CULINARY THUMBNAIL

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

1. mostly steamy tropical lowlands producing abundant tropical produce
2. lots of ranching providing fresh meat
3. coastline, large rivers and lakes providing excellent seafood
4. according to Conaculta's series on family cooking in Mexico, Tabasco, more than any other state, has kept the original flavor of its traditional dishes by continuing to use pre-Hispanic ingredients and recipes

TRADITIONAL DISHES TO LOOK FOR

Mariscos al chiltepín, which is a mix of seafood drenched with a sauce made from the pea-sized, incredibly hot red pepper known as chile chiltepín, first domesticated in Mexico 6 or 7,000 years ago, and possibly the mother chili from which all chili peppers derive. Copyright-free image made in Tabasco, courtesy of "ProtoplasmaKid," made available through Wikimedia Commons.

• Pejelagarto -- alligator-head fish (Lepidoseus viridis), a freshwater fish with a long snout typically cooked on a grill, seasoned with lime juice, chili; used in everything from tamales to tacos and enchiladas
• Potze or Poshe -- cornmeal based tamale filled with sliced pig meat, brains and other such items mixed with rice and wrapped in fragrant leaves
• Caldo de Camarón -- shrimp stew
• Chanchamitas de Cerdo -- pork tamales seasoned with achiote, a brightly orange-red seasoning from fruits of a small tree
• Barbacoa de pescado -- barbecued fish
• Frijoles negros con cerdo salado -- black beans with salt pork
• Yuca en Naranja -- yucca cooked with garlic and orange juice
• Frijoles Negros con Carne Salada -- black beans and pork

SWEETS

• Dulce de Papaya-Zapote  -- sweet made of the exquisite apple-size, brown-skinned, orange-fleshed, tropical tree-fruit known as mamey

NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

• Chocolate -- sweet drink made of ground cacao (chocolate) in this homeland of the cacao tree
• Pozol -- cornmeal-based drink flavored with ground cacao (chocolate)
• Chorote -- cold drink prepared with cooked corn, roasted and ground cacao, sometimes with sugar added
• Aguas -- made from guava, pineapple, sugar cane juice and other local fruit

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

• Balche -- a mildly alcoholic drink served ice cold, made from fermented pineapple rind

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.