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

Taco de carnitas, the word carnitas literally meaning "little meats;" in Mexico the dish is made by braising, simmering and frying chunks of pork in its own fat, lard or cooking oil, wrapping it in a tortilla, and sprinkling on chopped and sliced vegetables such as onion, chili and cilantro; copyright-free image courtesy of "Luis16k" photographed on Michoacán's coast and made available through Wikimedia Commons.

• 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.