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Canary Islands,
Social Profile
Food & Drink: The cuisine of the Canaries offers many dishes based on fish, which are usually served with potatoes and a special sauce called mojo picón. The traditional dishes are watercress soup and the popular sancocho canario, a fish salad with a hot sauce. Locally grown bananas, tomatoes, avocados and papayas also play an important part in the Canaries’ cuisine. Corn meal, wheat flour, pre-roasted corn or barley are eaten instead of bread with certain local dishes. Local pastries include the excellent tirijalas, bienmesabes, frangollo, bizcochos lustrados, quesadillas, rapaduras y marquesotes, meat pies and ‘nougats’ of corn meal and molasses. In the main resorts, restaurants offer the full range of international cuisine, as well as local delicacies. Often restaurants cater for the tastes of particular nationalities.
A full range of wines, spirits and liqueurs from throughout the world is available. Spanish wines and spirits are particularly good value and spirits are slightly cheaper than in the UK. Local beers are pilsner-type lagers and, on the whole, rather weak. Local wines are also produced. Other drinks originating from the islands are rum, honey-rum and Malmsey wine.
Shopping: Besides the excellent duty-free shopping, there are numerous local items to tempt the visitor. Craftsmanship is represented mainly by skilled open-work and embroidery. Pottery, basket-work based on palm leaves, cane and reed and delicate woodcarvings are also popular. Tobacco produced here is excellent and world famous. Cigars from the Canary Islands are outstanding in quality. Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1300 and 1630-1930.
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