Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Toward a characterization of Ecuadorian ceviche: much more than shrimp

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Toward a characterization of Ecuadorian ceviche: much more than shrimp Ceviche is present in all the Pacific coast of Latin America. Its origin and history are still debated. The consensus is that it arises from creolization between local and Eurasian ingredients and techniques. Ecuadorian ceviche is both tradi‑ tional and iconic, present in one form or another in its twenty‑four provinces, adapting to the availability of products and becoming part of the identity of regions, parishes, and cities. The objective of this work is to confirm ceviche as a traditional Ecuadorian dish, to assess the most popular types of Ecuadorian ceviche, condiments and sides, and also to glimpse the wide variety of preparations that appear through adaptation to ingredient availability and food customs. We performed a review of both scientific and gray literature, a relative search volume analysis and a survey among culinary professionals (n = 403). The most popular in Ecuador is shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) ceviche with 54% of the responses, followed by fish, regardless of species (29%), and both lupin (Lupinus mutabilis) and black clam (Anadara tuberculosa) with 5%. The most utilized condiments are onion, lemon juice and cilantro a “holy trinity” with more than 90% usage. These results are in good agreement with those provided by Web search volumes. The variety of main ingredients, condiments and sides is ample, though, and suggests further research. Sustainability concerns related to ceviche are the sustainability of shrimp farming and fish capture, and the preservation of mollusks and their ecosystems. Keywords: Ceviche, Ecuador, Gastronomy, Identity, Sustainability Introduction (either Amazonic P. edulis or the Andean P. tripartita) Ceviche is a preparation that extends through the Pacific acid denaturation that acquired its present form through coast of Spanish-speaking America, from Mexico in the the citrus fruits brought by the Spaniards; firstly Seville north to Chile in the south. It consists mainly of citrus- oranges and later lime and lemon [2]. Kinilaw, a Filipino cured fish or seafood [1]. The origin of the dish is unclear, vinegar or calamansi (Citrus x microcarpa) cured fish with competing interpretations establishing different his - dish—and also the cooking technique in general—pre- tories for the dish; these attempts range from a Babylo- dates the Spanish conquest by centuries and may have nian origin carried to Persia, Al-Andalus and only then traveled to Mexico on the Spanish galleon [3]. The Span - to America by Spanish conquistadores [2]; or a humble ish Language Academy suggests an Arabic etymology Peruvian and Ecuadorian fishermen fare consisting of for the word [4] in agreement with Jurafsky [5]. Other raw, salt and chili cured fish that evolved to a Passiflora proposed etymologies are Runa Simi (Quechua) siwichi meaning “fresh or tender fish,” “cebo” meaning small fish used as bait and even “son of a bitch!” supposedly by *Correspondence: rduarte@utpl.edu.ec English-speaking sailors tasting the very spicy dish. These Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja – Escuela de Gastronomía, San etymologies appear in newspaper articles [6] but not in Cayetano, Loja 110108, Ecuador books or other academic sources. Another hypothesis Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 2 of 12 places the origin of the name in a non-documented Man- modes of preparation, and even new dishes that are part teño language spoken from southern Colombia to north- of provincial identities, such as beef ceviche in Loja [15], ern Perú before the Inca invasion, where the suffix -iche fish ceviche with peanut in Manabí [2], encebollado in would have meant “delicious” [2]. Whatever the origin, Guayas [16] and volquetero in Pastaza [17]. the word appears in print for the first time in 1820, in the This study arises from the lack of research about Ecua - fourth stanza of a pro-independence song named “La chi- dorian ceviche, its identity and variety. The objective of cha” that exalted typical Peruvian food and chicha, a tra- this work is to confirm ceviche as a traditional Ecuado - ditional South American maize beer, in assertion of the rian dish, to assess the most popular types of Ecuadorian Peruvian independence from Spain. The song, after being ceviche, condiments, and sides, and to glimpse the wide so popular that it was the first piece sung to the liberating variety of preparations that appear through adaptation to army in 1821, fell from popularity after the independence the local ingredient availability and food customs. In this [7]. Accepted spellings for the dish are ceviche, cebiche, way, we aim to set a foundation for a more detailed study seviche and sebiche. Ceviche is the preferred spelling: A of local variants and to distinguish Ecuadorian ceviche Google search returns twenty-five million results for from other national styles. “ceviche”; 1,190,000 results for “cebiche”; 285,000 results for “seviche”; and 62,800 results for “sebiche.” Methodology Curing foods is a way to improve not only their dura- Study area bility but also their organoleptic properties [8]. Acidic The studied area is Ecuador, a South American country media contribute to the preservation of foods by inhib- that straddles the Equator, to which it owes its name. iting bacterial growth [9]. It is thus no surprise that the It is divided for the promotion of tourism into “four earliest stew recipes are prepared in acidic media. One worlds”: the Pacific coast, the Andean highlands, Ama - of these early recipes [10] became sigbāj (vinegar stew zonia and the Galapagos islands. The country is divided o vinegar soup), a Persian favorite, that was carried to into twenty-four provinces. Figure  1 shows the map of Baghdad, then to Al-Andalus by the Muslim armies, the study area with the four worlds (or regions) and the where it was adapted to fish due to the Christian Friday provinces that form them. The “four worlds” division is food restrictions and closeness to the Mediterranean a relevant one, because it defines different agroalimen - sea, where it became the Sephardic escabeche. This dish tary regions, and to an extent, the available ingredients, crossed the Atlantic with the Spanish conquistadores, which helps explain regional dish differences within the who made landfall less than 20  km away from the cur- country. rent Peruvian–Ecuadorian border. This dish would have The present descriptive study was performed using a melded with the salt and chili pepper cured fish of the mixed approach. The instruments used were a literature Manteño fishers and evolved into the dishes we