CULINARY THUMBNAIL

Here are the most notable characteristics of this state's cuisine:

1. temperate central valleys produce abundant fruit and vegetables
2. presence of Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta lends a cosmopolitan flavor
3. many lakes, highlands and lowlands provide a mosaic of cuisines
4. coastal zone produces great seafood

TRADITIONAL DISHES TO LOOK FOR

• Birria -- stewed goat or pork in thick, spicy tomato broth
• Pozole -- thick, hominy-based soup with hunks of pork, tomato, cilantro and garbanzos
• Sopa de Elote -- sweetcorn soup
• Caviar de Carpa (Lago de Chapala) -- carp caviar
• Ancas de Rana al Mojo de Ajo (Lago de Chapala) -- frog legs in garlic sauce
• Pico de Gallo -- appetizer accompanying tequila, consisting of small squares of jícama (turnip-like tuber from Bean Family member Pachyrhizus erosus), orange sections, lemon juice, all sprinkled with flakes of chili piquín

NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

• Sangrita -- sweetened orange juice with ground onion, chili pepper, salt and vegetable coloring

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

• Tejuino --fermented from corn (maize), with alcohol added

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.