One of the hidden treasures of El Salvador is its food. Your first couple of months you may question this, but after a while, you begin to enjoy the cuisine of the region, and believe us, a few weeks after returning home, you'll be pilfering through the cupboards looking for some beans and rice! This is not to say, however, that there are not a few dishes we might recommend you avoid. Here are just a few of our favorites and our least favorites. Bon Apetit, or rather, Buen Provecho!

Don Adán's Guide to Healthy Living in El Salvador

Caliche, the real Spanish

¡Me gusta sopa de pata! and other Salvadoran delicacies

Peeding ride and other miscellaneous tidbits.

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the real scoop on El Salvador

pupusas - by far the greatest food on earth. Pupusas are basically tortillas filled with beans, cheese, or pork and most often a combination of any of the three. They are then fried and served with a tomato sauce and pickled cabbage called curtido. Beware of that cabbage and avoid it at all costs, unless you're looking to spend some quality time in the bathroom.

casamiento - a great way to serve leftovers. Casamiento is a mix of beans and rice, usually left over from the previous day. They are fried together and often served for breakfast or dinner. You can't believe how much flavor the Salvadorans can pack into basic rice and beans. This is what you crave just days after returning home.

arroz con leche - commonly known to us gringos as rice pudding. It is another great way to reuse yesterday's rice. Heat up some milk with sugar and cinammon and reboil the rice for a few minutes. Makes a great breakfast or dessert.

horchata - this is a close call but we vote for good eatin' horchata. When it's made well this traditional drink made with rice, cinnamon, sesame, allspice, and a native seed called moro is delicious. Be forewarned, however, that there are some vile versions of this drink and getting it down can be a challenge!

elote - fresh corn. This is very different from maíz, which is dried, mature, elote. The elote is in season from about August through October. The Salvadorans use the fresh corn to make corn fritters, fresh corn tamales, riguas (a corn dough mixed with fresh cheese and beans and cooked on a hot skillet in banana leaves -- delicious), sweet corn soup, corn on the cob, and "crazy corn" or elotes locos.

kolashanpan - a local soda pop. It is delicious and unique in its flavor. Want a great meal? Try a few pupusas with kolashanpan, you can't get more Salvadoran if you tried!

sopa de pata - yes, this traditional soup is one to run from. It usually contains such treats as cows' hoofs (added for flavor) and various intestinal tracts. It is a tradition, however, so expect it at least once in the field from a family that really wants to treat you well!

panza de vaca - cow stomach. Nothing goes wasted in El Salvador. Yes, a missionary once ate this and described it as "melting in your mouth". He then spent the next couple days extremely sick in bed and wishing he hadn't been so eager to please his host.

pacaya - this is an extremely bitter flower like vegetable brought in from neighboring Guatemala. It is generally dipped in egg and fried. They are long and have tubular tendrils that kind of resemble dredlocks once they are removed from their outer peel.

fish - basically any fish in the mission is to be avoided unless you live on the coast. Buying it inland means it isn't fresh and hasn't been refrigerated since it left its ocean home. Fish is always fried whole (head and tail included) and often pulled off the bones with your fingers. Makes for an intersting meal, just avoid the eyes and tongue. If you do happen to live along the coast, the fresh tuna is out of this world and dirt cheap!

pan dulce - sweet breads, and it's tricky. There are some really good sweet breads, but sometimes they are so deceiving. They almost always look better than they taste. The Salvadorans seem to be masters of presentation because their sweet breads look amazing, but are often dry, hard, crumbly, and not so sweet.

pork - a big no no. Learn all the words for pork too, because there are at least seven or eight! Even the locals will tell you pork can make you sick.