The Masa The masa, dried maize seeds cooked with calcium carbonate powder, finely milled and mixed with water, is the glue that keeps most of the Honduran...
What it is about Honduran food that makes it different from other tropical cuisines? Honduran food is a fusion of African, Spanish, and indigenous cuisine. Its most notable feature is that it uses more coconut than any other Central American gastronomy in both sweet and savory dishes.
The typical Honduran food is based on meats, poultry and fish, omelets, beans, rice, dairy products like cheese and butter, vegetables, legumes, and fruits. The aromatic coffee as a beverage is present in the whole country to accompany breakfast, dinner or any time of day as a welcome element in one’s visit.
Honduras features different cooking styles from one region to another. This fact is the result of the influences each region has gathered. Also, the ingredients determine this diversity.
According to CIA World Factbook population makeup of Honduras is:
- mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European (mostly Spanish)) 90%,
- Amerindian 7%,
- black (Garifuna & “Bay Islanders”) 2%,
- white 1%.
Different ethnic groups live in specific environments and this diversity is an integral part of the beauty of Honduras and enormous influence on the Honduran cuisine. The Anglo-African-Caribbean “Bay Islanders” live on the Bay Islands off the north coast. The Garífuna people live along the Caribbean Coast of Central America, from Belize to Nicaragua. The Miskito and Tawahka people live in the rain forests of the eastern lowlands, and in similar lands in neighboring areas of Nicaragua. The Pech and Jicaque people live in some of the more remote areas in the central highlands. The Chortí and Lenca people live in the rugged western highlands. Hispanic-Hondurans (“mestizo”) live in the north, south, and center of the country.
The western and the central regions of the country have a cuisine based on corn, while people from the Eastern Honduras put a greater accent on the rice and the cassava root. Also, the Eastern part of the country, which contains the coastal region, uses the seafood more frequently.
Food in Northern Honduras
On the north coast of Honduras exists not only Garifuna cuisine, but also Miskito and Creole food. Instead of tortillas there are eaten cooked green or ripe plantains (for example in the form of machuca – green plantain mashed with coconut and many other ingredients), or cassava (for example in the form of Garifuna’s thin cassava bread).
During the banana era US fruit companies introduced new food customs in the area, thus maize flour was replaced with wheat flour in most local preparations. One of the unexpected results was the emergence of the most typical and favorite Honduran food of the north coast, the Baleadas.
Another delicious Honduran food, and that according to popular belief a cure for hangover, is the iguana soup (the iguana is a about 50 cm long reptile farmed in Honduras).
Food in the South of Honduras
In the south of Honduras there are many shrimp producing farms and artisanal fisheries. It is also a cattle area, so it is producing all kinds of dairy, beef and pork. Fruits are grown such as melons, watermelons, pineapples, mangoes and sugarcane necessary to produce sugar.
A typical dish in southern Honduras is the seafood soup, made with fish, crab and shrimp. Some time ago the “levantamuertos” soup has been invented. It contains, in addition to everything that seafood soup is made of, turtle eggs and jumbo shrimps. Other Honduran dishes include the homemade chicken soup, roast beef or grilled skewers.
Geographically there is quite a change in Honduran cuisine from the west to the east. In the highlands of the central and western provinces corn is the base for tortillas and most other dishes. The beans favored by pre-Colombian Mexico meet the root crops of South America and, as a result, Honduras boasts more than 20 kinds of tamales, made from steamed cornmeal and filled with meats, beans, vegetables, and chilies. In the eastern lowlands, the staple is rice and cassava root, flavored using pumpkin, plantain, coconut and seafood.
Food in Central Honduras
In the central area you can eat a combination of the food from the north, such as fried fish or chicken, beef or pork with rice and salad or vegetables, tripe soup, beans, tapado or seafood soup (although plantains or tortillas are preferred instead of machuca), you can also eat pupusasand other food of the south, such as the seafood soup, chicken soup, bagels, tustacas, corn quesadillas. It is also quite common to prepare tamales, tamales montucas or corn.
Honduran Food During Holidays
There are several Honduran dishes that are prepared in accordance with the holidays. At Christmas and New Year Hondurans consume torrejas (a donut-like dessert soaked in a sugar syrup), also eggnog, tamales, roasted pork leg. Grapes, apples and sweets are also consumed in those days. An exquisite dish made in Olancho, characteristic to the area, is tapado Olanchano soup. During Holy Week Hondurans prepare dry fish soups, as the Catholics do not eat meat during this time of the year.
Arroz con Pollo is a good starter dish for outsiders who want to try the regional cuisine for the first time. This is just what the title suggests:...
There are two types of quesadilla available in Honduras. One is a tortilla and cheese like the Mexican variety, and the second is a sweet and savory cake...
What are Pupusas Pupusas are quite similar to corn tortillas but they are thicker and stuffed with meat , cheese or beans. They originated in El Salvador, but...
Chicken is a huge staple in Honduras. In fact, one of the most classic Honduran foods isВ fried chicken. They marinate it in spices, rub the pieces lightly in...
Ceviche (also spelled seviche or cebiche) is a seafood dish popular in the coastal regions of Central and South America, and the Philippines. The dish is...
Baleadas are one of Honduras most characteristic and famous foods. A baleada is a wheat flour tortilla, generally quite thick, filled with mashed fried beans...
Honduran Drinks - Non-alcoholic RefrescoВ - soda or fruit juice drink. Licuado - aВ В smoothie from fresh fruit or fruit juice, milk and/or ice and/or yogurt...
Horchata is a staple drink in Honduras. Origins of Honduran Horchata Horchata originates from Egypt & Sudan where they originally used the chufa nut...
Atol(e) De Elote (Sweet Corn Drink) is a traditionalВ Central American beverage. ItВ is basically a sweet, smooth, and thickened drink made from mostly corn. The...
Yucca, also known as cassava, is a staple crop throughout Honduras that grows everywhere, even in the poorest soils.В In the disadvantaged regions of Honduras...
Tres Leches Cake (Pastel de Tres Leches) - a vanilla cake soaked in a combination ofВ three kinds of milk, including evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk...
What is Pan De Coco? In many Latin American countries there is some version of coconut bread.В This traditional Honduran food, known as "pan de coco," is a...
Origins of Banana Cultivation Bananas were discovered by the Portuguese on the east coast of Africa and brought to the Canary Islands where they were...
Bananas & plantains (otherwise known as cooking bananas) are an absolute staple in a lot of Honduran recipes, as they are grown in the country and are...
Tres Leches Cake (Pastel de Tres Leches) - a vanilla cake soaked in a combination ofВ three kinds of milk, including evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk...
Honduran Drinks - Non-alcoholic RefrescoВ - soda or fruit juice drink. Licuado - aВ В smoothie from fresh fruit or fruit juice, milk and/or ice and/or yogurt...
Origins of Honduran Tamales The tamal is a pre-Hispanic food and ritual, which has endured throughout history despite the various influences and incursions...
Bananas & plantains (otherwise known as cooking bananas) are an absolute staple in a lot of Honduran recipes, as they are grown in the country and are...