know review to establish the origin, history and state of the art today. in ceviche research; a relative search volume analysis to Food historian Julio Pazos describes Ecuadorian cevi- establish the interest in ceviche both at the country and che as a coastal dish that has made its way to Quito and at the provincial level; and a survey among culinary pro- can be found often with a location denominator: from fessionals of the twenty-four provinces of the country to Manabí, from Esmeraldas; depending on the style of find out what is considered Ecuadorian ceviche. preparation [11]. Pazos also mentions that the style of ceviche from Guayaquil is in line with Sephardic Spanish escabeches, in agreement with Jurafsky [5]. Origin, evolution and variety Ceviche is prepared in the twenty-four provinces of In order to understand the origin, history and research Ecuador [12] and is a national dish that unites instead of a concerning ceviche, we performed a bibliometric query dish that divides, as it happens in the tension between the using dimensions [18], searching for articles containing coastal encebollado (albacore tuna soup) and the Andean the word “ceviche” and the words “ceviche” and “Ecua- hornado (roast pork). It is also a popular nostalgia dish in dor” from 2004 to 2021, and scientific database search Ecuadorian migrant communities, particularly in Spain with Harzing’s Publish or Perish software between the and Italy [13]. years 2004 and 2022 by keywords of interest. We also Ceviche is truly an Ecuadorian ethnic dish, possibly included gray literature in the form of self-published or having originated and evolved in ancient times, under- institutional books and documents, Web pages and other went creolization incorporating exotic ingredients non-editorially reviewed documents, in order to increase brought by the Spaniards, such as lemon, orange, onion the comprehensiveness of the review [19]. The Web sites and cilantro, and evolved again to reflect the food con - we included are mostly from high circulation newspa- ditions of each territories and spawned variants [14], pers, government bureaus and other reputable sources. D uarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 3 of 12 Fig. 1 The study area. The country is divided into “four worlds” as distinct geographical and agroalimentary regions, and politically into twenty‑four provinces Interest demographic representation for a minimum number A relative search volume (RSV) analysis was performed of samples of 384, that allows 95% confidence with 5% using Google Trends, as it is considered a reliable meas- error, after Taherdoost [26]. Our survey has n = 403, so ure of interest in a topic [20]. Search interest results for the representativity is satisfied (Table 1 ). the word “ceviche” and related terms were obtained from Two of the four regions, Galapagos and the Amazo- Google Trends [21] including low volume searches from nian provinces, are sparsely populated compared to 2004 to 2021 and in the last 5 years. 2004 was chosen as the coastal and Andean provinces, so their contribu- the starting year because it is the earliest available date tion was smaller and the error margin of the analysis for searching. is higher. Respondents were contacted through Aso- ciación de Chefs del Ecuador, the main association for Ecuadorian culinary professionals. Ingredients The survey asked respondents to select “the most A survey was applied during December 2021 to culi- Ecuadorian” of the ceviche mains and sides, along with nary professionals contacted through a local associa- the condiments required by Ecuadorian ceviche. The tion, Asociación de Chefs del Ecuador (ACE), to get questions and alternatives are shown in Table  2. The information about what they considered the most rep- alternatives were randomized except for the Provinces, resentative Ecuadorian ceviche. We used purposive to avoid both primacy and recency answer option order sampling by targeting professional cooks because they biases [27]. The main ingredient was provided with a are in contact with what is offered to consumers and choice to include important mains that may have been have agency on the perception of authenticity [22], and overlooked in the exploratory survey that guided the to increment the richness and detail of the informa- options. tion [23]. The respondents were geographically strati - We analyzed the qualitative data obtained based on fied by province to keep the population proportions response frequencies, both by country and by region, in among Ecuadorian provinces. Ecuador has a popula- which the error margin is higher due to the lower sample tion of 17,510,643 (2020) [24, 25], and the proportion of size for each region. Galapagos has a single response and surveys per province was calculated to ensure a proper is thus not considered for by region analysis. Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 4 of 12 Table 1 Surveys per province Table 2 Survey questions. Choices shown in alphabetical order but were randomized in the survey, except for Province Region Province Population Participants Question Options Galapagos Galápagos 33,042 1 What province do you live in? One of the twenty‑four Pacific Coast Esmeraldas 643,654 16 Single choice Ecuadorian provinces Manabí 1,562,079 35 Which is the most Ecuadorian ceviche? Chicken Santo Domingo de los 458,580 12 Single choice Crab Tsáchilas 921,763 20 Fish Los Ríos 401,178 10 Lupini Santa Elena 4,387,434 100 Shellfish Guayas 715,751 16 Shrimp El Oro Other (open) Andes Carchi 186,869 4 Which is the best side for Ecuadorian ceviche? Bread Imbabura 476,257 12 Single choice Chifles (plantain chips) Pichincha 3,228,233 72 Patacones (fried plantain) Cotopaxi 488,716 12 Popcorn Tungurahua 590,600 12 Rice Chimborazo 524,004 12 Sweet potato Bolívar 209,933 4 Toasted maize Cañar 281,396 8 Yuca (boiled cassava) Azuay 881,394 20 What ingredients does Ecuadorian ceviche Bell pepper Loja 521,154 12 require? Chile pepper Amazonia Sucumbíos 230,503 4 Check all that apply Cilantro Orellana 161,338 4 Ketchup Napo 133,705 4 Lemon Pastaza 114,202 4 Mustard Morona Santiago 196,535 4 Onion Zamora Chinchipe 120,416 5 Orange Total 403 Tomato Results and discussion Literature review 100 is the most popular search term, the order of the first The literature review shows there is an emphasis in food five most interested countries remains unchanged: Peru, safety and foodborne parasites in the published research Ecuador, Belize, Costa Rica, and Chile. The interest and concerning ceviche. That is to be expected, given that it is a dish with raw ingredients served in hot climates. A Scopus search on the keyword “ceviche” between 2004 Table 3 Interest in ceviche measured by Google Trends, by and 2021 returns 30 publications, most of which deal country. Relative search volumes with foodborne diseases and parasitosis, three with a No. Country Search interest Search interest Change complex event framework named CEVICHE, one with 2004–2021 2016–2021 migrant adaptation, one with cultural appropriation, and Relative scale Relative scale only a handful provide a gastronomic viewpoint. Due to 1 Peru 100 100 0 this dearth of academic sources, gray documentation and 2 Ecuador 60 67 7 press articles were included as sources. We approached 3 Belize 46 51 5 Web recipes with care, because they are not considered 4 Costa Rica 42 50 8 trustworthy as a whole [28]. 