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Paraguay

Paraguay, a landlocked South American nation, nestles between rivers with Asunción as its colonial capital, famed for Jesuit ruins and a Guarani-Spanish blend. Known for soy, hydropower (Itaipu Dam), and yerba mate, its economy thrives on agriculture and cheap energy, though poverty lingers. Its harp music and ñandutí lace charm. Paraguay’s quiet resilience flows.

Paraguay

Featured Dishes from Paraguay

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.

Chipa

Chipa

Chipa is a type of small, baked, cheese-flavored rolls, a popular snack and breakfast food in Paraguay. The recipe has existed since the 18th century and its origins lie with the Guaraní people of Asunción. It is inexpensive and often sold from streetside stands and on buses by vendors carrying a large basket with the warm chipa wrapped in a cloth. The original name is from Guarani chipa. A small chipa may be called a chipita. In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, the term cuñapé (Guarani) is often used. In some parts of Argentina, it is called chipá (with an accent mark), or chipacito when it is small. Chipa is often baked in smaller doughnuts or buns that may be called chipita or chipacitos. These are sold in small bags by street sellers of big cities and small towns. In the preparation of chipa yeast is not used, so in spite of the high temperatures of the region it can be preserved for many days. It is a festive food and can be found in every popular religious celebration.

Chocolatada

Chocolatada

A hot chocolate drink made with cinnamon, cloves, heavy cream, brandy, butter, sugar, condensed milk, whipped cream, common during Christmas (chocolatada Navideña)

Coffee

Coffee

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.

Facturas

Facturas

Media lunas pastries filled with dulce de leche, drizzled with chocolate, etc

Mandio chyryry

Mandio chyryry

Cassava cooked with eggs, onions and cheese

Mbeju

Mbeju

Mbeju is a starch cake sometimes made with fariña or manioc flour typical of Paraguay. The recipe has existed since the 18th century and its origins lie with the indigenous Cario-Guarani people that lived in Asunción and its surroundings. The name "mbejú" means "cake" and comes from the Guarani language. Guarani is one of the two official languages of Paraguay, which defines itself as being bilingual and multi-cultural. The mbejú is bound to the Guarani mythology to be one of the most ancient recipes of this culture. Traditionally, there were about 16 ways to prepare it, although nowadays, 11 are recognized. Next to the chipa and the sopa paraguaya it is part of the so-called "tyra", a Guarani term for food consumed to accompany the "mate cocido", milk or coffee, or simply an addition to other dishes. Some revisionist historians point out that, during the colonial era, the German traveler Ulrich Schmidl was already talking about the recipe for that kind of starchy bread made by the Cario-Guarani people (a native tribe who used to live in Asunción). Schmidl was in charge of noting in the logbook of the Spanish ship in which the expedition led by Juan de Ayolas arrived, which would arrive in Asunción later, thus giving rise to the first encounter between Spaniards and the Cario-Guarani people. Before being known as mbeju, there was a menu that was already part of the varieties of bread that the Cario-Guarani natives had in the early days of the conquest. Back then, the food the Cario-Guarani people used to eat was “mbujape”, which translated from Guarani means “bread”. To cook the mbujapé, corn flour or cassava starch was combined with animal fat and then it was wrapped in a banana leaf and placed in the tanimbú to cook it.

Medialuna

Medialuna

A croissant wæsɒ̃/, French: [kʁwasɑ̃] ⓘ) is a French pastry in a crescent shape made from a laminated yeast dough similar to puff pastry. It is a buttery, flaky, viennoiserie pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian kipferl, but using the French yeast-leavened laminated dough. Croissants are named for their historical crescent shape. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a thin sheet, in a technique called laminating. The process results in a layered, flaky texture, similar to a puff pastry.

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.

Rora

Rora

Crushed, ground and toasted cornmeal, cooked with eggs, onions, vegetables, chorizo, cheese

Tereré

Tereré

Tereré is an infusion of yerba mate (botanical name Ilex paraguariensis) prepared with cold water, a lot of ice and pohã ñana (medicinal herbs), and in a slightly larger vessel. This infusion has its roots in Pre-Columbian America, which established itself as traditional during the time of Governorate of Paraguay. There's also a variant made with juice, called "Juice tereré" or "Russian tereré", depending on the region. On December 17, 2020, UNESCO declared the tereré of Paraguay as an intangible cultural heritage, which includes the drink (tereré) and its preparation methods with medicinal herbs (pohá ñaná). It is similar to mate —a drink also based on yerba mate—but with the difference that tereré is consumed cold, preferably in the warmer areas of the Southern Cone. It is traditional from Paraguay, where it's considered a cultural icon. In recent decades it has become popular in some areas of Southern Brazil, in Eastern Bolivia and in Argentina (countries where the tereré of juice is more popular than the tereré of water). Both refreshing or medicinal herbs are often added, such as pererina, cocú, mint, sarsaparille, horsetail family, burrito, agrial or wax begonia, batatilla, verbena, spikesedges, ajenjo, slender dayflower, escobilla, lemon balm, saffron crocus, ginger, taropé, perdudilla blanca and others. Currently, in Paraguay exist various franchises that sell flavored ice based on medicinal-refreshing weeds/fruits for consumption in the tereré.

