CULINARY THUMBNAIL

Here are three characteristics of this state's cuisine:

1. very varied agricultural base providing enormous diversity of produce
2. ranches providing meat
3. Tarascan Indians providing many local specialties

TRADITIONAL DISHES TO LOOK FOR

• Churipo or Bote-- chunks of beef, chicken and pig in a spicy stew
• Corundas --  triangular tamales wrapped in corn husks
• Guacamole -- guacamole with onion, cilantro and chili pepper are especially famous from here

SWEETS

• Cajeta de Leche de Cabra -- goat-milk cajeta; cajetas are traditionally congealed in a round box four or five inches across, made of thin wood slivers
• Ate -- pastelike item based on a variety of fresh fruits to which sugar and water are added
• capirotada -- especially found during Lent, a white-bread pudding with various combinations of ingredients, such as cheese, tomato, peanuts, raisins, and biznaga cactus, all covered with syrup

TRADITIONAL ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

• Charanda -- some charandas are made from fermenting agave sap, others from sugarcane juice
• Licor de Membrillo -- liquor made from quince

Information on this page based on material presented in Gastronomía: Atlas cultural de México, 1988, an extensive and well illustrated work by various authors, published by the Secretaría del Educación Pública, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico City.