5 Chile 36 45 9 6 Aruba 33 39 6 7 Panama 30 34 4 Relative search interest 8 Guatemala 27 34 7 Ecuador is the second country in the world after Peru 9 Curaçao 27 43 16 in its interest in ceviche, as measured by Google Trends 10 Puerto Rico 21 26 5 relative search volume (RSV). On a relative scale where D uarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 5 of 12 its variation are detailed in Table  3. In the topmost 10 Galapagos has the most interest in ceviche (100), fol- countries, the interest in ceviche, which is measured by lowed by Amazonia (73.3), the Pacific coast (72.3) and Web searches, is increasing. the Andes region (68.7). City-wise, the places in which there is more inter- Local interest est in ceviche are Manta, Machala, Quito, Riobamba, Within Ecuador, the relative interest for ceviche in the Guayaquil, Loja, Santo Domingo, Cuenca, Ibarra and twenty-four provinces has been changing when compar- Portoviejo (Fig. 2). ing the last 5  years with the last 17  years. The average interest in ceviche has increased from 68.75 in the last Main ingredient 17 years to 72.21 in the last 5 years. A breakdown of the The RSV analysis shows that the main searches related to search interest is presented in Table 4. ceviche in Ecuador are as follows (search place in paren- These variations may reflect the increase in household theses, grouped for conciseness): shrimp ceviche (1, 2, Internet connection availability, which increased from 10); ceviche recipe (3, 4); fish ceviche (5); how to make 22.5% in 2012 to 53.2% in 2020, with different increase ceviche (6); Ecuadorian recipe (7); chicken ceviche (8); rates in urban and rural areas [29, 30]. The widest and Peruvian ceviche (9). The two main searches have a changes in interest are seen in the provinces of Cotopaxi popularity rating of 100, with the next search in popular- and Chimborazo (both mountain provinces, far from the ity coming at only 47, decreasing from there. sea) with an increase in 11 places, and of Santa Elena, a Our survey response data agrees with Google Trends coastal province, with a decrease in 11 places. concerning shrimp and fish. Almost 83% of the responses Ecuador is marketed for tourism as the “country of the consider that Ecuadorian ceviche is either shrimp or fish four worlds.” Mapping the interest in ceviche to the four (Table  5). Figure  3 shows the popularity of main ingre- regions in which Ecuador is divided [31], we find that dients. Clam (black shell) and lupin (lupini beans) make Table 4 Search interest in Ecuador, by province No. Province Search interest Search interest Change Place Change 2004–2021 2016–2021 Last 5 years Relative scale Relative scale 1 Galápagos 100 100 0 1 0 2 El Oro 93 90 − 3 3 − 1 3 Cañar 85 79 − 6 8 − 5 4 Zamora Chinchipe 79 77 − 2 10 − 6 5 Pichincha 78 70 − 8 14 − 9 6 Napo 77 88 11 5 1 7 Sucumbíos 76 98 22 2 5 8 Bolívar 75 61 − 14 18 − 10 9 Santa Elena 75 60 − 15 20 − 11 10 Manabí 74 79 5 7 3 11 Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas 71 77 6 9 2 12 Orellana 68 83 15 6 6 13 Guayas 67 63 − 4 17 − 4 14 Imbabura 66 61 − 5 19 − 5 15 Cotopaxi 65 90 25 4 11 16 Azuay 64 66 2 15 1 17 Loja 63 73 10 12 5 18 Esmeraldas 58 72 14 13 5 19 Carchi 56 55 − 1 22 − 3 20 Los Ríos 54 65 11 16 4 21 Tungurahua 54 57 3 21 0 22 Chimborazo 52 75 23 11 11 23 Pastaza 51 47 − 4 24 − 1 24 Morona Santiago 49 47 − 2 23 1 Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 6 of 12 Fig. 2 Search interest for ceviche in each province as a color scale, and the location of the 10 cities in which the search interest is highest. Galapagos islands not to scale error margin 7%) but 74% in the Andes (168 respondents, Table 5 Responses for main ingredient, in descending order error margin 8%) and 79% in Amazonia (24 respond- Main Responses % Cumulative ents, error margin 20%). Galapagos has a single respond- Shrimp 217 53.8% 53.8% ent. Table  6 shows the cumulative percentages of main Fish 117 29.0% 82.9% ingredients per region. The most diverse main ingredient Shellfish 22 5.5% 88.3% responses are from provinces in the Andes region, where Lupin 19 4.7% 93.1% non-seafood ingredients are used the most. This can be Other 15 3.7% 96.8% attributed to ingredient availability. Crab 9 2.2% 99.0% Chicken 4 1.0% 100.0% Less frequent main ingredients The most common mains by far are fish and seafood, but there are several other popular ceviche main ingredients in Ecuador, particularly away from the coastal region. another 10% of the responses; and crab (2%), chicken Beef ceviche is typical fare in Macará and Zapotillo, in the (1%) and others (4%), such as pig’s skin, hearts of palm, inland Loja province close to the Peruvian border [15]. It chiton, canned tuna and others, complete the remaining is prepared with lightly cooked meat instead of seafood, ingredients. and it is similar to the Persian dish sikbaj, proposed as an Chicken ceviche is more represented in Web searches ancient ancestor to ceviche by Jurafsky [5, 32]. Pig’s skin than in the survey responses. This may suggest it is a nov - and ear ceviche is common in the central Ecuadorian elty preparation and not. Andes, especially in the city of Riobamba, which is also Grouping the “four worlds” regions and comparing the the chocho (Lupinus mutabilis) ceviche capital of Ecua- main responses, greater variety is apparent in the Andes dor [33]. This lupin ceviche is not only Ecuadorian but than in the Pacific coast or Amazonia. The two most shared with Peru and Bolivia [34]. The Peruvian capital of common main ingredients shrimp and fish make up 90% lupin ceviche is Ancash. Cevichocho (shortened name) is of the responses in the Pacific coast (208 respondents, an appreciated, nutritious, inexpensive snack. D uarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 7 of 12 Fig. 3 Main ceviche ingredient. Shrimp is the most popular ingredient, followed by fish. Together, they make 83% of the responses Table 6 Main ingredient choices per region. Galapagos not included Coast Andes Amazon % Cumulative % Cumulative % Cumulative Shrimp 54 54 55 55 50 50 Fish 37 91 20 75 29 79 Shellfish 4 95 7 82 4 83 Lupin 1 96 10 92 0 83 Other ceviche dishes considered “original” by local partly because it is considered an aphrodisiac, particu- TV channel Teleamazonas are “guinea pig, pineapple, larly