of chicha. However, chicha is also made from a variety of other cultigens and wild plants, including, among others, quinoa (Chenopodium quinia), kañiwa (Chenopodium pallidicaule), peanut, manioc (also called yuca or cassava), palm fruit, rice, potato, oca (Oxalis tuberosa), and chañar (Geoffroea decorticans). There are many regional variations of chicha. In the Inca Empire, chicha had ceremonial and ritual uses. The exact origin of the word chicha is debated. One belief is that the word chicha is of Taino origin and became a generic term used by the Spanish to define any and all fermented beverages brewed by indigenous peoples in the Americas. It is possible that one of the first uses of the term chicha was from a group of people who lived in Colombia and Panama, the Kuna. However, according to the Real Academia Española and other authors, the word chicha comes from the Kuna word chichab, or “chiab” which means maize. According to Don Luis G. Iza it comes from the Nahuatl word chichiatl, which means “fermented water”; the verb chicha meaning “to sour a drink“ and the noun atl meaning “water”. These etymologies are not mutually exclusive. The Spanish idiom ni chicha ni limonada (neither chicha nor lemonade) means “neither one thing nor another” (roughly equivalent to the English “neither fish nor fowl”).

Chicha de marañón

Chicha de marañón

Chicha is a fermented or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post-Spanish conquest periods, corn beer (chicha de jora) made from a variety of maize landraces has been the most common form of chicha. However, chicha is also made from a variety of other cultigens and wild plants, including, among others, quinoa (Chenopodium quinia), kañiwa (Chenopodium pallidicaule), peanut, manioc (also called yuca or cassava), palm fruit, rice, potato, oca (Oxalis tuberosa), and chañar (Geoffroea decorticans). There are many regional variations of chicha. In the Inca Empire, chicha had ceremonial and ritual uses. The exact origin of the word chicha is debated. One belief is that the word chicha is of Taino origin and became a generic term used by the Spanish to define any and all fermented beverages brewed by indigenous peoples in the Americas. It is possible that one of the first uses of the term chicha was from a group of people who lived in Colombia and Panama, the Kuna. However, according to the Real Academia Española and other authors, the word chicha comes from the Kuna word chichab, or “chiab” which means maize. According to Don Luis G. Iza it comes from the Nahuatl word chichiatl, which means “fermented water”; the verb chicha meaning “to sour a drink“ and the noun atl meaning “water”. These etymologies are not mutually exclusive. The Spanish idiom ni chicha ni limonada (neither chicha nor lemonade) means “neither one thing nor another” (roughly equivalent to the English “neither fish nor fowl”).

Chicheme

Chicheme

Sweet corn beverage

Coco Loco

Coco Loco

Mixed drink made with orange juice, pineapple juice, papaya juice, coconut cream, dark rum, coconut rum, grenadine and crushed ice

Cortado

Cortado

A cortado is a Spanish beverage consisting of espresso mixed with a roughly equal amount of warm milk to reduce the acidity, although the exact ratios have considerable regional variation. The milk in a cortado is steamed, but not frothy and "texturized" as in many Italian coffee drinks. The cortado is commonly served all over Spain. The word cortado is the past participle of the Spanish verb cortar , in the sense of 'dilute', and can refer variously to either coffee or espresso drinks throughout Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. In Spain a café solo corto is a small amount of black coffee (usually a single shot of espresso), while a café cortado or more commonly just a cortado is an espresso with a splash of milk. The term cortado is itself broadly associated with various coffee or espresso beverages having been "cut" with milk. The cortado is very similar or the same as the Italian macchiato or the French noisette.

Cristal

Cristal

Frappe

Frappe

A frappé coffee, cold coffee, Greek frappé, or just frappé is a Greek iced coffee drink generally made from spray-dried instant coffee, water, sugar, and milk. The word is often written frappe (without an accent). The frappé was invented in 1957 in Thessaloniki through experimentation by Dimitris Vakondios, a Nescafe representative. Greek Christos Lenzos (1930-2023), a coffeehouse (1964-2013) owner in Pangrati, has been recognized for his self-made version of Greek frappé coffee. Frappés are among the most popular forms of coffee in Greece and Cyprus and have become a hallmark of postwar outdoor Greek coffee culture. This Greek invention should not be confused with the Frappuccino, a trademarked name now owned by Starbucks. The Frappuccino was invented in Boston, Massachusetts in 1992 by Andrew Frank, an employee of the Coffee Connection. The name derives from "frappe" (pronounced /fræp/ and spelled without the accent)—the New England name for a thick milkshake with ice cream, derived from the French word lait frappé (beaten milk)—and cappuccino. Because "frappuccino" is trade-marked, some Starbucks's competitors drop the "uccino" and just call their competing drink a "frappe", sometimes adding an accent mark to make it "frappé".

