Ecuador the country of the four flavors
By Josue Acuña
One of the best kept secrets of Latin America is its gastronomy since it has a variety of origins with a strong European influence that mixes with indigenous ancestral cultures, which leads us to have a variety of flavors that merge with each other.
Each country has several types of cuisine, highlighting Peruvian cuisine as an emblem within the region. Ecuador is not the exception as one of the main characteristics of our country is the great variety of climates it has, which has allowed a large amount of food to grow.
We can classify in four different types the flavors that exist in Ecuador, in the Andean region or better known as the sierra is characterized by having a large amount of grains and vegetables. The inhabitants of this region consume a lot of pork and very exotic dishes such as cuy.
In the coast and Galapagos what predominates are the seafood and the banana in its different types. The dish par excellence is the ceviche that, unlike the one prepared in Peru, has a great variety of seafood. These can be shrimp, shells, fish, octopus that are accompanied with fried green plantains.
Finally, the Amazon when you are in the middle of the jungle you can find a wide variety of exotic ingredients such as yucca, sweet ants, edible worms. The most common dish is steamed fish seasoned with condiments and plants from the area better known as Maito.
There are special dates where you can find very exotic dishes such as Holy Week where a soup with 12 grains and fish is prepared. This has a lot of relationship and symbolism with Catholic customs.
Also as in most parts of South America is celebrated the day of the dead at that time consumed a traditional drink called Colada Morada that carries a large amount of fruit and is accompanied with bread.
The best way to know a country is through its cuisine because that way you can discover the culture in a deeper and more personal way.