in the provinces of Guayas and Esmeraldas where chicken, avocado and even liver” [35]. This may be seen preparations bear suggestive names such as “mattress as extreme choices, but reflects the diversification (after breaker,” “lay me down, black woman,” and others even de Albuquerque [36]) that the dish is undergoing when more explicit [37, 38]. Purportedly, this aphrodisiac effect expanding from the original coastal regions to places is due to the zinc content, but it has been established that where fresh seafood is not readily available and is adapted aphrodisiacs do not really work [39]. to local ingredients and taste, thus amplifying the avail- Mangroves are endangered ecosystems, their loss able alternatives. driven by subsistence economies and the shrimp trade [40]; and in addition to habitat loss, A. tuberculosa is Ceviche de concha endangered by overextraction. Measures are being taken A distant third main ingredient, ceviche de concha, is pre- to sustainably extract A. tuberculosa, and progress is pared with the mangrove bivalve Anadara tuberculosa, being made by establishing a minimum capture diameter a vulnerable blood cockle species. It is very popular in of 45  mm, strengthening the value chain, applying best the Pacific coast, particularly in El Oro and Esmeraldas, practices, and low-intensity aquaculture of the species, Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 8 of 12 but there is still room for improvement [41–43]. The Sour lime (Citrus aurantifolia) is the preferred citrus same situation arises for other protected species used to for making ceviche, due to its acidity. Orange juice is prepare ceviche, such as wild shrimp, lobster, blue and used alongside lemon in Ecuadorian ceviche in 51.12% red crab, octopus, dolphinfish and hake [44], which have of the responses. Fish and shrimp cooking liquid is often seasonal capture prohibitions. Also, fishing restrictions used to add volume and flavor to the dish. have been proposed for Chiton spp. in Galapagos [45]. Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) is almost the only herb Spondylus extraction is permanently banned since 2009, used in Ecuadorian ceviche, belonging to the “holy trin- even though it is a symbol of the Ecuadorian coast and ity” mentioned by almost 96% of the respondents. In the has historically been a dish fit for royalty: the “ceviche of northern province of Esmeraldas, Chillangua (Eryngium the Gods” [2]. foetidum) is used instead of cilantro as they have a simi- Another sustainability concern is mislabeling or even lar aromatic profile, with both essential oils rich in ali - seafood fraud, which has been identified as a problem in phatic aldehydes, mainly E-2-dodecenal [47]. It is worth neighboring Peru, in sushi and ceviche restaurants, and mentioning that both herbs have shared ethnopharmaco- in Ecuadorian dolphinfish production [46]. logical uses (antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic), presumably due to the similarities in phytochemical com- Other ingredients and condiments position [48, 49]. The condiments used can be divided into three groups, Ecuadorian food is generally less spicy than its Peruvian according to their mentions: a “holy trinity” in Ecua- counterpart, and ceviche is no exception. The use of chili dorian ceviche made of onion, lemon or lime juice and (Capsicum pubescens) is less prevalent than other condi- cilantro, all of which have a usage of over 95%; frequent ments, mentioned in 46.4% of the responses. The liberal ingredients are tomato, tomato ketchup and orange juice, use of tomato ketchup (62.53%) and mustard (41.69%) as which were mentioned in the majority of the responses; condiments seems to be mainly Ecuadorian. and chili, mustard and bell pepper, less used ingredients, appearing in less than half of the responses with the least Sides mentioned ingredient, the bell pepper, appearing in little Sides provide the starch in ceviche. Our survey shows less than one-third of the mentions. The chart shown in that the most popular sides are chifles (fried thin green \* MERGEFORMAT Fig. 4 details the condiment use and plantain slices), tostado (toasted corn), patacones (fried the percentage of mentions received. and smashed plantain slices), popcorn, bread, boiled Fig. 4 Condiment use frequency in Ecuadorian ceviche. The “holy trinity” of ceviche is onion, lemon and cilantro, followed by tomato, ketchup, orange juice, chili, mustard and bell pepper D uarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 9 of 12 yuca and rice. Chifles and popcorn are usual in the coast. ample space to other main ingredients, condiments and Bread is a frequent side from Guayaquil (Fig. 5). sides, and space for growth and adaptation (Fig. 6). Plantains (Musa x paradisiaca), from where chifles and patacones derive, are a lowland crop, cultivated in the Ceviche derivatives coast and Amazonia; and corn, from where tostado and One of the flagship Ecuadorian dishes is Encebollado popcorn derive, is a typical Andean crop. Yuca is also a meaning “with onion.” It is a tuna (Thunnus albacares ), coast and Amazonia crop. Plantain provides 67% of the yuca (Manihot esculenta) and onion soup that is the pro- sides and corn provides 22% of the sides. Although sweet vincial dish of Guayas—the most populated province in potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is very popular in Peruvian Ecuador. It derives from ceviche de balde (bucket cevi- ceviche, it is less popular in Ecuador. che), a cheaper variety of ceviche sold by street vendors in enameled iron buckets, famous as a hangover cure A “typical” Ecuadorian ceviche? [12]. As Ecuadorian ceviches have more liquid in them Based in our data, the typical Ecuadorian ceviche would than those of other countries, and provided that fish in be a shrimp ceviche, with chifle as side and with onion, Ecuadorian ceviche is often cooked, this brothy, warm cilantro, lemon, tomato, ketchup and perhaps orange as ceviche naturally found its way into a soup [12]. other ingredients. The shrimp ceviche recipe published Another offshoot of ceviche is Volquetero (dump by Armendaris [50] is very close to what our data sug- trucker). It references the truck drivers during the con- gest. Its ingredients are cooked shrimp, red onion, lemon struction of the Amazonian Road. Being from other parts juice, mustard, cilantro, ketchup, black pepper, tomato, of the country, these drivers would want their ceviche, orange juice, chili, oil and salt. The suggestion is to serve but there was no fresh fish, as they were away from the it with popcorn and chifles in the coast and with toasted sea with no available cold chain. They developed a solu - corn in the Andes. Shrimp ceviche is also the most fre- tion to satisfy the craving using canned tuna, lupini quent search term in our analysis, so there is