Guarapo

Guarapo

Sugarcane juice is the liquid extracted from pressed sugarcane. It is consumed as a beverage in many places, especially where sugarcane is commercially grown, such as Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, North Africa, mainly Egypt, and also in South America, especially Brazil. Sugarcane juice is obtained by crushing peeled sugarcane in a mill and is one of the main precursors of rum. In the United States, where processed sugarcane syrup is used as a sweetener in food and beverage manufacturing, "evaporated cane juice" is considered by the Food and Drug Administration to be a misleading term for "sugar" on product labels because the FDA regards "juice" as a liquid derived from fruits or vegetables; the preferred term is "cane sugar". There are some diseases that can be transmitted by raw sugarcane, such as leptospirosis. In Brazil, sugarcane juice has been linked to cases of Chagas disease, as sugarcane can contain traces of its responsible pathogen, Trypanosoma cruzi, left by infected insects if not properly cleaned.

Janson coffee

Janson coffee

Coffee from Janson Farms

Jugo

Jugo

Fruit beverage made with added water, milk, sugar

Limonada

Limonada

Limeade, also called lime soda, is a lime-flavored, sometimes carbonated, drink. It is usually sweetened with sugar or sweeteners. A common method of preparation is to juice limes and combine the juice with simple syrup or honey syrup, along with some water and perhaps more sugar or honey. Vodka or white tequila can be added to make a limeade cocktail. The exact ingredients, preparation and names of the drink can vary by country. Most major beverage companies now offer their own brand of limeade, such as A.G. Barr of Glasgow and Newman's Own since 2004, with Minute Maid introducing a cherry limeade drink in response to the popularity of limeade.[citation needed] Sonic Drive-In uses Sprite to create its popular cherry limeade.

Malteada

Malteada

Malted milkshake

Mama Juana

Mama Juana

Mama Juana is a spiced alcoholic beverage made by infusing a mixture of rum, red wine, and honey with tree bark and herbs. The taste is similar to port wine and the color is a deep red. It originates in the Dominican Republic. The specific herbs that make up Mamajuana were originally prepared as a herbal tea by the native Taíno; post-Columbus, alcohol was added to the recipe.

Medio y medio

Medio y medio

A beverage made by mixing dry white wine and sweet sparkling wine in equal parts

Naranjilla juice

Naranjilla juice

Lulada is a traditional Colombian beverage from Cali, in the Valle del Cauca Department of Colombia. It is prepared from lulo, a fruit common to the region, lime juice, water, and sugar for sweetness. It often has the texture and consistency of a smoothie and is sometimes served with a shot of aguardiente. A lulada differs from the standard lulo juice in that the lulo fruit is not blended during the drink's preparation.

Panama

Panama

Piña Colada

Piña Colada

The Piña Colada is a cocktail made with rum, cream of coconut, and pineapple juice, usually served either blended or shaken with ice. It may be garnished with either a pineapple wedge, maraschino cherry, or both. The drink originated in Puerto Rico. The name piña colada (Spanish) literally means "strained pineapple", a reference to the freshly pressed and strained pineapple juice used in the drink's preparation.

Pipa

Pipa

Coconut water is the clear liquid inside young coconuts (fruits of the coconut palm). In early development, it serves as a suspension for the endosperm of the coconut during the nuclear phase of development. As development continues, the endosperm matures into its cellular phase and deposits into the rind of the coconut pulp. The liquid inside young coconuts is sometimes preferred to the liquid of a ripened coconut. Coconut water from young green coconuts is also known specifically as buko juice in Philippine English. Fresh coconuts are typically harvested from the tree while they are green. A hole may be bored into the coconut to provide access to the "meat" (liquid and pulp). In young coconuts, the liquid and air may be under some pressure and may spray slightly when the inner husk is first penetrated. Coconuts that have fallen to the ground are susceptible to rot and damage from insects or other animals.

Pocillo

Pocillo

Coffee drinks are made by brewing water with ground coffee beans. The brewing is either done slowly, by filter, French press, moka pot or percolator, or done very quickly, under pressure, by an espresso machine. When put under the pressure of an espresso machine, the coffee is termed espresso, while slow-brewed coffees are generally termed brewed coffee. While all coffee drinks are based on either coffee or espresso, some drinks add milk or cream, some are made with steamed milk or non-dairy milks, or add water . Upon milk additions, coffee's flavor can vary with different syrups or sweeteners, alcoholic liqueurs, and even combinations of coffee with espresso or tea. There are many variations to the basic coffee or espresso bases. With the invention of the Gaggia machine, espresso and espresso with milk, such as cappuccino and latte, spread in popularity from Italy to the US in the early 20th century. With the rise in popularity of the Italian coffee culture in the 1980s, it began to spread worldwide via coffeehouses and coffeehouse chains.

