Food and Drinks Questions • Tropical Ecology Institute • NC Museum of Natural Sciences

Can you drink the water in Belize or does it have to be bottled water? And what other drinks do they have? —an Alexander County resident (2004)

We have had to drink bottled water most of the time. However, most well water is safe to drink and some cities have drinkable water. Many Belizeans catch rainwater and use it for drinking as well. Belize has some drinks you would be familiar with such as Coke, 7-Up, Pepsi, and Fanta. Less familiar are Rica, Lime Juice, Orange Squash, Guanabana and Strawberry Banana drink. Belizeans drink lots of fruit juices!

What types of foods are produced in Belize? —a 10th grader from Davidson County (2004)

Among the produce grown here are avocados, grains, coconuts, sugarcane, bananas, papaya, pineapple, cashews, limes, oranges, tangelos and grapefruit. Seafood is also a major export.

What are tamales? How are they prepared? —Briana, a 3rd grader from Surry County, North Carolina (2006)

Tamales, a dish made of a delicious mixture of meat, corn meal, achote (anato) and spices, come from the Maya and Mestizo cultures. They take an entire day to prepare and are usually only made for special occasions such as weddings, Christmas, All Saints Day and, of course, our trip to Belize.

To make tamales, you must first collect banana leaves, which are used to wrap up the tamale ingredients, and cut them into pieces. Then mix together masa (corn meal), meat, achote (anato) and spices. Boil this mixture until it is as thick as porridge. Set the boiled mixture aside. Cook a second batch of masa by lightly frying it in oil to make it spreadable. Add salt to taste. Take a banana leaf piece, drop a spoon-sized drop of cooked masa on it and spread it out on the leaf, like a tortilla. Place a portion of the masa and meat mixture on the center of the spread-out masa. Fold the banana leaf and wrap with string to seal. Steam cook the tamales for about 45 minutes and serve.

A Belizean teacher who participated last year met us at Crystal Paradise Resort one evening and brought this special treat that she had prepared for us. YUM! YUM! Read the July 18, 2006 journal.