T'Ach: Authentic Panamanian Cuisine

by Charlie Collins, Olga Sanmartin (Editor), Sergio Ochoa (Photographer)

Panama’s culinary heritage is a great gastronomic babel. Beginning with the arrival of the Spaniards, Panama has been a transit zone from East to West, from the Americas to Europe, and between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans for people of all races. The intense exchange of seeds and foodstuffs altered the whole world’s culinary habits. It is estimated that over half of the world’s crops originated from plants that were harvested by the indigenous peoples of the American continent. Panama is a multicultural nation like few others, where people from all corners of the planet have decided to settle, bringing along their cuisine and customs, enriching our culture over more than five centuries. T’ACH Authentic Panamanian Cuisine opens a small door - the first chapter of which has been described as the “anthropology” of Panamanian cuisine. Food history as a cultural signifier has been well developed in countries like Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, India, Mexico, and, more recently, Peru. Panama’s history holds numerous culinary treasures, which is why we must grant our gastronomy the importance and the place it deserves. The Spanish Conquest, the colonial period, the construction of the transcontinental railway, the building of the Panama Canal, and Panama’s role as the largest banking and financial center in Latin America have punctuated our culinary history and enriched our cultural heritage.

376 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2016