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La Gomera is an island with a rich and varied culinary culture. It is a simple cuisine, based on fresh products of the country, once seasoned and cooked, which delight your taste with authentic flavours. Coriander, cumin, honey of Palma (palm honey), pimienta picona (hot pepper)… these are just a few of the essential ingredients of a cuisine that uses the local products of the season to develop its traditional recipes. Potatoes and queso gomero (cheese from La Gomera), sweet potatoes, yams, pantanas (siam pumpkin), bubangos (a type of squash), avocados, fresh meat, fish from our shores... all served with local wine, made with the variety Forastera Gomera, an exclusive grape of the island. Watercress soup, almogrote, gofio, tuna in mojo (sauce), ribs with potatoes, carne fiesta (fried meat with fries), rancho Canario (canarian stew), escaldón de pescado (gofio stew with fish), rabbit in salmorejo (typical marinade of canary cuisine), goat meat, chickpea stew, medregal (greater amberjack), cherne (atlantic wreckfish), cabrillas (comber), mackerel… these are just some of the delights that the kitchens of the restaurants from La Gomera offer us. Quesillo (a type of custard), leche asada (roasted milk), frangollo (with almonds and cinnamon), all of them made with palm honey, are the ideal desserts to complete a different culinary experience. And what better way to end your meal than with a digestive and strong gomerón (brandy with palm honey) or a soft and sweet mistela (traditional liquor).
Both in the hamlets in the surroundings of the Park (La Palmita, El Cercado, Arure, Chipude, Las Hayas, etc. ), as in any of the towns of the rest of the island or in the reputable companies with the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism, you will be able to try these and other specialities, as well as international cuisine, canarian and spanish cuisine, ethnic cuisines (Arabic, Italian, Chinese, Malay, Venezuelan… ). A huge variety of cuisine to suit all tastes. In summary, the cuisine is simple but well made, with products and local flavours that blend the traditional with the modern.
If you are going to walk in the park or the island and you want to enjoy a picnic in nature, you cannot miss the fruit of the season in your backpack: mangoes, papayas, avocados, apples, oranges or bananas are ideal to complement the snack or sandwich that you prepare or buy. One more piece of advice, the best desserts or simply the best snacks for your tour are the sweets from La Gomera, the result of hundred-year-old confectionery tradition, which, although it is originally from England, today is one of the richest and most flavourful of the Canary Islands.
The best presents that you can take back home are the typical products of La Gomera, gifts that will awaken curiosity, since they are only produced on the island. In any market, supermarket or store you can purchase almogrote, palm honey, honey, jams, gofio, cheese, local wine, liquors, mojos, sweets… packaged in order to be transported and, thus, surprise our family and friends with the authentic and unique flavours of La Gomera.