Yerba mate

Yerba mate

Yerba mate or yerba-maté , Ilex paraguariensis, is a plant species of the holly genus native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a beverage known as maté. Brewed cold, it is used to make tereré. Both the plant and the beverage contain caffeine.

Alfajor

Alfajor

An alfajor or alajú is a traditional confection typically made of flour, honey, and nuts. It is found in Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, the Philippines, Southern Brazil, Southern France, Spain, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador and Chile. The archetypal alfajor entered Iberia during the period of al-Andalus. It is produced in the form of a small cylinder and is sold either individually or in boxes containing several pieces. According to Spanish philologist and dialectologist Manuel Alvar López, alfajor is an Andalusian variant of the Castilian alajú, derived from the Arabic word الفَاخِر, al-fakhir, meaning luxurious, and, contrary to some beliefs that it originated in the New World, was introduced to Latin America as alfajor. The word had been introduced into Spanish dictionaries in the 14th century.

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:

Berliner

Berliner

A Berliner or Krapfen is a German jam doughnut with no central hole, made from sweet yeast dough fried in lard or cooking oil, with a jam filling, and usually covered in powdered sugar. Sugar was very costly until the 16th century, and early doughnuts were usually stuffed with savory fillings like cheese, meat and mushroom. When imports from Caribbean sugar plantations made sugar more affordable, fruit preserves gained in popularity. In 1485, the first German-language cookbook to be published in printed form Kuechenmeisterei was published in Nuremberg and remained in print at least until 1674 with 20 editions . It was one of the first cookbooks printed using the Gutenberg press and contains the first known recipe for a jelly doughnut, called Gefüllte Krapfen made with jam-filled yeasted bread dough deep-fried in lard. It's unknown whether this innovation was the author's own or simply a record of an existing practice. The yeast dough contains a good deal of eggs, milk and butter. For the classical Pfannkuchen made in Berlin the dough is rolled into a ball, deep-fried in lard, whereby the distinctive bright bulge occurs, and then filled with jam. The filling is related to the topping:[citation needed] for plum-butter, powdered sugar; for raspberry, strawberry and cherry jam, sugar; for all other fillings, sugar icing, sometimes flavoured with rum. Today the filling usually is injected with a large syringe or pastry bag after the dough is fried in one piece.

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.

Bizcochuelo

Bizcochuelo

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.

Bolitas de coco

Bolitas de coco

Budín de pan

Budín 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".

Budin ingles

Budin ingles

Fruitcake, made with dried fruit, nuts, orange zest, common during Christmas and New Year's

Churro

Churro

A churro is a type of fried dough from Spanish and Portuguese cuisine, made with choux pastry dough piped into hot oil with a piping bag and large closed star tip or similar shape. They are also found in Latin American cuisine, Philippine cuisine and in other areas that have received immigration from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, especially in France and the Southwestern United States. In Spain, churros can either be thin (and sometimes knotted) or long and thick, where they are known as porras, jeringos, or tejeringos in some regions. They are normally eaten for breakfast dipped in coffee, or in hot chocolate for an afternoon snack. There are also two slightly different snacks in Portugal, called porra and fartura, which are filled with jelly instead of the doce de leite traditional to Brazilian churros.

Crema

Crema

Dulce de guayaba

Dulce de guayaba

Goiabada is a conserve made of red guavas and sugar, commonly found throughout the Portuguese-speaking countries of the world. It dates back to the colonial times of Brazil, where guavas were used as a substitute for the quinces used to make quince cheese. It required an abundance of sugar and slave labor for its production as it was made in large batches within cauldrons cooking over a slow fire. In rural areas of Brazil, it is still commonly made at home for family use or sale. Very similar to goiabada is the closely related Colombian bocadillo, also made from guava but with more sugar. It is known as guava paste or guava cheese throughout the English-speaking Americas, especially the Caribbean, and dulce de guayaba, barra de guayaba, pasta de guayaba, bocadillo or guayabate in Spanish-speaking Americas. It is commercially available, most often packaged in flat metal cans, or as long rectangular blocks in chipboard boxes.