an agree- beans, onion, lime juice and chifles . Thus, the ceviche ment between our data and Web search interest. Shrimp volquetero, shortened to Volquetero, was born, which is ceviche, though, accounts for 54% of the results, leaving an important local dish in the province of Pastaza. Fig. 5 Sides for ceviche. The most popular is chifle, followed by toasted maize and patacones (fried plantain chunks). Popcorn, yuca, rice and bread come behind. Sweet potato is seldom used, unlike in Peruvian ceviche Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 10 of 12 nematodes, are a common food-borne disease associated with the consumption of raw fish dishes, such as Japanese sashimi, Peruvian tiradito or ceviche [53, 54]. These are unaffected by acid environment in ceviche. There is research concerning the food safety of Ecua - dorian ceviche. Orden-Mejía et al. conducted a microbio- logical evaluation of shellfish ceviche sold in Guayaquil [55] in which they found no Salmonella but highlight the public health need for controlling Aerobic mesophiles, as these include most pathogens that can cause foodborne disease outbreaks [56] and total coliforms, which are a quality and hygiene indicator [57]. Salazar-Llorente [58] found varying levels of contamination, spoilage micro- organisms and opportunistic pathogens in high-demand food—including ceviche—sold in the three major Ecua- dorian cities: Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. Ecuado- rian ceviche, particularly shrimp, lupini, chicken, meat and some recipes of fish ceviche cook or at least poach the protein ingredients, helping reduce the risk of infec- tion and parasites. This differentiates Ecuadorian ceviche from Peruvian or Chilean ceviche in which the protein is always raw. Fig. 6 Shrimp and fish (Pacific cornetfish) ceviche garnished with chifles (plantain chips). Santa Elena province. Shrimp ceviche usually has more tomato and ketchup than fish ceviche and is redder. The Conclusions authors Ceviche is a pan-Ecuadorian dish that unites instead of dividing, incorporating a wide variety of ingredients, some of which defy our notion of what is ceviche. Despite Status as traditional food that very ample provincial and local variety, shrimp cevi- We consider Ecuadorian ceviche to be a proper tradi- che with onion, cilantro and lemon, and diced tomato, tional food as it satisfies the requirements set forth in ketchup and mustard, with a side of chifles, can be con- Rocillo-Aquino et  al. of place, time, know-how and cul- sidered the quintessential Ecuadorian ceviche. Fish cevi- tural meaning [51]. The defined place of Ecuadorian che is not specific concerning the species, provided it is ceviche comes from the Manteño culture, through the white fish, allowing for a larger variability in its prepara - Inca domination and the Spaniards making landfall in tion. There is a “holy trinity” in ceviche: onion, lemon and the Ecuadorian–Peruvian border, and then to provincial cilantro, which are used in over 90% of the preparations. and local varieties, often with defining ingredients. The Ceviche has spawned other dishes, namely encebollado 25  years, or one generation, needed to establish tradi- and volquetero, which are part of provincial identities, tion are satisfied even with the more modern cases of and now have names of their own. encebollado and volquetero. Its “Know-how,” the “What?” Some varieties of ceviche pose sustainability concerns: (ingredients), the “How?” (techniques) and the “Who?” black shell, crabs, sea snails and octopus require enforce- (persons making the dish) are satisfied. The cultural ment of the fishing and extraction bans, minimum cap - meaning is present since the pre-Inca times in which ture size and habitat protection to reach sustainable the Spondylus ceviche was the food of the Gods [2], and extraction. although it is now forbidden, ceviche recipes and main Future studies could include more specific region, ingredients denote local identities. province and community ceviche styles and traditions. There is ample variety and more should be known about it. Food safety The acidic lemon or lime juice used in ceviche reduces Limitations of the study the risk posed by certain bacteria such as Vibrio para- Scientific gastronomic research is still a budding field, haemolyticus, but not all: Salmonella enterica is not so there is a dearth of academic sources. Where these affected by the acidic environment and can cause have not been available, we relied on books and repu- food-borne diseases [52]. Parasites, mainly zoonotic table news and reputable recipe Web sites to build our D uarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 11 of 12 9. Food safety in the 21st century; Elsevier, 2017; ISBN 978‑0‑12‑801773‑9. investigation. We hope that soon peer-reviewed pub- 10. Bottéro J. The oldest cuisine in the world: cooking in mesopotamia. lications can be the bulk of the literature sources and Chicago: The University of Chicago Press; 2004. consider this work a contribution in this direction. 11. Pazos‑Barrera J. El Sabor de La Memoria. Historia de La Cocina Quiteña; Biblioteca básica de Quito; FONSAL: Quito; 2008. ISBN 978‑9978‑366‑02‑8. Acknowledgements 12. Mintur Mapa Gastronómico del Ecuador; MINTUR Ecuador: Quito, 2018. This study would like to thank the Schools of Gastronomy of: Universidad 13. Mintur; Ministerio Coordinador de Patrimonio; Asociación de Chefs del Técnica Particular de Loja, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Chimborazo, Uni‑ Ecuador. Ecuador Culinario: Saberes y Sabores; MINTUR Ecuador: Quito. versidad Técnica de Manabí, and Universidad de Especialidades Turísticas, for allowing time and supporting the authors in the completion of this study. We 14. Duarte‑ Casar R, Robalino‑ Vallejo JA, Rojas‑Le ‑Fort EM, Zurita‑ Gallegos RM. would also like to thank Asociación de Chefs del Ecuador, professional associa‑ Evolución, técnicas y gastronomía, Caso de estudio: “El ceviche.” Cienc Al tion to which the authors belong, for helping reach culinary professionals to Serv Salud. 2019;10:238–44. answer the surveys. 15. Artieda‑Ponce M, Chango ‑ Cañaveral PM. Orígenes Ruta Gastronómica “Sabores y Tradiciones Del Sur”; 2016. ISBN 9942‑25‑119‑7. Author contributions 16. Unigarro‑Solarte C. Patrimonio cultural alimentario; Cartografía de la RD‑ C contributed to conceptualization, historical research, writing, data, Memoria; Ministerio de Cultura del Ecuador. 2010. figures, translation and publication. JR‑ V helped in Andean region research, 17. Asociación de Chefs del Ecuador Volquetero. Asoc. Chefs Ecuad. 2013. manuscript editing and validation. MFB‑R contributed to Coastal region 18. Digital Science Dimensions [Software]. https:// app. dimen sions. ai/ analy and Galapagos Islands research, statistics and manuscript review. MR‑L ‑F tics/ publi cation/ overv iew/ timel ine. Accessed 18 June 2021. performed conceptualization, Amazonia region research, validation and 19. Paez A. Gray literature: an important resource in systematic reviews. J Evid manuscript review. