{"id":6661,"date":"2021-02-11T20:35:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T20:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/?p=6661"},"modified":"2023-01-23T11:17:04","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T18:17:04","slug":"hunting-seafood-treasure-in-campeche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/11\/hunting-seafood-treasure-in-campeche\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunting Seafood Treasure in Campeche"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"mariscos<\/p>\n

Imagine a place where you can drive for more than 40 miles between a lagoon and the Gulf of Mexico, where humble houses on the side of the road sell crab meat by the kilo and on the road’s speed bumps you can buy fresh prawns, bags full of green habaneros, or the largest shrimp you’ve ever seen. A place where they also handweave the finest \u201cPanam\u00e1\u201d hats, where the sky at night is illuminated by the fires of oil wells and sugarcane fields during the harvest season. This is Campeche, a state covered by jungle in eighty percent of its territory.<\/p>\n

The food in Campeche couldn’t be less dramatic. Abundance and variety would be the most humble (but the best) description for it. Corn\u2014in all the forms it can take\u2014milpa<\/em> vegetables, tropical fruits, and seafood are the foundations of the regional gastronomy. Corn may take the form of atole, pozol\u2014a drink made of ground double boiled corn and cacao\u2014tamales, and the ubiquitous tortilla. The milpa<\/em> provides vegetables and tropical fruits\u2014coconut, pineapple, watermelons, cantaloupes, mangos, bananas, papaya and avocados. Sugarcane, rice, sorghum, and beans are the main crops of commercial agriculture. Lagoons and the ocean produce an assortment of species like caz\u00f3n<\/em> (or dogfish) (Galeorhinus galeus<\/em>), jurel<\/em> (or white trevally) (Pseudocaranx dentex<\/em>), p\u00e1mpano<\/em> (or blue butterfish; Stromateus fiatola<\/em>) lubina <\/em>(or sea bass; Dicentrarchus labrax<\/em>),\u00a0 sierra<\/em> (Scomberomorus maculatus<\/em>), perca<\/em> o meagre<\/em> (Argyrosomus regius<\/em>), and red octopus (Octopus maya<\/em>) that are indigenous to this region, as are crabs, prawns, oysters, and last but not least the famous Campeche shrimp.<\/p>\n

This wealth of ingredients and the creativity of the people of Campeche have produced its own gastronomy. One that includes famous dishes like Pan de Caz\u00f3n<\/em>, Camarones al Coco<\/em> and Pescado en Escabeche (<\/em>recipes below); delicacies that are not easy to find outside of the state.<\/p>\n

And there is also Campeche City, the walled State Capital, inscribed in 1999 on the World Heritage List by UNESCO as the Historic Fortified Town of Campeche. An example of the military architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Spaniards sought to protect the port from pirate attacks. The perfect setting for a novel or a film\u2026<\/p>\n

The most representative fish of the region is caz\u00f3n<\/em>. Due to its hard texture, it can be fried, grilled, and used as filling for a variety of corn creations such as empanadas, salbutes, panuchos<\/em> and pan de caz\u00f3n<\/em>\u2014the flagship dish of the state. It’s also used as stuffing for chile Xcatic<\/em>. P\u00e1mpano<\/em> can be prepared empapelado<\/em> wrapped in banana leaves and baked or grilled, cooked in green salsa and en escabeche<\/em>. The roe of lisa (Liza Spp.) is a much sought after delicacy and it\u2019s cooked in multiple ways; catfish en pipian<\/em> is not for weddings anymore and p\u00e1mpano poc chuc<\/em> (marinated with white recado<\/em> of Mayan heritage) is both an ancient and an exotic dish.<\/p>\n

Campeche adjoins in the north with the State of Yucatan, east to Quintana Roo, south with Guatemala and Belize and southeast with the State of Tabasco. Its strategic location keeps it connected in every direction to other wonderful worlds, sources of other gastronomic influences (as if they didn\u2019t have enough).<\/p>\n

But what is behind all this abundance and variety? Big rivers that flow into the ocean where the topography allows the formation of lagoons, creating rich ecosystems where fish and shellfish, birds, and a variety of mammals prosper due to the tropical climate, where the minimum temperature never goes below 64 Fahrenheit. Any year the State of Campeche can receive up to 78 inches of rain, no wonder Laguna de T\u00e9rminos<\/em>\u2014the largest lagoon in Mexico\u2014occupies 495,940 acres next to the Gulf of Mexico!<\/p>\n

And what can we say about the people? \u201cCampechano,” literally from Campeche, is a term widely used in Mexico and has several meanings. It can be applied to food and drinks; you can order a taco campechano<\/em> which will have at least two types of filling, you can order a Cuba Libre Campechana<\/em> which means rum with Coke and mineral water. Order a Coctel de Mariscos Campechano <\/em>and you will get a coctel<\/em> with shrimp plus other shellfish<\/a>. And you can say that a person \u201ces muy Campechano” <\/em>or \u201cCampechana<\/em>” if that person is very open and friendly. Without a doubt, the people from Campeche are just that: very open and friendly.<\/p>\n

The State of Campeche is also home to the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, the largest rainforest reserve in Mexico. It was established as a natural protected area in 1989 and it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2002. Occupying 25% of the state\u2019s territory, it is a refuge for countless indigenous species of plants and animals, a vast jungle sprinkled by lagoons, rivers, and Mayan ruins, most of them in the form of monticules waiting to be unearthed. Well, looking for an adventure trip rich in history, culture and great food? We\u2019ve just made you a suggestion\u2026<\/p>\n

Recipes from Campeche<\/h1>\n

P\u00e1mpano en Escabeche<\/em><\/h2>\n
\"P\u00e1mpano
P\u00e1mpano en Escabeche (photo courtesy of Sectur Campeche)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A seafood delicacy with a contundent Spanish influence and easy to prepare.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h3>\n