Curanto is a traditional food of Chiloé (an island off the Chilean coast) that has spread to the southern areas of Chile and Argentina. It is traditionally prepared in a well, about a meter and a half deep (approx one and a half yards), which is dug in the earth. The bottom is covered with stones, heated in a bonfire until red. Chiloé Island Location of Chiloé in Chile Chiloé Island (Spanish: Isla de Chiloé), also known as Big Island of Chiloé (Isla Grande de Chiloé), is an island off the Pacific coast of South America, part of Chile. ...

Preparation

The ingredients consist of shellfish, specific types of fish, meat, potatoes, potato bread, chapaleles, and vegetables. The quantities are not fixed; the idea is that there should be a little of everything. Each layer of ingredients is covered with gunnera (Chilean rhubarb) leaves, or in their absence, with fig leaves or white cabbage leaves. All this is covered with champas and wet sacks, creating the effect of a giant pressure cooker in which the food cooks for an hour or a little more. Shellfish is a term used to describe shelled molluscs and crustaceans used as food. ... Groups Conodonta Hyperoartia Petromyzontidae (lampreys) Pteraspidomorphi (early jawless fish) Thelodonti Anaspida Cephalaspidomorphi (early jawless fish) Galeaspida Pituriaspida Osteostraci Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) Placodermi Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) Acanthodii Osteichthyes (bony fish) Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish) Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) Actinistia (coelacanths) Dipnoi (lungfish) A fish is a poikilothermic (cold-blooded) water-dwelling... Etymologically, Meat comes from the old english mete which referred to food in general. ... Binomial name Solanum tuberosum L. The potato (plural form: potatoes) (Solanum tuberosum) is a perennial plant of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, grown for its starchy tuber. ... Species See text Gunnera is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants, some of them gigantic. ... Species About 800, including: Ficus altissima Ficus americana Ficus aurea Ficus benghalensis - Indian Banyan Ficus benjamina - Weeping Fig Ficus broadwayi Ficus carica - Common Fig Ficus citrifolia Ficus drupacea Ficus elastica Ficus godeffroyi Ficus grenadensis Ficus hartii Ficus lyrata Ficus macbrideii Ficus macrophylla - Moreton Bay Fig Ficus microcarpa - Chinese Banyan Ficus... Cultivar Group Brassica oleracea Capitata Group The cabbage (Brassica oleracea Capitata Group) is an edible plant of the Family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae). ... Pressure cooking is a method of cooking things at high heat without boiling them. ...

One can also prepare curanto in a big stew pot that is heated over a bonfire or grill or in a pressure cooker. This stewed curanto is called pulmay in the central region of Chile. Look up Pot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Pot may refer to one of the following. ...

History

It is believed that this form of preparing foods was native to the "chono" countryside and that, with the arrival of the southern peoples and the Spanish conquistadors, new ingredients were added until it came to be the curanto that is known today. However, there are some who claim that the curanto is more evidence to suggest the theory that asserts that there was contact between America and Polynesia in the pre-columbian epoch, given that Rapa Nui (Easter Island) has a similar dish called "umu". Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who achieved the Conquista (this Spanish term is generally accepted by historians), i. ... World map showing the Americas The Americas commonly refers to the landmass in the Western Hemisphere consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands. ... Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the triangle Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. ... Easter Island and its location Easter Island (Polynesian: Rapa Nui (Great Rapa), Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is an island in the south Pacific Ocean belonging to Chile. ...