Ponche

Ponche

The term punch refers to a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruits or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from the Indian subcontinent to England by employees of the East India Company in the late 17th century. Punch is usually served at parties in large, wide bowls, known as punch bowls. In the United States, federal regulations provide the word "punch" to describe commercial beverage products that do not contain fruit or fruit juice. The term is used to label artificially flavored beverages, with or without natural flavorings, which do not contain fruit juice or concentrate in significant proportions. Thus a product labeled as "fruit punch" may contain no fruit ingredients at all. The word is commonly said to come from from Hindi पाँच , meaning "five", as the drink was frequently made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, juice from either a lime or a lemon, water, and spices, or milk, curd, butter, honey, sugar. That etymology traces to John Fryer's A New Account of East India and Persia, in Eight Letters (1698), but there is no evidence of a drink called pāñch in India, or elsewhere, before the English word. Besides, the English word is now known to have been in use before the British became regulars to India.

Ponche de frutas navideño

Ponche de frutas navideño

Fruit punch, common during Christmas and New Year's

Refresco

Refresco

Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as clam juice. Juice is commonly consumed as a beverage or used as an ingredient or flavoring in foods or other beverages, such as smoothies. Juice emerged as a popular beverage choice after the development of pasteurization methods enabled its preservation without using fermentation . The largest fruit juice consumers are New Zealand (nearly a cup, or 8 ounces, each day) and Colombia (more than three quarters of a cup each day). Fruit juice consumption on average increases with a country's income level.

Robusta

Robusta

Coffea canephora is a species of coffee plant that has its origins in central and western sub-Saharan Africa. It is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. Though widely known as Coffea robusta, the plant is scientifically identified as Coffea canephora, which has two main varieties, robusta and nganda. Coffea robusta represents between 40% and 45% of global coffee production, with Coffea arabica constituting most of the remainder. There are several differences between the composition of coffee beans from C. arabica and C. robusta. Beans from C. robusta tend to have lower acidity, more bitterness, and a more woody and less fruity flavor compared to C. arabica beans. Most of it is used for instant coffee.

Ron Abuelo

Ron Abuelo

Ron ponche

Ron ponche

The term punch refers to a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruits or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from the Indian subcontinent to England by employees of the East India Company in the late 17th century. Punch is usually served at parties in large, wide bowls, known as punch bowls. In the United States, federal regulations provide the word "punch" to describe commercial beverage products that do not contain fruit or fruit juice. The term is used to label artificially flavored beverages, with or without natural flavorings, which do not contain fruit juice or concentrate in significant proportions. Thus a product labeled as "fruit punch" may contain no fruit ingredients at all. The word is commonly said to come from from Hindi पाँच , meaning "five", as the drink was frequently made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, juice from either a lime or a lemon, water, and spices, or milk, curd, butter, honey, sugar. That etymology traces to John Fryer's A New Account of East India and Persia, in Eight Letters (1698), but there is no evidence of a drink called pāñch in India, or elsewhere, before the English word. Besides, the English word is now known to have been in use before the British became regulars to India.

Rum

Rum

Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced in nearly every major sugar-producing region of the world. Rums are produced in various grades. Light rums are commonly used in cocktails, whereas "golden" and "dark" rums were typically consumed straight or neat, iced , or used for cooking, but are now commonly consumed with mixers. Premium rums are made to be consumed either straight or iced.

Scotch whisky

Scotch whisky

Scotch whisky y [ˈʍʌski]), often simply called whisky or Scotch, is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two) made in Scotland. The first known written mention of Scotch whisky is in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland of 1494. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial distilleries began introducing whisky made from wheat and rye in the late 18th century. As of May 2024, there were 151 whisky distilleries operating in Scotland, making Scotch whisky one of the most renowned geographical indications worldwide.

Seco Herrerano

Seco Herrerano

Seco Herrerano is a brand of rum produced in Pesé, Panama. Seco Herrerano was created by the Varela family in 1908.[citation needed] Seco was a popular and affordable rum in Panama. It went through a brand revival during the 2000s, eventually becoming a little more high-end. Seco is to rum what grappa is to wine, meaning Seco a high-proof version of rum. Seco Herrerano is produced with sugar cane from the Herrera Province. It is distilled three times. It is a clear liquor that is sold at 35 percent alcohol by volume .

Soberana

Soberana

Tamarindo

Tamarindo

Tamarind is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae. The tamarind tree produces brown, pod-like fruits that contain a sweet, tangy pulp, which is used in cuisines around the world. The pulp is also used in traditional medicine and as a metal polish. The tree's wood can be used for woodworking and tamarind seed oil can be extracted from the seeds. Tamarind's tender young leaves are used in South Indian and Filipino cuisine. Because tamarind has multiple uses, it is cultivated around the world in tropical and subtropical zones.

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