For Latin Americans, food is more than sustenance; it represents a lifesyle
[Food] is a very important part of our culture. Latinos love to be around those they love and enjoy a good meal together,
said Carmelo Diaz-Tamara, a sophomore from Rivera, Uruguay. There’s nothing like the taste of some good homemade Latin food.
It is difficult to categorize all of the diverse kinds of foods within Central and South America under the general umbrella of Latin American foods,
as Diaz-Tamara knows well.
Latin American food is diverse,
said Diaz-Tamara. I was assigned to serve my mission in Utah, and I had the chance to meet people from all over the place. I love Mexican food, Peruvian food, Dominican food, and, of course, all the traditional food from my country, Uruguay.
Although different Latin countries specialize in different foods, rice and beans are at least two things they all have in common. Quinn Merrill, a junior from Rexburg, is familiar with the staples of a Brazilian diet.
I served in the Brazil Manaus Mission,
Merrill said. We ate rice and beans for lunch at members’ houses almost every single day. I really adjusted to eating rice and beans all the time and began to notice the different flavors of different types of beans; I could tell if people cooked their rice and beans differently.
Because Merrill served his mission near the Amazon River, he had the opportunity to eat a lot of fish.
The best tasting Amazon fish is called tambaqui,
Merrill said. It is amazing! It’s better than salmon, halibut or even chicken and turkey. They also had amazing juices there: mango, passion fruit and some I don’t even know if they transfer into English, like cupuaçu, açaí, graviola and jambu.
In addition to her home-country Mexican food, Maydell Viveros, a sophomore from Leon Guanajuato, Mexico, shares Merrill’s love for Brazilian foods.
I like Brazilian food, especially rice and beans,
Viveros said. I [also] love foods that combine sweet and salty … For example, in Mexico we make a lot of spicy sauces for different dishes such as
mole
which is a combination of chocolate, raisins, chiles, bananas, and other spices.
Mexicans tend to use tortillas and tortilla chips more than bread. They are used for tacos, quesadillas (grilled or fried), enchiladas and chilaquiles. Wide varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables also accompany many dishes.
Viveros’s favorite dishes include tostadas, enchiladas and a dish called sope,
which is a tortilla topped with sauce, cream and cheese. For Diaz-Tamara, the asado
has particular appeal.
We have a lot of Italian heritage, so pastas are really popular. But there’s nothing more Uruguayan than a good
Diaz-Tamara said.asado,
which is a barbecue made in the good old Uruguayan way,
A few of the drawbacks of Latin foods include the generous use of meat and oil.
Sometimes in some of our countries we use a lot of meat in our meals. As we know, meat in excess is not very good,
Diaz-Tamara said.
Viveros sees the use of oil as more of a problem.
I don’t like the fact that we have a lot more fried foods,which makes it greasier,
Viveros said.
However, the problem of excess grease is not limited to Latin American foods.
There’s a lot of fast food [in the United States],
Diaz-Tamara said. I mean I love it too, but people here don’t cook as much as people back home. Here food comes more in cans… I think things are more natural back home. More time is spent on the process of cooking, and dinner time and lunch time are a very important time for the family.
The use of cheddar cheese, casseroles, baked goods and quick dinners are a few of the differences between food in the United States and Latin foods. Time is money, and as the lives of United States citizens have become busier, food has changed to meet the limitations of a hectic schedule.
People in the United States [eat] a lot of frozen and microwavable foods, which is something people in Latin America don’t do as often,
Viveros said.
The difference between Latin American food and the U.S. is that they use rice as the basis for every meal. Here we’ll add bread or potatoes to a meal to get the carbohydrates, but I can probably count on my hands the amount of times in two years that the members didn’t serve us rice,
Merrill said. They take advantage of the different parts of the animal. It’s different in every country and in every part of different countries, but I definitely saw more people eating chicken feet, fish heads, and I even saw people barbecuing turtles once.
