CULINARY THUMBNAIL

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

1. tropical coastal zone produces coconuts, bananas, lemons and more; especially known for its coconut-based dishes
2. coastal fishing provides excellent seafood
3. in semi-arid section ranching provides fresh meat

TRADITIONAL DISHES TO LOOK FOR

Hanger steak, or Arrachera, the cut coming from a cow's upper rib cage or from around both sides of a rib; this dish accompanied by shrimp, roasted potatoes, onion and red pepper; copyright-free image photographed by "in pulerum reverteris" in Colima and made available through Wikimedia Commons.

• Caldillo de Pescado -- Fish stew made with various kinds of fish
• Tamal de Chihuilin -- tamale in banana leaf, the dough made with corn masa blended with pig grease, containing one or two of the river fish known as chihuilines

SWEETS

• Alfajores -- made with coconut, honey, peanuts, almonds, raisins, dates, prunes and pine seeds
• Empanadas -- a wheat-flour tortilla folded over almost any ingredient, then fried in oil; a typical sweet empanada is one containing nuts and unrefined brown sugar; typical here are those with coconut (coco), lemon (limón) and orange (naranja)

NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

• Licuados -- fruit shakes of various kind
• Bate --made of toasted, ground seeds of chan, a kind of sage of the Mint Family, sweetened with honey

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

• Tuba -- from fermented juice of flowers of the Coconut Palm
• Tuxca -- from fermented sap of a local agave

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.