Some Local FoodsSome Local FoodsWhat they are and how to use themWhat they are and how to use them

Yuca - aka CassavaCassava (Manihot esculenta), also called manioc, yuca, balinghoy, mogo, mandioca, kamoteng kahoy, and manioc root, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy, tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. It differs from the similarly spelled yucca, an unrelated fruit-bearing shrub in the Asparagaceae family. Cassava, when dried to a starchy, powdery (or pearly) extract is called tapioca; its fermented, flaky version is named garri.

Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the world. Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. It is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils.

Cassava-based dishes are widely consumed wherever the plant is cultivated; some have regional, national, or ethnic importance.[20] Cassava must be cooked properly to detoxify it before it is eaten.

Cassava can be cooked in many ways. The soft-boiled root has a delicate flavor and can replace boiled potatoes in many uses: as an accompaniment for meat dishes or made into purées, dumplings, soups, stews, gravies, etc. This plant is used in cholent, in some households, as well. Deep fried (after boiling or steaming), it can replace fried potatoes, with a distinctive flavor. In Brazil, detoxified manioc is ground and cooked to a dry, often hard or crunchy meal which is used as a condiment, toasted in butter, or eaten alone as a side dish.

Cassava roots and leaves should not be consumed raw because they contain two cyanogenic glucosides, linamarin and lotaustralin. These are decomposed by linamarase, a naturally occurring enzyme in cassava, liberating hydrogen cyanide (HCN).

Otoe aka Taro

Taro , or one of it’s 1500 cousins, and their leaves are a foundation food for 10% of the globe’s tropical residents.  But unless you’re a botanist the only way to differentiate one cousin from another is the location of the leaf on the stem.  But since you’ll rarely be gathering your own just ask the green grocer maybe he’ll know. Both wet and dry varieties are originally from India or Malaysia and Panamanians prefer the smaller top shaped variety over the larger elongated tuber.  The word Otoe is probably a Taino term and it’s use is pretty much limited to Panama while others terms are used in the Caribbean and locations of Central America. Taro can produce up to three crops a year often from the same plant if treated correctly and the corm gods favor you.

Taro is an ancient cultivar, no wild types currently exist, that along with the other corms and tubers of Lower America were especially attractive to our hunter gather ancestors. These compact starch laden bundles are harvested by uprooting the plant, cutting off most of the corms and then sticking the plant back in the ground where it will produce yet another crop within the year. Uncooked otoe, like most of the other local tubers, contain sharp crystals of oxalate that can irritate the hands, throat or tongue or act as a carrier of other plant toxins to both animal and human predators.  These brown-skinned corms or tubers can be used as one would a potato, and may have white, pink, or purple flecked flesh when peeled that changes hues as they are cooked. The leaves, flowers and stems can be eaten after boiling like pot greens in at least one change of water and both smaller tubers and the leaves are sometime called dasheen while some know the leaves as callaloo. The various names of taro are illustrative of the Central American name game

Skin and boil, used in soups and I prefer mashed with butter, salt and cream.

Name, Mapuey, Cush Cush, Yam

White fleshed yams have been cultivated in both Africa and Central America for at least 5000 years and the naming myth is an entertaining one.  When early Portuguese traders saw future slaves digging something up in Guinea they inquired as to the name of the crop that was being harvested.  The Africans, not quite sure of the questions, replied “something to eat or food” nyami or nyama in the local dialect. This was spoken by the Portuguese as Inhame, by the Spanish as Igname, by the Panamanian as Name and eventually by the English as Yam. 

The yam, not the American sweet potato, is a tropical tuber with about 150 varieties used as a foundation food for many subsistence cultures with many varieties named after their place of origin or cultivation. Yams were a staple on board the slavers of the triangle trade where a 500-person ship would lay in 100,000 yams to be cooked in seawater for its human cargo. The true white fleshed purple-skinned yam is not commercially farmed in the US.  Yams can be stored for 6 months or more without refrigeration making them an important factor in the food security of the subsistence farmer.

