Guatemalan

Guatemalan cooking sits on a Maya base that predates the Spanish by millennia: nixtamalised corn, beans, squash, chillies, tomatillos and pumpkin seeds ground on stone. The conquest added chicken, pork, lard, rice and warm spices, and these were absorbed into existing recados rather than displacing them. Garífuna communities on the Caribbean coast brought coconut, cassava and West African technique. The highland kitchen has changed less than almost any other in the Americas, which is why the government listed its core dishes as cultural heritage in 2007.

Sauces are thickened with toasted seeds and burnt tortilla rather than flour; vegetables are charred before blending; heat is moderate and served on the side as chirmol. Corn tortillas are small, thick and eaten at every meal. Black beans are puréed and fried into frijoles volteados. Tamales range from firm chuchitos to soft banana-leaf tamales colorados. Sweet things lean on plantain, cinnamon and panela.