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Based Med. 2017;10:233–40. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1111/ jebm. 12266. 20. Rovetta A. Reliability of google trends: analysis of the limits and potential Funding of web infoveillance during COVID‑19 pandemic and for future research. This study did not receive any funding. Front Res Metr Anal. 2021;6:670226. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3389/ frma. 2021. Availability of data and materials 21. Mavragani A, Ochoa G, Tsagarakis KP. Assessing the methods, tools, and All data and materials are used in accordance with the guideline of the Journal statistical approaches in google trends research: systematic review. J Med of Ethnic Foods as listed in the reference section. Images are contributed by Intern Res. 2018;20:e270. https:// doi. org/ 10. 2196/ jmir. 9366. the authors. 22. Le TH, Arcodia C, Novais MA, Kralj A. Producing authenticity in restaurant experiences: interrelationships between the consumer, the provider, and the experience. Tour Recreat Res. 2021;46:360–72. https:// doi. org/ 10. Declarations 1080/ 02508 281. 2020. 18059 32. 23. Selçuk Kurtuluş S, Kılıç B, Kurnaz A. Evaluation of women chefs in profes‑ Competing interests sional kitchens. J Tour Gastron Stud. 2018;6:119–32. https:// doi. org/ 10. The authors declare that they do not have competing interests. 21325/ jotags. 2018. 275. 24. INEC Análisis de Resultados Definitivos Censo de Población y Vivienda Author details Galápagos 2015; Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos. 2015. Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja – Escuela de Gastronomía, San Cay‑ 25. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos Proyecciones Poblacionales. etano, Loja 110108, Ecuador. Escuela Politécnica Superior de Chimborazo – https:// www. ecuad orenc ifras. gob. ec/ proye ccion es‑ pobla ciona les/. Escuela de Gastronomía, Riobamba 060155, Ecuador. Universidad T écnica de Accessed 24 Dec 2021. Manabí – Escuela de Gastronomía, Av. José María Urbina, Portoviejo 130104, 26. Taherdoost H. Determining sample size; how to calculate survey sample Ecuador. Universidad de Especialidades Turísticas – Escuela de Hospitalidad y size. Rochester: Social Science Research Network; 2017. Turismo, Machala Oe6‑160 entre José Carrión y Av. Occidental, Quito 170103, 27. Rey A, Le Goff K, Abadie M, Courrieu P. the primacy order effect in com‑ Ecuador. plex decision making. Psychol Res. 2020;84:1739–48. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s00426‑ 019‑ 01178‑2. Received: 2 March 2022 Accepted: 22 April 2022 28. Yun M‑ O, Mun H‑ G. Analysis of recipes for korean foods in web sites. J Korean Diet Assoc. 2004;10:390–400. 29. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos Tecnologías de La Información y Comunicaciones ( TIC´S) 2016; 2016. 30. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos Tecnologías de la Información y References Comunicación‑ TIC. https:// www. ecuad orenc ifras. gob. ec/ tecno logias‑ de‑ 1. Davidson A, Jaine T. The Oxford companion to food. 2nd ed. Oxford: la‑ infor macion y‑‑ comun icaci on‑ tic/. Accessed 24 Dec 2021. Oxford University Press; 2006. 31. Ministerio de Turismo del Ecuador The Second Stage of All You Need 2. Regalado‑Espinoza L. Manabí y su comida milenaria. 2nd ed. Ediciones Is Ecuador Invites You to Fall in Love with the Four Worlds of Ecuador – ULEAM: Manta; 2019. Ministerio de Turismo. https:// www. turis mo. gob. ec/ the‑ second‑ stage‑ of‑ 3. Fernandez DG, Choy CC. Tikim: essays on Philippine food and culture. all y‑ou‑ need‑ is‑ ecuad or‑ invit es y‑ou‑ to‑ fall‑ in‑ love with‑‑ the‑ four w‑orlds‑ New York: BRILL; 2020. of‑ ecuad or/. Accessed 24 Dec 2021. 4. ASALE R. RAE ceviche | Diccionario de la lengua española https:// dle. 32. Martinelli C. The Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook; CreateSpace Inde‑ rae. es/ cevic he. Accessed 7 Jan 2022. pendent Publishing Platform. 2012; ISBN 978‑1‑4781‑2324‑8. 5. Jurafsky D. The language of food: a linguist reads the menu. New York: 33. Dirección de Gestión de Turismo de Riobamba Ceviche de chochos. W.W. Norton & Company Inc; 2014. https:// rioba mba. com. ec/ es‑ ec/ chimb orazo/ rioba mba/ recet as/ cevic he‑ 6. La República R. Día del Ceviche: Su origen y sus once variedades que choch os‑ ab12a 14ea. Accessed 31 Mar 2022. quizá no has probado. https:// larep ublica. pe/ socie dad/ 2019/ 06/ 28/ 34. Asociación de Chefs de Bolivia Recetario de Tarwi: alimento nutritivo; dia‑ nacio nal‑ del‑ cevic he‑ como‑ se‑ origi no‑ este‑ potaje‑ y‑ todas‑ sus ‑ Cochabamba, 2018. varia ciones‑ hasta‑ ahora‑ atmp/. Accessed 7 Jan 2022. 35. LOS CEVICHES MÁS ORIGINALES. Teleamazonas. 2020. 7. Rondón V, Izquierdo König JM. Las Canciones Patrióticas de José Ber‑ 36. de Albuquerque UP. Re‑ examining hypotheses concerning the use and nardo Alzedo (1788–1878). Rev Music Chil. 2014;68:12–34. https:// doi. knowledge of medicinal plants: a study in the caatinga vegetation of org/ 10. 4067/ S0716‑ 27902 01400 02000 02. NE Brazil. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2006;2:30. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1186/ 8. Mouritsen O, Styrbæk K. Mouthfeel: how texture makes taste (arts and 1746‑ 4269‑2‑ 30. traditions of the table: perspectives on culinary history). New York: Columbia University Press; 2017. Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 12 of 12 37. Moreno F. La ruta gastronómica afrodisíaca de Esmeraldas. https:// www. quality of high‑ demand food from three major cities in Ecuador. J Food elcom ercio. com/ actua lidad/ ecuad or/ gastr onomia‑ afrod isiaca‑ esmer Prot. 2021;84:128–38. https:// doi. org/ 10. 4315/ JFP‑ 20‑ 271. aldas‑ alime ntos‑ comida. html . Accessed 24 Dec 2021. 38. GoRaymi Ceviche túmbame negra. https:// www. goray mi. com/ es‑ ec/ Publisher’s Note esmer aldas/ ataca mes/ recet as/ cevic he‑ tumba me‑ negra‑ aga8p ka9o . Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in pub‑ Accessed 25 Dec 2021. lished maps and institutional affiliations. 39. Leonti M, Casu L. Ethnopharmacology of love. Front Pharmacol. 2018;9:567. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3389/ fphar. 2018. 00567. 40. Chowdhury RR, Uchida E, Chen L, Osorio V, Yoder L. Anthropogenic drivers of mangrove loss: geographic patterns and implications for liveli‑ hoods. In: Rivera‑Monroy VH, Lee SY, Kristensen E, Twilley RR, editors. Man‑ grove ecosystems: a global biogeographic perspective. Cham: Springer; 2017. p. 275–300. 41. Mora E, Moreno J. Estado de La Pesquería Del Recurso Concha (Anadara Tuberculosa y A. Similis) En La Costa Ecuatoriana; Instituto Público de Investigación de Acuicultura y Pesca, 2009. 