As a few well known examples the Germans have sauerkraut, the Koreans have kimchi and the Swedes have surstromming.....but beverages and condiments notwithstanding I can't think of any fermented foods from Central or South America. Do they have anything?
Fermented food from Central or South America?
- Thread starter Canadian Mountain Man
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My family is from Argentina, and I can’t think of any off the top of my head, but there are a lot of different cultures down there. Everything from European to indigenous and everything in between. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone down there has a fermented dish.
Homemade fruit vinegar is popular in Central America. Vinagre de piña (pineapple) is very good. When a pineapple is cut up, the trimmings are mixed with brown sugar and water, then set aside to ferment. You can help it along by taking some of the "mother" from raw apple cider vinegar to add to the mix. You can ferment in a big glass jar covered with a coffee filter and a rubber band for a few weeks.
This vinegar can be used for some fermented foods. Pickled vegetables such as red onions are quite tasty. Curtido is a kind of slaw made with cabbage, carrots, onions and peppers with vinegar dressing. This goes well with Central American foods such as Salvadoran pupusas.
This vinegar can be used for some fermented foods. Pickled vegetables such as red onions are quite tasty. Curtido is a kind of slaw made with cabbage, carrots, onions and peppers with vinegar dressing. This goes well with Central American foods such as Salvadoran pupusas.
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I know El Salvador serves a sauerkraut like side dish with pupusas. My favorite place to get pupusas version has oregano in it. It’s really good.
Cacao beans or chocolate was first made into a fermented drink by the Aztecs. The Incas used a fermented potatoe to last for the winter months. Pickled jalapeños is basicaly fermented also. A couple more I cant remember their names.
Haitian Pikliz. A combination of cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, garlic, onion and scotch bonnets
A step along the way to the vinegar is tepache, a pretty nice drink. Pulque and chicha are a couple of other ancient, fermented beverages.
I was definitely going to mention chocolate, made from fermented cacao beans. Coffee beans also are fermented in their initial processing.
I know there is a fair amount of fermented cassava, as well, although I don't know many details about how it's consumed (other than it's sometimes used for chicha).
+1 for Cortido. Love that stuff.
Look around for "The Joy of Pickling" by Linda Ziedrich. It's in at least its third edition, and a wonderful resource.
Also Sandor Katz' books on fermentation, and if you're interested in meat, the charcuterie and salumi books by Brian Ruhlman and Michael Polcyn.
O.H.
Look around for "The Joy of Pickling" by Linda Ziedrich. It's in at least its third edition, and a wonderful resource.
Also Sandor Katz' books on fermentation, and if you're interested in meat, the charcuterie and salumi books by Brian Ruhlman and Michael Polcyn.
O.H.
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