If you are the type of person who visits a country and expects a wonderful gastronomic feast, then get your palate and stomach ready for the foods in Belize.
With its rich cultural history, you might find it hard to pinpoint exactly the type of cuisine that foods in Belize offer. Interestingly, if you want to know what will happen if a fusion of Mexican, African, Indian, Caribbean, Spanish and Maya cuisine takes places, then Belize cuisine is right for your taste buds.
Seafood can be considered a forte of the Belize cuisine. Due to its geographical location of having abundant waters, you will find that plentiful fresh fish and crustaceans being offered in your menu. If you seek for some quality lobsters, you might find comfort in the fact that Belize is one of the major exporters of lobsters. Although lobster is readily available and relatively inexpensive in the country, over-harvesting has caused its population to decrease. In order to be sure you will get your lobster fix, take note that lobster season is between Februarys to July.
You will also find that rice and beans are standard staples of foods in Belize. Usually, it is to complement a main dish and they usually use red or black beans. However, you have to take note that if you do say 'rice and beans', Belizeans will take it that you are referring to them being served together. If you say 'beans and rice', they will be serving and cooking it separately.
Other noticeable main dishes you will notice in the menus of foods in Belize are their chicken stew, beef stew, and of course, their fish stew. Their stews are Kriol-based and you might find that its dark color is a result of using various spices such as the red recado which is made of achiote. A native Belizean stew is called chimole or sometimes, 'black gumbo'.
To say that Marie Sharp's Hot Sauce is indispensable in eating foods in Belize is an understatement. You will find that every table in the country is not complete without a bottle of it. Although Marie Sharp's has already released a wide range of different hot sauces, chutneys and jams, the original spicy sauce is made from a mix of onions, habanero peppers, and carrots. Other spicy sauce you might find is Lizette's which is also said to be quite good. Take your pick of your very own Belizean hot sauce!
When it comes to drinking, Belikin beer is considered the national beer of Belize. It is produced by the Belize Brewing company and comes in quite a number of varieties: Belikin Stout, Belikin Lager, and The Belikin Premium. All beer recipes came from the original brew masters of the company, who are genuinely from the country of beer--Germany.
Although beer is nice liquor of choice, you might notice that rum is much more popular in Belize. Amongst the several distilleries that produce them, the 5-year aged Prestige rum is considered the finest Belizean rum. Another popular rum brand is 1 Barrel which has a bit sweeter because of its hint of vanilla.
Belize is not only a beautiful tropical paradise it also has a unique Culture. So when you are considering visiting or moving to Belize you should consider tasting all the great foods of this great country.
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