Platano - Plantain

Plantain (/ˈplæntɨn/; also US /ˈplɑːntɨn/ or UK /plænˈteɪn/)[is one of the common names for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and their fruits, the other being "banana". Cooking bananas are often informally referred to as plantains, (plan-tain), by some cultures, but by other cultures the word plantain doesn't always refer to any cooking banana. There is no formal botanical distinction between plantains and bananas. The broadest sense of the two terms, used here, is based purely on how the fruits are consumed.

PataconeKnown as patacones in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Peru and Venezuela are twice-fried plantain patties, often served as a side, appetizer, or snack. Plantains are sliced in 4 cm (1.5 in) long pieces and fried in oil. The segments are then removed and individually smashed down either with a bottle's bottom side, or with a tostonera, to about half their original height. Finally, the pieces are fried again and then seasoned to taste, often with salt. In some countries, such as Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, the tostones are dipped in creole sauce from chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp before eating. In some South American countries, the name tostones is used to describe this food when prepared at home and also plantain chips (mentioned above), which are typically purchased from a store. In western Venezuela, much of Colombia and the Peruvian Amazon, patacones are very popular. Plantains are again sliced in long pieces and fried in oil, then they are used to make sandwiches with pork, beef, chicken, vegetables and ketchup. They can be made with unripe patacon verde or ripe patacon amarillo plantains.

Tamarillo aka Tree Tomato

The tamarillo is native to the Andes of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia. Today, it is still cultivated in gardens and small orchards for local production,[1] and it is one of the most popular fruits in these regions.

The fruit is eaten by scooping the flesh from a halved fruit. When lightly sugared and cooled, the flesh is used for a breakfast dish. Some people in New Zealand cut the fruit in half, scoop out the pulpy flesh and spread it on toast at breakfast. Yellow-fruited cultivars have a sweeter flavor, occasionally compared to mango or apricot. The red-fruited variety, which is much more widely cultivated, is more tart, and the savory aftertaste is far more pronounced. In the Northern Hemisphere, tamarillos are most frequently available from July until November, and fruits early in the season tend to be sweeter and less astringent.

They can be made into compotes, or added to stews (e.g. Boeuf Bourguignon), hollandaise, chutneys and curries. Desserts using this fruit include bavarois and, combined with apples, a strudel.

Tree tomato nutritionFruit composition, some important components[1]

Component [g/100g]Range

Component [mg/100g]Range

Water content81–87

Vitamin A0.32–1.48

Proteins1.5–2.5

Vitamin C19.7–57.8

Fat0.05–1.28

Calcium3.9–11.3

Fiber1.4–6.0

Magnesium19.7–22.3

Total acidity1.0–2.4

Iron0.4–0.94

Guyabano aka Soursop

Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata, a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree native to Mexico, Cuba, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America, primarily Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Soursop is also produced in Mozambique, Somalia and Uganda. Today, it is also grown in some areas of Southeast Asia, as well as in some Pacific islands. It was most likely brought from Mexico to the Philippines by way of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade.[citation needed] It is in the same genus as the chirimoya and the same family as the pawpaw.

The soursop is adapted to areas of high humidity and relatively warm winters; temperatures below 5 °C (41 °F) will cause damage to leaves and small branches, and temperatures below 3 °C (37 °F) can be fatal. The fruit becomes dry and is no longer good for concentrate.

The flavour has been described as a combination of strawberry and pineapple, with sour citrus flavour notes contrasting with an underlying creamy flavour reminiscent of coconut or banana.

Makes a great batido!

