Paraguayan cuisine
Encyclopedia
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
is similar to the cuisines in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
and the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
. Meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
s, vegetables, manioc, maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and fruits are common in Paraguayan cuisine. Barbecuing
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
is both a cooking technique and often a social event, and are known as Asado
Asado
Asado is a term used both for a range of barbecue techniques and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and southern Brazil. In the former countries asado is also the standard word for barbecue. An asado usually consists of beef alongside various...
s. Many dishes are based on corn
Corn
Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...
, milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
, cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
and meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
s, and fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
caught in rivers are also eaten. There are about 70 varieties of chipas (cake
Cake
Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
s) in Paraguay. Most chipas are made from manioc flour, which is derived from cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
, and cornmeal
Cornmeal
Cornmeal is flour ground from dried maize or American corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies. In the United States, the finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as cornflour. However, the word cornflour denotes cornstarch in recipes from the...
.
Common foods and dishes
- BeefBeefBeef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
- Bori-bori is a chickenChickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
soup served with cornmealCornmealCornmeal is flour ground from dried maize or American corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies. In the United States, the finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as cornflour. However, the word cornflour denotes cornstarch in recipes from the...
dumplings. - ChipaCheese bunCheese buns, or cheese breads are a variety of small, baked, cheese-flavored rolls, a popular typical snack and breakfast food in Brazil, and also in nearby regions of Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina...
is a bread made with manioc, eggEgg (food)Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
and cheese. - Chipa GuasúChipa GuasuThe chipa guasu is a cake made with corn grains, and one of the 70 varieties of “chipa”, a food that is original and typical of Paraguay. Its taste is absolutely delicious and is mandatory served in “asados” .Like every meal of Paraguayan gastronomy,...
is a cake made with corn grains, and is an original and common food of Paraguay. It's often served at asados. - Chipa so'o is another cake variety.
- Cured meatCuring (food preservation)Curing refers to various food preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite or sugar. Many curing processes also involve smoking, the process of flavoring, or cooking...
s, smoked hamHamHam is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:... - GroundnutsPeanutThe peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
- A traditional kiveveKiveveThe kiveve is one of most appetizing dishes of the semi-sweet Paraguayan popular gastronomy; its taste is very pleasant and has as base for the preparation, the pumpkin, fruit that is called for the guarani name "andai", in Paraguay....
is made using pumpkin or "andai", waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, saltSaltIn chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
, oilOilAn oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
, onionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
(chopped very small), milk, sugarSugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, corn flour and fresh cheese. - LampreadoLampreadoLampreado, Lambreado or “Payaguá Mascada” It is a dish typical of the cuisine of Paraguay that, like others, for well identifiable historical reasons, it has a high nutritional value....
, a fried cake made from manioc flour. - Mazamorroa is a cooked corn mushMush (cornmeal)Mush — sometimes called coosh — is a thick cornmeal pudding usually boiled in water or milk. It is often allowed to set, or gel into a semi solid, then cut into flat squares or rectangles, and pan fried. Usage is especially common in the eastern and southeastern United States. It is also customary...
dish. - Mbaipy-so-ó is a corn puddingPuddingPudding most often refers to a dessert, but it can also be a savory dish.In the United States, pudding characteristically denotes a sweet milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, though it may also refer to other types such as bread and rice pudding.In the United Kingdom and...
with meat. - MbejúMbejuMbeju is a starch cake sometimes made with fariña or manioc flour.The high-calorie mbeju is a staple of the Paraguayan diet. According to scholars of Paraguayan social history, the popular Paraguayan diet evolved as a result of the War of Paraguay in the nineteenth century. In the aftermath of the...
is a starch cake and staple foodStaple foodA staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...
of the Paraguayan diet. - MilanesaMilanesaThe milanesa is a common meat dish mostly in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, as well as in other American countries to a lesser extent, where breaded meat fillet preparations are known as a milanesa The milanesa is a common meat...
, a breaded meat filet, fried, baked or sauteed. - Paraguay cheeseParaguay CheeseParaguay cheese is a cows' milk cheese from Paraguay. It gives the Paraguayan cuisine a high value in calories and proteins, especially in the salted dishes recipes, very characteristic of the country and important part of its culture...
- Parrillada is a dish meat cooked over coals.
- Pira caldoPira caldoPira caldo is a fish soup that is part of the traditional cuisine of Paraguay. The Guarani word Pira means "fish".-History:The soup is very high in calorie content and in protein. This has its origins in the circumstances after the War of the Triple Alliance...
is a fish soupFish soupFisherman's Soup or halászlé ; , ribena chorba; , ribina čorba) is a hot, spicy paprika-based river fish soup, originating as a dish of Hungarian cuisine, a bright red hot soup prepared with generous amounts of hot paprika and carp or mixed river fish, characteristic for the cuisines of the...
that is part of the traditional cuisine. - PorkPorkPork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
- Sopa paraguayaSopa paraguayaSopa paraguaya is a traditional Paraguayan food. Literally meaning "Paraguayan soup", sopa paraguaya is similar to corn bread. Corn flour, pig fat, cheese and milk or whey are common ingredients. It is a spongy cake rich in caloric and protein content....
is a traditional Paraguayan dish. Literally meaning "Paraguayan soup," sopa paraguaya is similar to corn bread. Corn flour, pig fat (lardLardLard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative...
), cheese and milk or wheyWheyWhey or Milk Serum is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a by-product of the manufacture of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is manufactured during the making of rennet types of hard cheese like cheddar or Swiss cheese...
are common ingredients. It's a spongy cake rich in calories and protein content. - SoyoSoyo (Paraguay)Soyo is a thick soup of meat crushed in a mortar, seasoned with several spices and vegetables.It is a meal that is always found in the traditional Paraguayan cooking and as all the others, has an important caloric value....
is a thick soup of meat crushed in a mortar, seasoned with several spiceSpiceA spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s and vegetables.
Desserts
- KoserevaKoserevaKosereva is a common "barreled" candy with a high protein content native to Paraguay, made with the hardened skin of the sour orange and cooked in black molasses, resulting in a bittersweet and acidic taste. The name "koserevá" comes from the Guaranitical derivation of the Spanish word "conserva"...
is a common "barreled" candyCandyCandy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
native to Paraguay, with the hardened skin of the sour orangeOrange (fruit)An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
("apepú", in Guarani language), cooked in black molassesMolassesMolasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
, resulting in a bittersweet and acid taste and having a high protein content. - Mbaipy-he-é is a dessert dish made with milk, molassesMolassesMolasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
and corn.
Beverages
Maté is a national drink of Paraguay. Fruit juices and soft drinkSoft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s are common, and beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
are also available. Caña is an alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
juice, and mosto is a non-alcholic variety.
External links
- Sopa-Paraguaya (recipe).