My nanny/housekeeper of many years is originally from Costa Rica. Because the culture there is so different from ours, I thought it would be interesting to explore some aspects of their culture. She told me a few famous legends as well as a recipe that was very prominent throughout her life. This was something called “drunk bread” which was made at parties or fiestas.

Collector: “What are some recipes that are famous in Costa Rica?”

Informant: “There is one recipe that is really common and is used at parties. It’s called drunk

bread because of the alcohol that is put into it. There is not enough to get a person drunk but you can still taste it in the bread rolls. It is really good and I’ve grown up eating them.”

Ingredients

•10 sweet bread rolls

•2 eggs that are beaten with a dash of salt

•1 cup of water

•1 cup of sugar

•a bit of cinnamon

•honey

•a quarter of cup of Rum

•and cooking oil

Procedure:

First heat up 1 cup of water, a cup of sugar and then add cinnamon. When this cools off add honey and Rum. Later divide each bread roll in half. Then proceed to beat eggs which are then fried in hot oil. Then remove mixture and place it in a paper towel. When the mixture is lukewarm it is then ready to be bathed with honey and served.

This was a cool experience talking to her about this food that I have never tried yet she was so familiar with. Later, she made me some drunk bread and it was really good. There was not really a background on this type of food as it did not really have an important history.