Soursop, rawNutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy276 kJ (66 kcal)Carbohydrates16.84 g- Sugars13.54 g- Dietary fiber3.3 gFat0.3 gProtein1 gThiamine (vit. B1)

0.07 mg (6%)Riboflavin (vit. B2)

0.05 mg (4%)Niacin (vit. B3)

0.9 mg (6%)Pantothenic acid (B5)0.253 mg (5%)Vitamin B6

0.059 mg (5%)Folate (vit. B9)14 μg (4%)Choline7.6 mg (2%)Vitamin C20.6 mg (25%)Calcium14 mg (1%)Iron0.6 mg (5%)Magnesium21 mg (6%)Phosphorus27 mg (4%)Potassium278 mg (6%)Sodium14 mg (1%)Zinc0.1 mg (1%)

Cherimoya - Soursop

The cherimoya, also spelled chirimoya, is the fruit of the species Annona cherimola, which generally is thought to be native to the Andes,[1][2] although an alternative hypothesis proposes Central America as the origin of cherimoya because many of its wild relatives occur in this area. Today cherimoya is grown throughout South Asia, Central America, South America, Southern California, southern Andalucia [La Axarquia] and South of Italy (Calabria).

Cherimoya is a deciduous or semievergreen shrub or small tree reaching 7 m (22 feet) tall. The leaves are alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, 7–15 cm long and 6–10 cm broad. The flowers are produced in small clusters, each flower 2–3 cm across, with six petals, yellow-brown, often spotted purple at the base.

The fruit is oval, often slightly oblate, 10–20 cm long and 7–10 cm in diameter, with a smooth or slightly tuberculated skin. The fruit flesh is white and creamy, and has numerous dark brown seeds embedded in it. Mark Twain called the cherimoya "the most delicious fruit known to men."[3] The fruit is fleshy and soft, sweet, white in color, with a sherbet-like texture, which gives it its secondary name, custard apple.

Some characterize the flavor as a blend of banana, pineapple, papaya, peach, and strawberry. Others describe it as tasting like commercial bubblegum. Similar in size to a grapefruit, it has large, glossy, dark seeds that are easily removed. When ripe, the skin is green and gives slightly to pressure, similar to the avocado. Many people often chill the cherimoya and eat it with a spoon, which has earned it another nickname; the ice cream fruit.

Nutritional InformationNutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy

313 kJ (75 kcal)

Carbohydrates

17.71 g

- Sugars

12.87

- Dietary fiber

3 g

Fat

0.68 g

Protein

1.57 g

Thiamine (vit. B1)

0.101 mg (9%)

Riboflavin (vit. B2)

0.131 mg (11%)

Niacin (vit. B3)

0.644 mg (4%)

Pantothenic acid (B5)

0.345 mg (7%)

Vitamin B6

0.257 mg (20%)

Folate (vit. B9)

23 μg (6%)

Vitamin C

12.6 mg (15%)

Vitamin E

0.27 mg (2%)

Calcium

10 mg (1%)

Iron

0.27 mg (2%)

Magnesium

17 mg (5%)

Manganese

0.093 mg (4%)

Phosphorus

26 mg (4%)

Potassium

287 mg (6%)

Sodium

7 mg (0%)

Zinc

0.16 mg (2%)

Pifá - Peach Palm Fruit

Bactris gasipaes is well known by local people where it grows and has been used for centuries as food. The book Costa Rica Precolombina by Luis Ferrero Acosta (Editorial Costa Rica, 2000) mentions that the Spanish explorers found a pejibaye plantation of 30,000 trees on the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica, and that its fermented fruit was a major part of the indigenous diet, replacing corn as was common further north. The fruit is frequently stewed in salted water. It is then peeled before eating, and split to remove the seed. The texture both raw and cooked is similar to a firm sweet potato, with no sweetness. Some have compared the taste to hominy made from corn, or a very dry squash. A favorite dish in some areas is simply the fruit halves with the seed depression filled with mayonnaise. It may be eaten raw after being peeled and flavored with salt and sometimes honey. However, raw pejibaye contains acid crystals that are irritant and raw pejibaye has been proven to be inferior to cooked in trials raising chickens in Costa Rica. Raw pejibaye spoils relatively quickly once opened or damaged, yet can be kept for long periods as a dried meal. It can also be used to make compotes and jellies or to make flour and edible oil.