42. Prado‑ Carpio E, de Lourdes Olivo‑ Garrido M, Quiñonez‑ Cabeza M, Beitl CM, Martínez‑Soto M, Rodríguez‑Monroy C. Performance and challenges in the value chain of the anadara tuberculosa bivalve mollusk in Ecuador. Sustainability. 2021;13:10863. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3390/ su131 910863. 43. Diringer B, Pretell K, Avellan R, Chanta C, Cedeño V, Gentile G. Genetic structure, phylogeography, and demography of Anadara Tuberculosa (Bivalvia) from east pacific as revealed by MtDNA: implications to conser ‑ vation. Ecol Evol. 2019;9:4392–402. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1002/ ece3. 4937. 44. Calendario de Vedas En Ecuador—Ministerio de Producción Comercio Exterior Inversiones y Pesca. https:// www. produ ccion. gob. ec/ calen dario‑ de v‑edas/. Accessed 25 Dec 2021. 45. Muñoz‑Pérez JP, Tacle S, Yépez M. Memorias del 4to Simposio de Investi‑ gación & Conservación en Galápagos GSC‑DPNG. 2021, 1. 46. Velez‑Zuazo X, Alfaro ‑Shigueto J, Rosas‑Puchuri U, Guidino C, Pasara‑Pol‑ ack A, Riveros JC, Mangel JC. High incidence of mislabeling and a hint of fraud in the ceviche and sushi business. Food Control. 2021;129: 108224. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. foodc ont. 2021. 108224. 47. Shavandi MA, Haddadian Z, Ismail MHS. Eryngium Foetidum l. Cori‑ andrum Sativum and Persicaria Odorata l.: a review. J Asian Sci Res. 2012;2:410–26. 48. Chahal KK, Singh R, Kumar A, Bhardwaj U. Chemical composition and biological activity of Coriandrum Sativum L.: a review. Indian J Nat Prod Resour IJNPR Former Nat Prod Radiance NPR. 2018;8:193–203. 49. Rodrigues TLM, Silva MEP, Gurgel ESC, Oliveira MS, Lucas FCA. Eryngium Foetidum L. (Apiaceae): a literature review of traditional uses, chemical composition, and pharmacological activities. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022;2022:1–15. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1155/ 2022/ 28968 95. 50. Armendaris, M. Sabores: La Nueva Cocina Del Ecuador; Plan Nacional para el desarrollo de Cocinas Patrimoniales del Ecuador: Quito, 2014; 51. Rocillo‑Aquino Z, Cervantes‑Escoto F, Leos‑Rodríguez JA, Cruz‑Delgado D, Espinoza‑ Ortega A. What is a traditional food? conceptual evolution from four dimensions. J Ethn Foods. 2021;8:38. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1186/ s42779‑ 021‑ 00113‑4. 52. Mathur P. The effect of lime juice on vibrio parahaemolyticus and salmo ‑ nella enterica inactivation during the preparation of raw fish dish ceviche. 2012.https:// doi. org/ 10. 7282/ T3ST7 NSB. 53. Zhou M, Zhang N, Zhang M, Ma G. Culture, eating behavior, and infec‑ tious disease control and prevention. J Ethn Foods. 2020;7:40. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1186/ s42779‑ 020‑ 00076‑y. 54. Serrano‑Moliner M, Morales‑Suarez‑ Varela M, Valero MA. Epidemiology and management of foodborne nematodiasis in the European union, Re Read ady y to to submit y submit your our re researc search h ? Choose BMC and benefit fr ? Choose BMC and benefit from om: : systematic review 2000–2016. Pathog Glob Health. 2018;112:249–58. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1080/ 20477 724. 2018. 14876 63. fast, convenient online submission 55. Orden‑Mejía MA, Zambrano ‑ Conforme DC, Zamora‑Flores FG, Quezada‑ thorough peer review by experienced researchers in your field Tobar D. Ethnic food: a microbiological evaluation of black shellfish ceviche that is sold in typical restaurants. Int J Gastron Food Sci. rapid publication on acceptance 2021;25:100395. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. ijgfs. 2021. 100395. support for research data, including large and complex data types 56. Bintsis T. Foodborne pathogens. AIMS Microbiol. 2017;3:529–63. https:// • gold Open Access which fosters wider collaboration and increased citations doi. org/ 10. 3934/ micro biol. 2017.3. 529. 57. Salamandane A, Silva AC, Brito L, Malfeito‑Ferreira M. Microbiological maximum visibility for your research: over 100M website views per year assessment of street foods at the point of sale in maputo (mozambique). Food Qual Saf. 2021;5:fyaa030. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1093/ fqsafe/ fyaa0 30. At BMC, research is always in progress. 58. Salazar‑Llorente E, Morales M, Sornoza I, Mariduena‑Zavala MG, Gu G, Nou Learn more biomedcentral.com/submissions X, Ortiz J, Maldonado‑Alvarado P, Cevallos‑ Cevallos JM. Microbiological http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Ethnic Foods Springer Journals

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Toward a characterization of Ecuadorian ceviche: much more than shrimp

Download PDF
12 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/toward-a-characterization-of-ecuadorian-ceviche-much-more-than-shrimp-y0DeO0ljjx

References (30)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2022
eISSN
2352-619X
DOI
10.1186/s42779-022-00131-w
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Ceviche is present in all the Pacific coast of Latin America. Its origin and history are still debated. The consensus is that it arises from creolization between local and Eurasian ingredients and techniques. Ecuadorian ceviche is both tradi‑ tional and iconic, present in one form or another in its twenty‑four provinces, adapting to the availability of products and becoming part of the identity of regions, parishes, and cities. The objective of this work is to confirm ceviche as a traditional Ecuadorian dish, to assess the most popular types of Ecuadorian ceviche, condiments and sides, and also to glimpse the wide variety of preparations that appear through adaptation to ingredient availability and food customs. We performed a review of both scientific and gray literature, a relative search volume analysis and a survey among culinary professionals (n = 403). The most popular in Ecuador is shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) ceviche with 54% of the responses, followed by fish, regardless of species (29%), and both lupin (Lupinus mutabilis) and black clam (Anadara tuberculosa) with 5%. The most utilized condiments are onion, lemon juice and cilantro a “holy trinity” with more than 90% usage. These results are in good agreement with those provided by Web search volumes. The variety of main ingredients, condiments and sides is ample, though, and suggests further research. Sustainability concerns related to ceviche are the sustainability of shrimp farming and fish capture, and the preservation of mollusks and their ecosystems. Keywords: Ceviche, Ecuador, Gastronomy, Identity, Sustainability Introduction (either Amazonic P. edulis or the Andean P. tripartita) Ceviche is a preparation that extends through the Pacific acid denaturation that acquired its present