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Frogs becoming common Lenten fare in southern Mexico

Frogs becoming common Lenten fare in southern Mexico

By Jose de Jesus Cortes

Oaxaca, Mexico, Mar 11 (EFE).- From the diverse cuisine of the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca has emerged as a new option for the Catholic faithful who want to honor the church’s injunction to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent.

Alongside the Oaxacan dishes that have won international renown, such as mole, chapulines (grasshoppers), and tlayuda, frog is winning new adherents.

“First you take out the intestines and you can prepare it with or without skin, now it goes without skin,” Teresa Garcia tells EFE at a food stand in Oaxaca city. “We remove the feet and marinate it in lemon juice seasoned with garlic, pepper and oregano to then grill it for 15 minutes and it’s ready to serve with slices of tomato, cucumber, and carrots.”

Garcia and several other workers of Las Juntas, an aquaculture cooperative in Santiago Textitlan, are in the state capital to showcase the company’s wares at the 2023 Aquaculture and Fish Bazaar.

Though frog has long been eaten in Oaxaca state, younger people unacquainted with the tradition are intrigued by what they see as an exotic dish.

Frog is both high in nutritional value and inexpensive at a time when Mexicans are coping with high prices for other staples such as eggs and chicken.

“It’s a food rich in collagen, which aids in rejuvenation, moreover it’s recommendable for people who have problems with arthritis or diabetes because its meat is very low in triglycerides and cholesterol,” Garcia says.

And as many as eight frogs can be had for 220 pesos (about $12).

“Oaxaca has an infinitude of climates and ecosystems. We can find in them the potential to produce species such as the frog, which people consider an exotic dish, but it isn’t,” state agriculture department biologist Juan Antonio Ortega tells EFE. EFE

jjc/dr

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