Food & Drinks

Guatemalan Cuisine: Loroco and Cheese Pupusas

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First of all, my apologies to all those masochist Guatemalans who live abroad and visit this humble site to get their daily nostalgic capsule. Loroco is the green flower you see on top of the pupusa above, which I call Mayan pizza because is made from corn dough and cheese. Pupusas are normally top with … Read more

How to make Guatemalan Chicharrones

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I was explained by these chicharroneros how they make their chicharrones, chicharrines, carnitas and costilla. First buy the best quality pork skin, meat and ribs. Cut all of it into fist-size pieces. Let all the meat marinate over night with salts and spices in the refrigerator. Next day, set the fire and pour chicharrones into … Read more

Guatemalan Dessert: Empanadas de Leche

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Because today is a holiday in Guatemala (read the aside below), we are going to skip all the controversial stuff and just have Empanadas de leche as dessert, postre in Spanish. It was a little over year ago that Lucía requested “photos of some ‘empanadas de leche’ (las que tienen manjar adentro), pleaseeeeyyyy?” See, sometimes … Read more

You like tomato and I like tomahto

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Roasted tomatoes and Grapes

These roasted tomatoes will end up looking like this: Tomatoes, Basil and Cheese.

Today’s entry is a pun for the all the different groups of the Guatemalan blog sphere who don’t seem to get along. I have said it before, you only need to unite two Guatemalans to get three groups. 😉

You like potato and I like potahto
You like tomato and I like tomahto
Potato, potahto,
Tomato, tomahto.
Let’s call the whole thing of
But oh, if we call the whole thing off
Then we must part
and oh, if we ever part, then that might break my heart (continue reading the lyrics…)

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Guatemalan Fresh Fruit Plastic Bags

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What are the aspects that make up identity and idiosyncrasy? What makes Guatemalans almost anywhere in the planet salivate at the sight of a plastic bag with sliced fresh citric fruits? Really drool if they see the lime juice, ground pepitoria (dried squash seeds) and chile powder? What nostalgic fibers and long-gone forgotten memories are … Read more

Guatemalan Coffee Trivia

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Here are some random facts, bits and trivia about Guatemalan coffee I have been collecting for a while: The average price for high quality coffee in Guatemala is Q45/$5.50 per pound. The average price of Q45/lb for high quality Guatemalan coffee is about 70% of a day’s minimum wage Guatemala has several high altitude regions … Read more

Coffee Tables, literally!

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Here is one more entry for the Only in LAG. Leave it to the creative people of La Antigua Guatemala to produce coffee tables, literally, for a patio dining area. The above dining patio with coffee tables can be found at Fernando’s Kaffee, an authentic Guatemalan coffee shop run by Fernando who roasts his own … Read more

We’re Men of Maize

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It is impossible to think of the Guatemalan, Mexican and Mesoamerican diet without maize. From the Popul Vuh (Popol Wuj in modern spelling), the Mayan equivalent of the Bible, which states that humans were literally created from maize, to Miguel Ángel Asturias‘ novel Hombres de maíz (Men of Maize) which is one of the best … Read more

Licuado Culture

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Sweet. Refreshing. Natural. Licuados are one of those treats that truly define a Guatemalan experience. The blended fruit drinks can be found most anywhere in La Antigua from fancy restaurants to local, hole-in-the-wall comedors… and I absolutely LOVE them. They are nothing more than fruit blended with your choice of water, milk, yogurt and, sometimes, … Read more

Guatemalan Cuisine: Ejotes Envueltos Recipe

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Back in January Rudy marked his 1000th post with a pic of pacaya cooked in egg batter and duly polled readers for their interest in a series on comidas envueltas en huevo. There did seem to be some enthusiasm for this at the time, so I thought I’d relate here how my girlfriend and I … Read more

Guatemalan Cuisine: Tamalitos de frijol

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Certainly some of you can help us determine the differences between chuchos and chuchitos, which were both mentioned yesterday in Guy Howard’s ‘first‘ guest contribution. Perhaps then, someone brave enough can tackle the differences between tamalitos and tamales. Finally, once both answers have been already explained, pues, might as well elaborate on the differences between … Read more

Yuca, cassava or manioc, Anyone, Anyone?

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Yuca, also known as cassava or manioc, is root widely consumed in Latin America and Guatemala is not the exception. You can yuca (you-kah) in caldos, in soups, in recados, fried, boiled, mashed, as yuca chips (similar to potato chips). Yuca is sold as snack with portion costing a mere Q2/$0.24 topped with tomato sauce … Read more

Guatemalan Dessert: Coyoles en Miel

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Coyoles, that’s something I haven’t figure out what to call them in English; or Spanish outside of Guatemala for the matter. I am not even sure what fruit is. A coyol, singular, comes from a palm tree, and quite possibly is just a baby coconut or palm tree seed. Coyoles, plural, whatever they are, in … Read more

Guatemalan Dessert: Coco en Miel

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Many Guatemalan desserts are prepared exactly as coco en miel. I believe we already covered the en miel preserves before in Guatemalan Dessert: Jocotes en miel. Basically, en miel means in syrup (literal translation of miel would be honey, but in this instance it means syrup or almíbar in Spanish). To turn any fruit to … Read more

Making Guatemalan Tortillas

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Blame this photo on Eric, who just yesterday invoked the tortilla-making ladies. It is interesting how the aroma of freshly-made tortillas can be so haunting. This is especially true for Guatemalans who are not used having tortillas not made the same day or even within the same hour. It’s funny now that I think about … Read more