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 de mamon

Dulce de mamon

Dulce de mani

Dulce de mani

Empanada

Empanada

Sweet, filled hand-held pie

Flan

Flan

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

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

Kamby arro

Kamby arro

Kosereva

Kosereva

Sweets made with citrus peel cooked in molasses, made with sour orange, lemon, grapefruit, often served with cheese

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.

Mbaipy

Mbaipy

Cornmeal porridge similar to polenta, made with vegetables, cheese, meat such as chicken, dried meat, chorizo, there are also sweet variations served as dessert

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.

Mousse

Mousse

A mousse is a soft prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. Depending on preparation techniques, it can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick. A mousse may be sweet or savoury. Sweet mousses are typically made with whipped egg whites, whipped cream, or both, and flavored with one or more of chocolate, coffee, caramel, puréed fruits, or various herbs and spices, such as mint or vanilla. In the case of some chocolate mousses, egg yolks are often stirred into melted chocolate to give the final product a richer mouthfeel. Mousses are also typically chilled before being served, which gives them a denser texture. Additionally, mousses are often frozen into silicone molds and unmolded to give the mousse a defined shape. Sweetened mousse is served as a dessert or used as an airy cake filling. It is sometimes stabilized with gelatin. Savoury mousses can be made from meat, fish, shellfish, foie gras, cheese, or vegetables. Hot mousses often get their light texture from the addition of beaten egg whites.

Niño envuelto

Niño envuelto

Wrapped baby, sweet rolls or roulades filled with fruit, pumpkin, raspberries, strawberries, there are also savory versions, for example, rice and beef cabbage rolls

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 de banana

Pan de banana

Banana bread, banana cake

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.

Pastafrola

Pastafrola

Pastafrola or pasta frolla is a type of sweet tart common to Italy, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Egypt and Greece. It is a covered, jam-filled shortcrust pastry dish principally made from flour, sugar and egg. Common fillings include quince cheese, dulce de batata (sweet potato jam), dulce de leche, guava, or strawberry jam. The covering of the tart is a thin-striped lattice which displays the filling beneath in rhomboidal or square sections. Pastafrola is most usually oven-baked in a circular shape. Most of the Greek versions of this dish are filled with sweet jam: it is considered a morning dessert. The name of the dish comes from pasta frolla (lit. 'friable pastry'), Italian for shortcrust pastry, and is similar to the Italian crostata. Italian immigrants brought it to Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. Similar dishes include the Austrian Linzer torte and Swiss tarts with a spiced-fruit filling. In Greek, the word frolla was misinterpreted as the Italian word flora.

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.

Pionono

Pionono

Pionono describes different sweet or savory pastries from Granada, Spain, the Philippines, South America, and the Caribbean. They are named after Pope Pius IX's name in Italian, Pío Nono. Spanish Piononos are small pastries traditional in Santa Fe, a small town adjacent to the city of Granada, Spain, which is otherwise known primarily for the Capitulations of Santa Fe between Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs. A pionono has two parts: a thin layer of pastry rolled into a cylinder, drenched with different kinds of syrup which give the pionono a sweet and pleasant texture, and crowned with toasted cream. It is typically eaten in one or two bites. In the Philippines, pionono is more commonly spelled as pianono. It is a rolled sponge cake and is more accurately a type of jelly roll. It consists of a layer of pastry made from eggs, sugar, and sifted flour baked in a sheet. Once cooled, jelly or other types of filling is spread over the pastry. It is then rolled from one end to the other. Its most common traditional filling is simply sugar and butter , similar to the other forms of the Filipino mamón (sponge cakes). Modern versions, however, are commonly frosted and can include a variety of fillings.

Rosquillas

Rosquillas

Doughnuts, made with wheat flour and, for example, lemon zest, anise, covered in icing, rosquillas in Latin America are made with corn flour

Suspiro

Suspiro

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

Torta de chocolate

Torta de chocolate

Chocolate cake or chocolate gâteau is a cake flavored with melted chocolate, cocoa powder, or both. It can also have other ingredients such as fudge, vanilla creme, and other sweeteners. The history of chocolate cake goes back to the 17th century, when cocoa powder from the Americas was added to traditional cake recipes.

