The cuisine in the province of Puntarenas, like the national cuisine, is the expression of the diverse contributions made by migrants who arrived in this area of Costa Rica and took advantage of the variety of food resources that nature offered them.
Thanks to this, today we enjoy a delicious multicultural cuisine, based on local ingredients, and culinary techniques that allowed the fusion of ancestral practices with the contributions of Africans, Chinese, and Spaniards.
Along the beaches of Puntarenas, many kiosks offer seafood delights made with fresh fish and shellfish, such as the famous Porteno Vigorón, influenced by Nicaragua. It is said that a woman, known as La Loca, created this dish to earn a living, easily selling it on beach almond leaves during baseball games; this happened in the mid-20th century.
Vigorón is a preparation where toasted pork cracklings are mixed with a variety of fresh vegetables, tomatoes, spicy chili, and yucca, seasoned with lime. Early in the morning, women sit under the shade of an almond tree by the beach, offering this delicious dish on tree leaves, vociferously proclaiming the properties it guarantees for eternal youth.
Kiosks also sell arroz guisado, seafood soup, and fried fish, and to sweeten the palate, they offer coconut and milk confections with flor de itabo.
