Corn was present in most of the different foods prepared in the region at Pre-Columbian times, and their love for it was such, that the name the Mayas gave to corn was “Kana”, meaning: our mother. Corn covered most of their necessities and if they didn’t have it, they felt a hunger period was coming on. They would miss corn even though all the other available nourishments could feed them properly.
The entire region has similar recipes, with local differences and some local recipes very definite in each country. This is because, all recipes coming from old days have similar origins, and when the Spanish came brought their own recipes to all the regions they conquered. Only after those days, each country started getting a defined cuisine, being them all, to this day, different and keeping all of them some things in common, such as the use of corn and the tasty and good looking dishes, so colorful.
There are also some exotic dishes in Central America, and we could name fried palm flowers in El Salvador, the chicharron, (fried pork rinds) also in El Salvador or chicken feet which is a treat for the Panamanians.
But what is up to our days a very important fact about the Central American cuisine is that it is very healthy, uses lots of vegetables, salads of all kinds, plenty of fruits and food is tasty, rich and healthy and very nourishing. Travelers to any Central American country enjoy the food, like all the different recipes using corn, and love their mixtures.