Torta de coco

Torta de coco

Coconut cake is a popular dessert in the Southern region of the United States. It is a cake frosted with a white frosting and covered in coconut flakes. Typically, the cakes used in coconut cake are either white or yellow cakes. While some recipes do not call for coconut flavor in the cake itself, there are others that replace the milk with coconut milk and/or use coconut extract. It is also common to brush the cakes with a simple syrup to make it more moist. Often the cake layers are filled with either a white frosting or coconut pastry cream. Traditionally, the cake is frosted with a 7-minute frosting, but cream cheese icings and buttercreams are not uncommon. Like the cakes, coconut flavor is not always a must in the frosting. One constant characteristic of coconut cake is the use of shredded coconut to cover the frosting. One popular variation of coconut cake is coconut poke cake. While traditional coconut cake is round and multi-layered, coconut poke cake is either a white or yellow cake that is rectangular and single-layered. What makes it a "poke" cake are the holes made into the cake to act as pores to absorb a coconut liquid mixture or cream of coconut, such as CoCo Lopez. Afterwards, the cake is frosted with a whipped topping.

Torta de naranja

Torta de naranja

Torta frita

Torta frita

Fried dough, may be stuffed with cheese, topped with sugar, dulce de leche, jelly, serve with coffee, yerba mate tea

Torta helada

Torta helada

Layered dessert with a cake layer, a mousse layer, and a gelatin fruit layer

Tres leches

Tres leches

A tres leches cake , dulce de tres leches, also known as pan tres leches (lit. 'three-milk bread') or simply tres leches, is a sponge cake originating in North, Central and South America soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and whole milk. Tres leches is a very light cake, with many air bubbles. This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency, despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk. By 1896, the U.S. Department of Commerce was exporting condensed milk to Nicaragua. Cattle, sugarcane plantations, and milk preservation techniques were introduced to Nicaragua by that time, by way of American military occupation.

Turrón

Turrón

Turrón , torró ( Catalan: [tuˈro] / Valencian: [toˈro]) or torrone ( Italian: [torˈroːne]) is a Mediterranean nougat confection, typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts, and usually shaped either into a rectangular tablet or a round cake. Turrón is usually eaten as a dessert food around Christmas in Spain and Italy. In Malta it is sold in street stalls as qubbajd during the parish patron saint feast of the various localities. Similar products are sold in street stalks of North African Arab states such as Tunisia, suggesting Arab or moor origins.

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]

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.

Beer

Beer

Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize , rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the grain to sugars, which dissolve in water to form wort. Fermentation of the wort by yeast produces ethanol and carbonation in the beer. Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks in the world, the most widely consumed, and the third most popular drink after water and tea. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavours and act as a natural preservative and stabilising agent. Other flavouring agents, such as gruit, herbs, or fruits, may be included or used instead of hops. In commercial brewing, natural carbonation is often replaced with forced carbonation. Beer is distributed in bottles and cans, and is commonly available on draught in pubs and bars. The brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries. The strength of modern beer is usually around 4% to 6% alcohol by volume (ABV).

Brahma

Brahma

Brahma is a Brazilian beer, originally made by the Companhia Cervejaria Brahma, which was founded in 1888. In 1914, Brahma produced their national Malzbier. After that, the company began expanding internationally. The company bought the license for distribution of the Germania brand, which later was known as Guanabara, and was one of the earliest of the Brazilian beer brands. In 1934, Brahma introduced the new bottled draft Brahma Chopp, and it became a Brazilian bestseller. In 1989, Jorge Paulo Lemann, Carlos Alberto Sicupira and Marcel Telles bought Companhia Cervejaria Brahma for $50 million. An interfaith coalition is pressing the world's largest brewer to remove the name of a Hindu god from its beer brand. Brahma is a beer produced primarily for the Brazilian domestic market. Brahma was named after Brahma, the Hindu god of creation. Controversially, Brahma is now brewed in the Czech Republic.

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.

Caipirinha

Caipirinha

Caipirinha is a Brazilian cocktail, of São Paulo origin, with cachaça (sugarcane hard liquor), sugar, lime, and ice. The drink is prepared by mixing the fruit and the sugar together, then adding the liquor. Known and consumed nationally and internationally, caipirinha is one of the most famous components of Brazilian cuisine, being the most popular national recipe worldwide and often considered the best drink in the country and one of the best cocktails/drinks in the world, having reached third place in 2024, according to the specialized website TasteAtlas. Due to its importance and popularity, the caipirinha was declared Brazilian Cultural Heritage in 2003; in 2019, it was considered Intangible Heritage of Rio de Janeiro, despite its origins in São Paulo. It is part of the list of official cocktails of the International Bartenders Association (IBA).

Caña

Caña

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.

