Alguashte is a seasoning typical of

Salvadoran cuisine Salvadoran cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of El Salvador. The indigenous foods consist of a mix of Amerindian cuisine from groups such as the Lenca, Pipil people, Pipil, Poqomam people, Maya Poqomam, Chʼortiʼ people, Maya ...

made from ground pepitas (pumpkin seeds), and is used on both sweet or savoury meals. Simple to make, it is often prepared at home; however it can also be purchased pre-packaged as well as from street vendors often as an addition to a meal or snack. It is added to fruits such as unripe

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

, as well as food dishes such as shuco and chicken.

Etymology

Alhuashte: from the

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

AYU, juice; JUASHTI, seeds. Adobo prepared from pumpkin seeds.

History

While its origin is not known, alguashte likely is of Mayan origins as pepitas have been consumed in

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

for several centuries.

Notes

Salvadoran cuisine Condiments {{ElSalvador-cuisine-stub