Cuisine of Costa Rica

The cuisine of Costa Rica is very healthy as well as delicious at the same time. The staple food consists of rice and black beans, which in many households is eaten during all three meals of the day. The three typical meals for the Costa Ricans comprises of the breakfast, lunch and dinner with two coffee breaks in between. The serving size of each meal is fairly moderate.

The Costa Rican cuisine comprises of lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and forms the primary ingredients in most of the main dishes. The vegetables such as zucchini, zapallo, chayote and ayote are eaten in particular. Potato, onion and red pepper are other commonly used ingredients. Coffee and banana are the two main agricultural exports of the country and also form part of the local cuisine. Coffee is usually served at breakfast and during traditional coffee breaks in the afternoon, i.e., around 3:00pm.

The Plantain, a larger member of the banana family, is another commonly eaten fruit served in several varieties. Ripe plantains have a sweet flavor and can be fried in butter or baked in a honey or a sugar-based sauce. Green (unripe) plantains are boiled in soups or can be cooked, mashed into small round cakes and fried to make Patacones. Pozole (corn soup) and Chorreadas (corn pancakes) are usual traditional dishes prepared using sweet corn.

Other Costa Rican food staples include Corn Tortillas, White Cheese and Picadillos. Tortillas are an accompaniment with almost all the meals. Ticos (native Costa Rican) often make fillings of whatever they are eating for the tortillas and eat it in the form of a Gallo. Picadillos are prepared mixing beef with one or more diced vegetables and garnished with spices. The vegetables used commonly in picadillos are potatoes, green beans, squash, ayote, chayote and arracache. Often, picadillos are eaten in the form of gallos.

A typical Costa Rican breakfast comprises of Gallo pinto, fried plantains, an egg and orange juice. Gallo Pinto is prepared with rice, cilantro, onion and black or red beans mixed and sometimes lightly fried. Salsa Lizano (locally produced sauce) is often used to give a flavor of spice to the dish. Natilla (Costa Rican sour cream) is sometimes also added to give some variation. The traditional breakfast drink, besides coffee, is called Agua Dulce (sweet water) and is made from tapa de dulce.

The traditional national dish in Costa Rica is Casado that is generally eaten for lunch. It is prepared with rice and beans. Generally, some meat preparation (carne asada, fish, pork chop or chicken) and a salad are accompanied with the main dish. Sometimes, fried plantains or a piece of white cheese also served along with Casado. For lunch, Costa Ricans have Refrescos, i.e., prepared using liquefied fruits diluted in either water or milk and sweetened to taste. They can be prepared with melon, blackberry, strawberry, watermelon, mango, tamarind, passion fruit, guanabana and cas.

A regular dinner in a Costa Rican house will have Picadillo, egg on chicken with rice and beans, vegetables, fried plantain and cooked bananas. Olla de Carne, Papas con Chorizo or steak can also be had with a drink.

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