Carrulim

Carrulim

Sugar cane alcohol with ruda (an herb) and lemon

Chicha de anana

Chicha de anana

Pineapple alcohol

Chicha de jora

Chicha de jora

Chicha de jora is a corn beer or chicha prepared by germinating maize, extracting the malt sugars, boiling the wort, and fermenting it in large vessels for several days. The process is essentially similar to the process for the production of European-style beer. Some add quinoa or other adjuncts to give it consistency before it is boiled down. Chancaca, a hard raw form of cane sugar (not refined), helps with the fermentation process. It is traditionally prepared from a specific kind of yellow maize (jora) and is usually referred to as chicha de jora. It has a pale straw color, a slightly milky appearance, and a slightly sour aftertaste, reminiscent of hard apple cider.[citation needed] It is drunk either young and sweet or mature and strong.[citation needed] It contains a relatively small amount of alcohol, 1-3% abv.[citation needed] In some cultures, instead of germinating the maize to release the starches therein, the maize is ground, moistened in the chicha maker's mouth, and formed into small balls, which are then flattened and laid out to dry. Naturally occurring ptyalin enzymes in the maker's saliva catalyse the breakdown of starch in the maize into maltose. This process of chewing grains or other starches was used in the production of alcoholic beverages in pre-modern cultures around the world, including, for example, some traditional forms of sake in Japan.

Chicha de uva

Chicha de uva

Cocido

Cocido

Cocido [a] or cozido ( Portuguese: [kuˈziðu] ⓘ)[b] is a traditional stew eaten as a main dish in Spain, Portugal, Brazil and other Hispanophone and Lusophone countries. In Spanish, cocido is the past participle of the verb cocer ("to boil"), so it literally means "boiled [thing]". In Portuguese, the word cozido means "cooked", "boiled" or "baked", being the past participle of the verb cozer ("to cook", "to boil", or "to bake").

Coffee

Coffee

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.

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.

Daiquiri

Daiquiri

The daiquiri is a cocktail whose main ingredients are rum, citrus juice (typically lime juice), and sugar or other sweetener. The daiquiri is one of the six basic drinks listed in David A. Embury's classic The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, which also lists some variations. Daiquirí is also the name of a beach and an iron mine near Santiago de Cuba in eastern Cuba, and is a word of Taíno origin. The drink was supposedly invented by an American mining engineer named Jennings Cox, who was in Cuba (then at the tail-end of the Spanish Captaincy-General government) at the time of the Spanish–American War of 1898. It is also possible that William A. Chanler, a US congressman who purchased the Santiago iron mines in 1902, introduced the daiquiri to clubs in New York in that year.: 168

Fernet

Fernet

Fernet is an Italian type of amaro, a bitter, aromatic spirit. Fernet is made from a number of herbs and spices which vary according to the brand, but usually include myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and especially saffron, with a base of distilled grape spirits. Fernet is usually served as a digestif after a meal but may also be served with coffee and espresso or mixed into coffee and espresso drinks. It may be served at room temperature or with ice. The Italian liqueur Fernet-Branca, developed in 1845, has a cult following in the international bartending community and is immensely popular in Argentina and Southern Brazil. Argentina consumes more than 75% of all fernet produced globally and, due to the product's popularity, also has Fratelli Branca's only distillery outside of Italy. As it is traditionally mixed with Coke, fernet has also contributed in making Argentina one of the biggest consumers of Coca-Cola in the world. Fernet and Coke (Spanish: fernet con coca) is so ubiquitous in Argentina that it has been described as "the country's unofficial drink". This combination is called fernandito.

Fernet con coca

Fernet con coca

Fernet con coca koŋ ˈkoka], "Fernet and Coke"), also known as fernando, its diminutive fernandito ( Spanish: [feɾnanˈdito]), or several other nicknames,[nb 1] is a long drink of Argentine origin consisting of the Italian amaro liqueur fernet and cola, served over ice. Although typically made with Fernet-Branca and Coca-Cola, several amaro brands have appeared in Argentina since its popularization, as well as ready-to-drink versions. The cocktail first became popular among the youth of the college town of Córdoba, in the 1980s and—impulsed by an advertising campaign led by Fratelli Branca—its consumption grew in popularity during the following decades to become widespread throughout the country, surpassed only by that of beer and wine. It is now considered a cultural icon of Argentina and is especially associated with its home province of Córdoba, where the drink is most consumed. The popularity of fernet con coca is such that Argentina consumes more than 75% of all fernet produced globally. The cocktail can also be found in some of its bordering countries, such as Uruguay.

Fruit juice

Fruit juice

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.

