CULINARY THUMBNAIL

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

1. with such a long coastline it's a seafood paradise
2. inland there's everything from wet tropical lowland to snow-capped mountains so there's a rainbow of produce
3. in the north near Martínez de la Torre, French influence, plus influence of other nationalities elsewhere

Coctel de camarón con salsa macha con limón
-- shrimp cocktail with macha sause and limon --
Photo by Maria Pagola, of Ask Maria, in Veracruz

TRADITIONAL DISHES TO LOOK FOR

• Huachinango a la Veracruzana -- red snapper in a spicy tomato sauce
• Pollo Encacahuatado - chicken in peanut sauce
• Chucumite a la Veracruzana -- special fish dish using the fish called chucumite or else a guachinango, basically the fish in an elongated bowl doused with a spicy broth made of  tomato, chili, onions, garlic, olive oil, capers, bay leaves, oregano, parsley, peppercorns and salt
• Arroz a la Tumbada -- rice and seafood, especially shrimp, clams, crabs and octopus, prepared with a spicy tomato sauce
• Sopa de mariscos -- soup composed of various kinds of seafood
• Chiles Rellenos a la Veracruzana  -- large jalapeño peppers stuffed with crabmeat seasoned with onion, tomatoes, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper

SWEETS

• Dulce de Camote con Piña -- dessert of boiled, mashed sweet potatoes and pineapples in their syrup
• Empanadas de Guayabaa -- empanadas are wheat-flour tortillas folded over almost any ingredient, then fried in oil; this one is folded over guava
• Dulce de Pepita de Calabaza -- sweet composed of pumpkin seeds
• Palanquetas de cacahuate -- crisp candy based on brown-sugar syrup and/or refined sugar, toasted corn, and peanuts
• jamoncillo de leche -- finely ground nuts or seeds, especially pumpkin, pine-nuts, or peanuts, prepared with milk and sugar

ALCOHOLIC DRINK

• Torito -- rum with fruits, such as guava, mamey, lemon and peanuts, mixed with condensed milk, regular milk, and ice

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.