Top 10 "Authentic" COSTA RICAN Foods / What LOCALS Eat When in COSTA RICA / MUST TRY Foods

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In today's video, we will be going over the top ten foods of Costa Rica. These foods were the results of surveying over 100 people that are either natives, locals, or visitors of Costa Rica.

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10. Salsa Lizano
Number 10! This sauce was first made in Alajuela in 1920 and has dominated the Costa Rican condiment game ever since. The thin, smooth brown sauce gets compartmentalized into the same sauce family as Worcestershire sauce.
It's found on both kitchen counters and dining tables, as it's meant to be used two ways:
1. Incorporated into recipes for an intermingled Lizano experience.
2. Dowsed on top of any food one can get their hands on.
Flavor-wise, it has a slight sweetness and leans toward the acidic side. Flavor-giving ingredients include water, sugar, salt, onions, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, pepper, mustard,, and turmeric.
Ticos will use this sauce in many of their dishes, including eggs, tamales, rice, fish, cheese, or as a marinade. It's a one-size-fits-all condiment and alone leaves many wanting to return to the Country just for its flavor.

Mango
Yum. This sweet and juicy stone fruit comes in at the number nine spot!
Now, let's get this out of the way. There are generally two different mango variations one would find in the grocery store, one with an Indian origin and one from more Southeastern regions of Asia. We will focus on the Indian variation since it's the one you will more commonly see in Costa Rica.
Mango trees were brought to Eastern Africa by traders in the 9th and 10th centuries, brought to Morocco (northwestern Africa) in the 14th century, brought to Brazil in the 16th and 17th centuries, and then to the Caribbean and Latin American regions in the 18th century... then into my belly in 2021. They like growing in tropical and subtropical areas.
When ripe and ready to eat, they smell very sweet. The fruit's flesh will be juicy, soft, and slightly fibrous. Some compare the texture to a combination of a canteloupe and avocado.
Although their peak harvest season is March through June, one can easily find mangos all year round.
Picadillo
The number two spot goes to a traditional Latin American dish. Picadillo!
The name comes from the Spanish word "picar," meaning "to mince." This makes sense because, at first glance, picadillo resembles a plated, shell-less taco filling
Usually made ground beef and tomatoes, other ingredients might include potato, chayote, peppers, onions, herbs, and spices. On Costa Rican food menus or in conversation, the dish will be named after the predominant ingredient included. For example:
Picadillo with potato would be "picadillo de papa."
Picadillo with chayote would be, "picadillo de chayote."
Picadillo is almost always served with tortillas for scooping or rice for juice-soaking.

Tamales
It's like Christmas morning every time you unwrap the next spot on our list... the tamale!
Tamales are a piece of mesoamerican culinary history! They are believed to have been made as early as 8000 BC.
If eating a tamale in Costa Rica, one would most likely be unwrapping a banana leaf wrapper that acts as both cooking hardware and seasoning to what is hiding inside: a steamed cornflour-based dough, flavored with a variety of meats, peppers, cheeses, vegetables, or even fruit!
I didn't know how to describe it, so I googled, "what do tamales taste like?" Here are some of the responses that I found:
"heaven, son."3
"ye thy r gd bro."
"Corn and sunshine, and the inside of a happy person's mouth."

Coffee
Why not enjoy your morning joe on the mountainside of a volcano? Costa Rica and coffee go together like the Caribbean and rum.
Coffee is the bitter and acidic beverage that we all drink to get us moving in the morning. The drink's delicious flavor, and its higher-than-most caffeine content, keep everyone coming back for more. 
Coffee is a cooked drink…. yes, cooked, and it all starts with a little red berry.
The steps in the coffee-making process are as followed:
The berries are deseeded (they are now known as "green coffee")
The green coffee gets roasted
The roasted coffee get ground to the desired consistency
The coffee is brewed in either hot or cold water
The coffee gets guzzled by those who need a little energy boost
Baristas and the general public go crazy for Costa Rica's beans for the brown sugar, citrus, and fruity notes the Country's crop produces.

For photo attributions and links to all photos used, please follow the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qBqJoDA_9UFMgFO-VVxjeEl-PY7M00l5v9_W0BsjJiU/edit?usp=sharing

Видео Top 10 "Authentic" COSTA RICAN Foods / What LOCALS Eat When in COSTA RICA / MUST TRY Foods канала Tuesday Bingo