This plant may also be harvested for heart of palm, and has commercial advantages in being fast growing; the first harvest can be from 18 to 24 months after planting. In Brazil, it is a viable solution for the heart of palm cultivation industry because its agricultural characteristics are adequate for it to be beneficial to substitute it for other native palms such as species of Euterpe including Euterpe oleracea (known as açaí) and Euterpe edulis (known as juçara), that have been extensively exploited and are protected as endangered species. The Brazilian domestic market for heart of palm is about five times bigger than the external one; however, there is an increasing demand for this product internationally as it is increasingly used in international cookery. In addition, the cultivation of Bactris gasipaes is also economically important for Costa Rica.

CompositionThe composition of 100 grams of pulp: 164 calories, 2.5 g of protein, 28 mg of calcium, 31 mg of phosphorus, 3.3 mg of iron, 1,500 mmg of vitamin A, 0.06 mg of vitamin B1 and 34 mg of vitamin C.

Pixbae, Pifá, Piba & Pijuayo

The composition of 100 grams of pulp: 164 calories, 2.5 g of protein, 28 mg of calcium, 31 mg of phosphorus, 3.3 mg of iron, 1,500 mmg of vitamin A, 0.06 mg of vitamin B1 and 34 mg of vitamin C.

Mamón Chino - Rambutan

The rambutan (/ræmˈbuːtən/; taxonomic name: Nephelium lappaceum) (from Malay rambut, "hair") is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The fruit produced by the tree is also known as rambutan.

According to popular belief and the origin of its name, rambutan is native to Indonesia and Malaysia. The earliest record of rambutan trees show that they were cultivated by the Malayan jungle tribes around their temporary settlements, a practice followed to date.[3] Rambutan trees grow naturally in Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, although its precise natural distribution is unknown.[4] It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the lychee, longan, and mamoncillo.[4] It is native to the Indonesian Archipelago,[5] from where it spread westwards to Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka and India; northwards to Vietnam, and the Philippines.[4]

A species regularly sold in Costa Rican markets may be known as "wild" rambutan. Yellow in color, it is smaller than the usual red variety. The flesh exposed when the outer skin is peeled off is sweet and sour, slightly grape-like and gummy to the taste. In Panama and Costa Rican Spanish, it is known as mamón chino ("Chinese Sucker") due to its Asian origin and the likeness of the edible part with Melicoccus bijugatus. The fruit has been successfully transplanted by grafting in Puerto Rico.[4]

Mamón ChinoEnergy

343 kJ (82 kcal)

Carbohydrates

20.87 g

- Dietary fiber

0.9 g

Fat

0.21 g

Protein

0.65 g

Thiamine (vit. B1)

0.013 mg (1%)

Riboflavin (vit. B2)

0.022 mg (2%)

Niacin (vit. B3)

1.352 mg (9%)

Vitamin B6

0.02 mg (2%)

Folate (vit. B9)

8 μg (2%)

Vitamin C

4.9 mg (6%)

Calcium

22 mg (2%)

Iron

0.35 mg (3%)

Magnesium

7 mg (2%)

Manganese

0.343 mg (16%)

Phosphorus

9 mg (1%)

Potassium

42 mg (1%)

Sodium

11 mg (1%)

Zinc

0.08 mg (1%)

Spanish lime, genip, guinep, genipe, quenepa, mamon mamoncillo,

Trees can reach heights of up to 25 m and come with alternate,compound leaves. The leaves have 4 elliptic leaflets which are 5-12.5 cm long and 2.5–5 cm (1-2 in.) wide. They are typically dioecious plants however polygamous trees occur from time to time. Flowers have 4 petals and 8 stamens and produce void, green drupes which are 2.5–4 cm long and 2 cm wide. Their pulp is orange, salmon or yellowish in color with a somewhat juicy and pasty texture.

This fruit can be sweet or sour. In the southern areas of Mexico, it is generally eaten with chili powder, salt, and lime. The sweet varieties are generally eaten without condiments of any kind.