Vanishing Foodways
IN
THE VERY EARLY HOURS of the morning, when the
community is still asleep, Juana is already in
action. It is three in the morning and her
gastronomic corner, the Kiosco Luís Elián, is
getting ready to open its doors. Soft music
fills the air as she concentrates on her
culinary work. At 5:00 AM, customers begin to
arrive in search of a warm and comforting
breakfast.
By
lunchtime, a line has formed with people waiting
for Juana’s cooking. The menu of the day offers
a variety of options, from stewed chicken to
fried ripe plantains. But it is the rice soup
that attracts everyone’s attention. It is the
star dish, a simple but satisfying combination
that promises to keep stomachs full for hours.
In this corner of Panama, as in the entire
country, rice is an essential component of daily
life.
Thousands
of miles away, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in
Bolivia, a similar scene occurs every morning.
There, Dorys Peña runs a small food stall known
locally for the preparation of majadito
batido or graneado passed down
from generation to generation.
Like
her Panamanian colleague, Dorys learned the
amounts of ingredients and cooking times when
she was a child. Her secret is to diversify the
use of rice. Whether as a majadito
graneado (toasted rice) or majadito
batido, which is not grained and is
seasoned with a spoonful of urucu,
which adds a saffron-like color, her
preparations include onion, paprika, pepper,
cumin and shredded charque (dehydrated
beef), and are complemented with eggs, plantains
and served with boiled yuca.
Juana,
on the other hand, prepares the soup with a
smaller amount of seasoning, but the result is
just as effective. She mixes the rice with meat
and vegetables to submerge it in a fragrant
broth which gives it an unmistakable homemade
flavor. She modestly says, “Today it didn’t turn
out so well.” But one of her diners is quick to
contradict her. “Please give me a little more
rice.”
Certainly,
rice represents a bond with tradition and
culture that is shared in almost all of Latin
America and the Caribbean. According to data
provided by the Regional Fund for Agricultural
Technology (FONTAGRO), it is the fourth most
consumed food in the region and contributes on
average 11 percent to the per capita caloric
intake in Latin American countries. Panama and
Bolivia are worthy representatives of this
abundance which, despite the indispensable role
of rice in many recipes, could face various
risks in the not-too-distant future.
Food
brings us together. Our mouths water for a dish
that is part of our gastronomic tradition and
our history. They are dishes that have been on
our palate for generations. But what if that was
no longer so?
This article is
part of a three-part series produced by InquireFirst
that looks into traditional foodways in Latin
America that are now at risk.
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