Food Products & Interesting Stuff

Hispanic World Gastronomy: Mexican Cuisine

Posted: Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Mexican food is a mix of Spanish and native cuisine. The variety of Mexican food is a representative of the diverse and varied Mexican culture. The story of their food is long and complicated. It started with the first civilization in Mexico, the Olmec, which used primitive hunting methods and cultivated corn.

After Olmecs, the Mayas came. They discovered cocoa and advanced agriculture methods. Finally, the last empire before the Conquest was the Aztec. They ate rabbits, dogs and tame turkeys, birds, fish, reptiles, insects and wild animals. When the Spanish arrived to Mexico, they brought changes in the culture and the diet. New foods from Spain were introduced and mixed with the native ones to develop later the Mexican food.

Mexican food is one of the richest, elaborate and most popular cuisines of the world. Its ingredients are familiar to everyone, and always can be replaced by others. Among the most common we can find tomato sauce, chillis, beans, lime, avocado and chocolate, all tastes from the new world. Some of the traditional dishes are: Guacamole, Nachos, Quesadillas, Enchiladas, Fajitas, Flutes, Burritos, Chicken Tacos and guacamole, Tamales, etc…

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Hispanic World Gastronomy: Venezuelan Gastronomy

Posted: Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Going into Venezuelan gastronomy equals to diving in a world full of scents and flavors that outline a type of cuisine where there is plenty of different flavors and colorful dishes of native roots and European influence. Venezuelan cuisine is the result of the fusion of different cultures, notwithstanding, it has a marked personality. One of the most common characteristics of this type of cuisine is the use of corn, yucca, plantains, peppers, grains, tubers, sugar cane, meat and poultries, which flow into extraordinary dishes of unique taste.

Each region of this beautiful country is identified with different customs and expressions. The culinary expression is a distinctive part of the culture, a daily issue with diverse and original dishes that vary according to the geographic area and the way of life of the residents.

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Hispanic World Gastronomy: Argentine Cuisine

Posted: Saturday, March 13th, 2010

argentine cuisine

Argentine meat is famous throughout the world. In this section you will find the instructions to follow the steps and make a real Argentine BBQ (Asado Argentino). We also share the recipes of fresh pasta from the Italian immigrants, keeping their secrets of the preparation, as well as a great variety of pizzas baked in Stone oven. Finally, we include the excellent regional cuisine, which is a fusion between the native ingredients and the European ones.

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Hispanic World Gastronomy: Brazilian Cuisine

Posted: Saturday, March 13th, 2010

As in the rest of Latin America, the arrival of the colonizers, the Portuguese particularly, caused the fusion of cultures, and as a result, the Brazilian cuisine was born. The African slaves contributed with their culture and culinary customs, turning feijoada into the national dish of Brazil.

Some common dishes are: Arroz con feijao (White rice with black beans); farofa (cassava flour dry-fried and mixed with other ingredients); meat (usually fried or roasted); chicken and fried fish.

Juices: Due to the wide variety of tropical fruits, natural juices are preferred by kids and adults. It is possible to find different juices as mango, pineapple, strawberry, guaraná, or maracuyá, among others. They are called vitamina sabrosa (Tasty Vitamin)

The national beverage is caipirinha (cachaça, green lime sucre and crushed ice)

And the national dish: Feijoada with black beans, salty and smoked pork, some vegetables and a thick soup.

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Hispanic World Gastronomy: Peruvian Cuisine

Posted: Saturday, March 13th, 2010

latin world gastronomy

The cultural wealth of the Hispanic world gastronomy is the result of the mixture of different combinations as well as the rich history of coexistence, adaptation and evolution. This makes indispensable the rapprochement to the terms that we refer in our diet, cuisine and gastronomy in general. We will be able to enjoy the recipes and preparation techniques, as a result of the exchange of cultural wealth between Spain and the Latin American countries.

Peruvian Cuisine

Peru is one of the richest countries when it comes to gastronomy. In its history, Peru was able to take advantage of the richness of the Creole cuisine together with the coexistence with the Spanish one, as well as the Oriental fusion, such as Chinese and Japanese. Nowadays, Peruvian cuisine is considered as one of the richest, original and diverse in the world, though it is not famous. The exquisite and creative dishes are the result of the Spanish gastronomic influence and the oriental cuisine, brought by the migratory tendency during its history.

Due to its popularity, arroz chaufa (chaufa rice) turned into the national dish, and one of the pillars of the Peruvian cuisine is Ceviche (raw fish or seafood seasoned with orange juice or lemon, minced onion, peppers and salt).

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Fish Eggs at El Palacio De Los Jugos, Miami

Posted: Saturday, March 13th, 2010

fish eggs with lime

I went to El Palacio de los Jugos the other day and found what they called “huevos de parco.” I had to ask the lady behind the counter to say it twice because I couldn’t understand what she was saying as she said it so fast, sort of like “you don’t know what that is?”

I have never tried this before and so I thought to myself, what the heck I’ll try one ($2 a piece). And everyone around me was saying; this is so good for you, try it. Oh boy, no, this is not for me. Tiny fish eggs are found inside and the whole thing is fried! It tasted like I was eating salty worms. I couldn’t keep the bite in my mouth for a second, I had to spit it out – fast.

I went ahead and did a little research and yes, in fact, this is very good for you!

Fish eggs, the best source of Omega-3

Cientists of Almeria University confirmed that eggs of marine species are the best source of omega-3 acid, which is essential for the body, especially the tuna, mackerel, squids, cuttlefish, lumpus, hake and salmon.

The investigators analyzed the eggs of 15 marine species and found out that all of them have great concentration of fatty acid. The results of the investigation have been published in the European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology.

The investigation focused on the two different types of omega-3, eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA) and discovered that more than 30% of fatty acids on those species were of this type. The studies concluded stating that a minimum consumption of fish eggs is enough to cover the body need of omega-3. The lack of this acid is related to cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, depression, diabetes and lack of development in the nerve and reproductive systems, as well as inflammatory disorders like Crohn disease.