Food glossary

Boca General term for a snack, which can include gallos, tacos, chicharrones, empanadas and much more.

Casado Very common composite dish served in popular restaurants, consisting of rice, fried plantains, beans, salad and meat or eggs. Ceviche Popular at all levels of restaurant. Raw fish and seafood in the usual citric based marinades and sometimes coconut milk. Cheese As in nearby Colombia, the cool pasture areas of

Costa Rica produce numerous cheese varieties, most reputed cow’s milk varieties including Turrialba from the Valle Central;

Palmito, a sort of Creole mozzarella; Bagaces, a drier cheese from the Guanacaste region; and assorted goat cheeses. Chicharron Pork skin or offal fried to produce a moreish, crunchy dish similar to crackling. Fruit/vegetables/juices Large variety of pan-tropical fruit and veg augmented by native Costa Rican species such as ayote (pumpkin), achiote (red dye producing edible seeds), guanabana (local soursop), jocote (sour cashew fruit), pejibaye (peach palm fruit), mozote

(shrub used to make infusions). All made into batido shakes.

Gallo Corn tortilla topped with or rolled around a filling, typically eaten as a snack.

Gallo pinto Most common basic dish of Costa Rica eaten any time of day including at breakfast. Known on the

Atlantic coast by its English name ‘rice and beans.’

Picadillo Finely chopped or minced meat cooked with diced vegetables and herbs.

Rum/guaro Costa Rican sugar cane spirits are produced by the state monopoly distilleries: Centenario for rum and Cacique for the cane alcohol guaro.

Salsa Lizano Very popular bottled sauce brand, which is nothing less than a version of the British favourite Worcestershire sauce.

Taco chino Emblematic snack of the large Chinese community of Costa Rica – in effect a Creolised fried spring roll.

Tamal Ground corn mixed with assorted seasonings and steamed in a leaf or waxed paper