Cuisine of Costa Rica 

Costa Rican cuisine is known for being tasty, yet fairly mild, with high reliance on fresh fruits and vegetables. The main staple consists of rice and black beans, which in many households is eaten at all three meals during the day. 

For breakfast, Costa Ricans favorite dish is gallo pinto, which consists of rice, cilantro, onion, and black or red beans mixed together and sometimes lightly fried. A locally-produced sauce called salsa lizano is often used to add a hint of spice to the dish. (Sour cream is sometimes also added for variation). This dish was actually introduced into Costa Rica about 30 years ago with the initial by the influx of Nicaraguan citizens, from where the dish originates. 

For lunch, the traditional national dish is called a casado. It again consists of rice and beans, though this time they are served side by side instead of mixed. There will generally be some type of meat (carne asada, fish or chicken) and a salad to round out the dish. There may also be some extras like fried plantains or a piece of white cheese in accompaniment. 

Fresh vegetables are a primary ingredient in most main dishes, and members of the squash family are particularly common. These include varieties such as zucchini, zapallo, chayote, and ayote. Potato, onion, and red pepper are other common ingredients. 

Coffee and banana are the two main agricultural exports of the country and also form part of the local cuisine. Coffee is usually served at breakfast and during traditional coffee breaks in the afternoon, usually around 3:00pm. 

Plantain is another commonly used fruit and can be served in a variety of ways, including fried in butter, unripe (verde), also called "patacones", and in honey or a sugar-based sauce. Sweetcorn dishes are common traditional meals like pozole (corn soup), chorreadas (corn pancakes), etc. 

Other Costa Rican food staples include corn tortillas, white cheese and picadillos. Tortillas are used to accompany most meals. Ticos will often fill their tortillas with whatever they are eating and eat it in the form of a gallo [direct translation: rooster, however, it resembles a soft Mexican taco]. White cheese is non-processed cheese that is made by adding salt to milk in production. Picadillos are meat and vegetable combinations where one or more vegetables are diced, mixed with beef and garnished with spices. Common vegetables used in picadillos are potatoes, green beans, squash, ayote, chayote and arracache. Oftentimes, picadillos are eaten in the form of gallos. 

Drinks 

The traditional breakfast drink, besides coffee, is called agua dulce ("sweet water") and is made from "tapa de dulce". Sugar cane juice is boiled down in traditional "trapiches" and put to solidify in molds in the form of conical sections with the top cut off called tapas. Then some of this tapa is scraped off and dissolved into boiling water to make the sweet "agua dulce". 

The traditional drinks for lunch are called refrescos and consist of liquified fruits diluted in either water or milk and sweetened to taste. They come in many varieties such as melon, blackberry, strawberry, watermelon, tamarind, and passion fruit. 

The national liquor of Costa Rica is made from sugar cane and is called Guaro. The primary producer of Guaro is Cacique and the liquor is similar to rum. Ticos drink Guaro as a shot or mixed with juice or soda. The cost of Guaro is very cheap compared to the cerverza (beer) in Costa Rica which is run by a monopoly. Imperial is the most popular and is an American style lager; the Pilsen is a bohemian style pilsner; and Bavaria is offered in Light, Dark or Gold. The German beer, Heiniken, is also produced in Costa Rica but tastes a little different.