COSTA RICA FOOD HISTORY
- Columbus came to Cost Rica in 1502
- When Spanish came they were interested in Coffee
- When Spanish took over for 250 years they influenced food
- After Spanish started buying coffee (early 1800s) it became a CR's valuable export
- Built railroads to transport coffee (1890)
- To fund railroads they planted banana trees
Bananas were soon another valuable export of CR
- With money from exports funded education and health
- Today cost Ricans are coffee extreme coffee lovers (all businesses are closed around three because of coffee breaks)
- GALLO PINTO=RICE AND BEANS
- Most sea food exported so they don't eat much
- Variety of food because of multiple environments
- Makes lots of sugar
- Their food has Jamaican heritage
- Sugar cane is used throughout their food selection, even drinks
- Sweet corn makes up many of the traditional dishes: corn soup, corn pancakes
- Tortillas used in every meal
- When Spanish found little gold they turned to agriculture
- Before Spanish arrived Costa Rica so poor that they even the Governor had to farm his own food
The History of Costa Rican Food
Nobody knows much about the History of Costa Rica before 1502 when Columbus first arrived there. We do know that in the ages before Europeans invaded their culture they developed a typical Mexican diet centered around beans and rice. When the Spanish came and began to make stable colonies about sixty years after Christopher's first voyage to Costa Rica they had an instant interest in the coffee they found. However it wasn't until the early 1800s that coffee became Costa Rica's most valuable product. It was in such high demand that in 1890 railroads were built across Costa Rica to transport it faster. To help pay off the loans needed to make the railroads the Costa Ricans planted banana trees along the rail road tracks. In no time the banana fruit was another extremely valuable product to the people of Costa Rica. The Spanish rule of Costa Rica for 250 years certainly left an influence on many aspects of Costa Rican culture, including food. The strong trade routes of bananas and coffee beans are still running smoothly, as well as the Costa Rican love for coffee. They honor the role coffee has played in their history every day by closing down all stores and business to take a coffee break.