Granizado

Granizado

Fruit juice or syrup with shaved or crushed ice

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.

Jugo

Jugo

Fruit beverage made with added water, milk, sugar

Malteada

Malteada

Malted milkshake

Mate

Mate

Maté is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused herbal drink. It is also known as chimarrão[a] in Portuguese, cimarrón[b] in Spanish, and kaʼay in Guarani. It is made by soaking dried yerba-maté (Ilex paraguariensis) leaves in hot water and is traditionally served with a metal straw (bombilla) in a container typically made from a calabash gourd (also called the mate), but also made from a cattle horn (guampa) in some areas. A very similar preparation, known as mate cocido, removes some of the plant material and sometimes comes in tea bags. Today, maté is sold commercially in tea bags and as bottled iced tea. Maté has been originally consumed by the Guaraní and Tupi peoples native to Brazil and neighboring countries. After European colonization, it was spread across the Southern Cone countries, namely Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile, but it is also consumed in the South of Brazil and the Bolivian Chaco. Maté is the national beverage of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. In Chile, maté is predominantly consumed in the central and southern regions. Maté is also popular in Lebanon and Syria, where it was brought by immigrants from Paraguay and Argentina.

Medio y medio

Medio y medio

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

Mosto

Mosto

Sugarcane juice

Negroni

Negroni

The negroni is a cocktail, made of equal parts gin, vermouth rosso , and Campari, generally served on the rocks, and commonly garnished with an orange slice or orange peel. It is considered an apéritif. The drink has been documented in Italy since the late 1940s, and became popular in the 1950s, but the origin is uncertain, and early recipes differ somewhat from the modern standard.[a] The basic recipe – an equal-parts cocktail of these three ingredients – is first recorded in French cocktail books of the late 1920s, alongside many similar drinks; in Italy a long drink of equal parts vermouth and Campari (but no gin), topped with soda and served over ice, has existed since the 1800s under the names Milano–Torino or Americano. There are claims of Italian drinks by the name "Negroni" containing gin from 1919, though these differ significantly from the modern drink; see § History for details. The IBA recipe for the negroni specifies that it be built over ice in an old-fashioned or rocks glass and garnished with a slice of orange, similar to an old fashioned or spritz (short, minus the soda).

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.

Screwdriver

Screwdriver

A screwdriver is a simple and popular alcoholic highball drink made with orange juice and vodka. In the UK, it is referred to as a "vodka and orange". While the basic drink is simply the two ingredients, there are many variations. Many of the variations have different names in different parts of the world. The drink originated during World War II, when Americans in China and Turkey mixed neutral spirits with orange juice. The origin of the name "screwdriver" is less clear, but the name appeared in Ankara, Turkey, in 1943 and 1944 and later in Istanbul. Variations on the recipe were present in 1948 in Turkey and also called screwdrivers, such as a mixture of one-third vodka and two-thirds gin, and another recipe adding gin, cognac, bitters, and other ingredients to orange juice and vodka. An unattributed but popular story for the name is that the Americans lacked a spoon and instead used a screwdriver as a stirring stick. Another unattributed story is that auto workers in the US used to pour vodka in their breakfast orange juice before starting the shift and used screwdrivers to stir the glass.

Soft drinks

Soft drinks

A soft drink is any water-based flavored drink, usually but not necessarily carbonated, and typically including added sweetener. Flavors used can be natural or artificial. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a sugar substitute (in the case of diet sodas), or some combination of these. Soft drinks may also contain caffeine, colorings, preservatives and other ingredients. Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast with "hard" alcoholic drinks. Small amounts of alcohol may be present in a soft drink, but the alcohol content must be less than 0.5% of the total volume of the drink in many countries and localities if the drink is to be considered non-alcoholic. Types of soft drinks include lemon-lime drinks, orange soda, cola, grape soda, cream soda, ginger ale and root beer.

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.

Tereré

Tereré

Tereré is an infusion of yerba mate (botanical name Ilex paraguariensis) prepared with cold water, a lot of ice and pohã ñana (medicinal herbs), and in a slightly larger vessel. This infusion has its roots in Pre-Columbian America, which established itself as traditional during the time of Governorate of Paraguay. There's also a variant made with juice, called "Juice tereré" or "Russian tereré", depending on the region. On December 17, 2020, UNESCO declared the tereré of Paraguay as an intangible cultural heritage, which includes the drink (tereré) and its preparation methods with medicinal herbs (pohá ñaná). It is similar to mate —a drink also based on yerba mate—but with the difference that tereré is consumed cold, preferably in the warmer areas of the Southern Cone. It is traditional from Paraguay, where it's considered a cultural icon. In recent decades it has become popular in some areas of Southern Brazil, in Eastern Bolivia and in Argentina (countries where the tereré of juice is more popular than the tereré of water). Both refreshing or medicinal herbs are often added, such as pererina, cocú, mint, sarsaparille, horsetail family, burrito, agrial or wax begonia, batatilla, verbena, spikesedges, ajenjo, slender dayflower, escobilla, lemon balm, saffron crocus, ginger, taropé, perdudilla blanca and others. Currently, in Paraguay exist various franchises that sell flavored ice based on medicinal-refreshing weeds/fruits for consumption in the tereré.

Wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic drink made from fermented fruit. Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made from grapes, and the term "wine" generally refers to grape wine when used without any qualification. Even so, wine can be made from a variety of fruit crops, including plum, cherry, pomegranate, blueberry, currant, and elderberry. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are major factors in different styles of wine. These differences result from the complex interactions between the biochemical development of the grape, the reactions involved in fermentation, the grape's growing environment , and the wine production process. Many countries enact legal appellations intended to define styles and qualities of wine. These typically restrict the geographical origin and permitted varieties of grapes, as well as other aspects of wine production.

Yerba mate

Yerba mate

Yerba mate or yerba-maté , Ilex paraguariensis, is a plant species of the holly genus native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a beverage known as maté. Brewed cold, it is used to make tereré. Both the plant and the beverage contain caffeine.

Arroz con pollo

Arroz con pollo

Arroz con pollo is a traditional dish of Latin America. It typically consists of chicken cooked with rice, onions, saffron, and a potential plethora of other grains or vegetables. In the Dominican Republic it is alternately called locrio de pollo, and in Saint Martin it is called lokri or locreo. There is some debate as to whether it originated in Spain or Puerto Rico. Many Puerto Ricans note that arroz con pollo cannot be made without beer and annatto oil, and saffron is no substitute. Beer and annatto are rarely used in Spanish cooking and never in arroz con pollo there. Annatto is frequently used in Puerto Rican cooking especially in rice dishes like arroz con gandules (rice with pork and pigeon peas) and arroz con maiz (rice with corn and sausage). Beer is used in many Puerto Rican dishes like pollo guisado (braised stewed chicken) and asopao de pollo (chicken rice stew). Many Puerto Rican rice dishes are generously seasoned with sofrito, a sauce commonly used in arroz con pollo. Food writer Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz, pointing out the international aspects of the dish, notes the origin of arroz con pollo in the Spanish forms of pilaf, already reflecting international influences: chicken was brought from India and rice from Asia; saffron (used for the yellow colour in Spain, instead of annatto) was introduced by Phoenician traders; tomatoes and peppers (also known as sofrito) are natives of the Americas.

Arroz frito

Arroz frito

Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, seafood, or meat. It is often eaten by itself or as an accompaniment to another dish. Fried rice is a popular component of East Asian, Southeast Asian and certain South Asian cuisines, as well as a staple national dish of Indonesia. As a homemade dish, fried rice is typically made with ingredients left over from other dishes, leading to countless variations. Fried rice first developed during the Sui dynasty in China. Many varieties of fried rice have their own specific list of ingredients. In China, common varieties include Yangzhou fried rice and Hokkien fried rice. Japanese chāhan is considered a Japanese Chinese dish, having derived from Chinese fried rice dishes. In Southeast Asia, similarly constructed Indonesian, Malaysian, and Singaporean nasi goreng and Thai khao phat are popular dishes. In the West, most restaurants catering to vegetarians have invented their own varieties of fried rice, including egg fried rice. Fried rice is also seen on the menus of non-Asian countries’ restaurants offering cuisines with no native tradition of the dish. Additionally, the cuisine of some Latin American countries includes variations on fried rice, including Ecuadorian chaulafan, Peruvian arroz chaufa, Cuban arroz frito, and Puerto Rican arroz mamposteao. Fried rice is a common street food in Asia and other parts of the world. In some Asian countries, small restaurants, street vendors and traveling hawkers specialise in serving fried rice. In Indonesian cities it is common to find fried rice street vendors stationing their food carts in busy streets or residential areas. Many Southeast Asian street food stands offer fried rice with a selection of optional garnishes and side dishes.

Asado

Asado

Asado is the technique and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in various South American countries: especially Argentina, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay where it is also a traditional event. An asado usually consists of beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, and morcilla; all of which are cooked using an open fire or a grill, called a parrilla. Usually, red wine and side dishes such as salads accompany the main meats, which are prepared by a designated cook called the asador or parrillero. Usually the asador begins by igniting the charcoal, which is often made of native trees, avoiding pines and eucalyptus as they have strong-smelling resins. In more sophisticated asados the charcoal is of a specific tree or made on the coal of recently burned wood, which is also commonplace when having an asado in a campfire. In Uruguay, charcoal is not used, but instead direct embers or hot coals. Cooking can be done al asador or a la parrilla. In the first case, a fire is lit on the ground or in a fire pit and surrounded by metal crosses (asadores) that hold the entire carcass of an animal splayed open to receive the heat from the fire. In the second case, a fire is made and after the charcoal has formed, a grill with the meat is placed over it.

Beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle . Beef can be prepared in various ways; cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often ground or minced, as found in most hamburgers. Beef contains protein, iron, and vitamin B12. Along with other kinds of red meat, high consumption is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer and coronary heart disease, especially when processed. Beef has a high environmental impact, being a primary driver of deforestation with the highest greenhouse gas emissions of any agricultural product. In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity of their meat. Today, beef is the third most widely consumed meat in the world, after pork and poultry. As of 2018, the United States, Brazil, and China were the largest producers of beef.

Bife

Bife

A steak is a cut of meat sliced across muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried, and can be diced or cooked in sauce. Steaks are most commonly cut from cattle , but can also be cut from bison, buffalo, camel, goat, horse, kangaroo, sheep, ostrich, pigs, turkey, and deer, as well as various types of fish, especially salmon and large fish such as swordfish, shark, and marlin. Some cured meat, such as gammon, is commonly served as steak. Some cuts are categorized as steaks not because they are cut across the muscle fibers, but because they are relatively thin and cooked over a grill, such as skirt steak and flank steak.

Bife de chorizo

Bife de chorizo

A beef tenderloin , known as an eye fillet in Australasia, nautalund in Iceland, filetto in Italy, filet in France, filet mignon in Brazil, and fillet in the United Kingdom and South Africa, is cut from the loin of beef. As with all quadrupeds, the tenderloin refers to the psoas major muscle ventral to the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae, near the kidneys. The tenderloin is an oblong shape spanning two primal cuts: the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries) and the sirloin (called the rump in Commonwealth countries). The tenderloin sits beneath the ribs, next to the backbone. It has two ends: the butt and the "tail". The smaller, pointed end—the "tail"—starts a little past the ribs, growing in thickness until it ends in the "sirloin" primal cut, which is closer to the butt of the cow. This muscle does very little work, so it is the tenderest part of the beef.

Bife koygua

Bife koygua

Stew with beef steak, vegetables, onions and eggs

Butifarra

Butifarra

Sandwich with ham (jamón del país), onions, chili peppers on a white bread roll

Caldo de pescado

Caldo de pescado

Fish soup is a food made by combining fish or seafood with vegetables and stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth. Traditionally, soups are classified into two main groups: clear soups and thick soups. The established French classifications of clear soups are bouillon and consommé. Thick soups are classified depending upon the type of thickening agent used: bisques are made from puréed shellfish or vegetables thickened with cream; cream soups may be thickened with béchamel sauce; and veloutés are thickened with eggs, butter, and cream. Other ingredients commonly used to thicken soups and broths include rice, lentils, flour, and grains; many popular soups also include carrots and potatoes. Fish soups are similar to and often indistinct from fish stews, though soup is generally wetter than stew.

Caldo de pollo

Caldo de pollo

Chicken soup is a soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common additions are pasta, noodles, dumplings, or grains such as rice and barley. Chicken soup is commonly considered a comfort food. Humans were already boiling food by the time that chicken was domesticated in the neolithic period, so it is likely that chickens were being boiled for soup.

Canelones de carne

Canelones de carne

Cannelloni are a cylindrical type of egg-based stuffed pasta generally served baked with a filling and covered by a sauce in Italian cuisine. Popular stuffings include spinach and ricotta or minced beef. The shells are then typically covered with tomato sauce. Cannelloni are also a typical dish of the Catalan cuisine, where they are called canelons and traditionally consumed on Saint Stephen's Day. Early references to maccheroni ripieni (stuffed pasta) can be traced back to 1770, but the word cannelloni seems to have appeared at the turn of the 20th century. Manicotti are the American version of cannelloni, though the term may often refer to the actual baked dish. The original difference may be that cannelloni consists of pasta sheets wrapped around the filling, and manicotti is machine-extruded cylinders filled from one end.

Capeletis a la Caruso

Capeletis a la Caruso

Noodles with Caruso sauce

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