form through coast of Spanish-speaking America, from Mexico in the the citrus fruits brought by the Spaniards; firstly Seville north to Chile in the south. It consists mainly of citrus- oranges and later lime and lemon [2]. Kinilaw, a Filipino cured fish or seafood [1]. The origin of the dish is unclear, vinegar or calamansi (Citrus x microcarpa) cured fish with competing interpretations establishing different his - dish—and also the cooking technique in general—pre- tories for the dish; these attempts range from a Babylo- dates the Spanish conquest by centuries and may have nian origin carried to Persia, Al-Andalus and only then traveled to Mexico on the Spanish galleon [3]. The Span - to America by Spanish conquistadores [2]; or a humble ish Language Academy suggests an Arabic etymology Peruvian and Ecuadorian fishermen fare consisting of for the word [4] in agreement with Jurafsky [5]. Other raw, salt and chili cured fish that evolved to a Passiflora proposed etymologies are Runa Simi (Quechua) siwichi meaning “fresh or tender fish,” “cebo” meaning small fish used as bait and even “son of a bitch!” supposedly by *Correspondence: rduarte@utpl.edu.ec English-speaking sailors tasting the very spicy dish. These Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja – Escuela de Gastronomía, San etymologies appear in newspaper articles [6] but not in Cayetano, Loja 110108, Ecuador books or other academic sources. Another hypothesis Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 2 of 12 places the origin of the name in a non-documented Man- modes of preparation, and even new dishes that are part teño language spoken from southern Colombia to north- of provincial identities, such as beef ceviche in Loja [15], ern Perú before the Inca invasion, where the suffix -iche fish ceviche with peanut in Manabí [2], encebollado in would have meant “delicious” [2]. Whatever the origin, Guayas [16] and volquetero in Pastaza [17]. the word appears in print for the first time in 1820, in the This study arises from the lack of research about Ecua - fourth stanza of a pro-independence song named “La chi- dorian ceviche, its identity and variety. The objective of cha” that exalted typical Peruvian food and chicha, a tra- this work is to confirm ceviche as a traditional Ecuado - ditional South American maize beer, in assertion of the rian dish, to assess the most popular types of Ecuadorian Peruvian independence from Spain. The song, after being ceviche, condiments, and sides, and to glimpse the wide so popular that it was the first piece sung to the liberating variety of preparations that appear through adaptation to army in 1821, fell from popularity after the independence the local ingredient availability and food customs. In this [7]. Accepted spellings for the dish are ceviche, cebiche, way, we aim to set a foundation for a more detailed study seviche and sebiche. Ceviche is the preferred spelling: A of local variants and to distinguish Ecuadorian ceviche Google search returns twenty-five million results for from other national styles. “ceviche”; 1,190,000 results for “cebiche”; 285,000 results for “seviche”; and 62,800 results for “sebiche.” Methodology Curing foods is a way to improve not only their dura- Study area bility but also their organoleptic properties [8]. Acidic The studied area is Ecuador, a South American country media contribute to the preservation of foods by inhib- that straddles the Equator, to which it owes its name. iting bacterial growth [9]. It is thus no surprise that the It is divided for the promotion of tourism into “four earliest stew recipes are prepared in acidic media. One worlds”: the Pacific coast, the Andean highlands, Ama - of these early recipes [10] became sigbāj (vinegar stew zonia and the Galapagos islands. The country is divided o vinegar soup), a Persian favorite, that was carried to into twenty-four provinces. Figure  1 shows the map of Baghdad, then to Al-Andalus by the Muslim armies, the study area with the four worlds (or regions) and the where it was adapted to fish due to the Christian Friday provinces that form them. The “four worlds” division is food restrictions and closeness to the Mediterranean a relevant one, because it defines different agroalimen - sea, where it became the Sephardic escabeche. This dish tary regions, and to an extent, the available ingredients, crossed the Atlantic with the Spanish conquistadores, which helps explain regional dish differences within the who made landfall less than 20  km away from the cur- country. rent Peruvian–Ecuadorian border. This dish would have The present descriptive study was performed using a melded with the salt and chili pepper cured fish of the mixed approach. The instruments used were a literature Manteño fishers and evolved into the dishes we know review to establish the origin, history and state of the art today. in ceviche research; a relative search volume analysis to Food historian Julio Pazos describes Ecuadorian cevi- establish the interest in ceviche both at the country and che as a coastal dish that has made its way to Quito and at the provincial level; and a survey among culinary pro- can be found often with a location denominator: from fessionals of the twenty-four provinces of the country to Manabí, from Esmeraldas; depending on the style of find out what is considered Ecuadorian ceviche. preparation [11]. Pazos also mentions that the style of ceviche from Guayaquil is in line with Sephardic Spanish escabeches, in agreement with Jurafsky [5]. Origin, evolution and variety Ceviche is prepared in the twenty-four provinces of In order to understand the origin, history and research Ecuador [12] and is a national dish that unites instead of a concerning ceviche, we performed a bibliometric query dish that divides, as it happens in the tension between the using dimensions [18], searching for articles containing coastal encebollado (albacore tuna soup) and the Andean the word “ceviche” and the words “ceviche” and “Ecua- hornado (roast pork). It is also a popular nostalgia dish in dor” from 2004 to 2021, and scientific database search Ecuadorian migrant communities, particularly in Spain with Harzing’s Publish or Perish software between the and Italy [13]. years 2004 and 2022 by keywords of interest. We also Ceviche is truly an Ecuadorian ethnic dish, possibly included gray literature in the form of self-published or having originated and evolved in ancient times, under- institutional books and documents, Web pages and other went creolization incorporating exotic ingredients non-editorially reviewed documents, in order to increase brought by the Spaniards, such as lemon, orange, onion the comprehensiveness of the review [19]. The Web sites and cilantro, and evolved again to reflect the food con - we included are mostly from high circulation newspa- ditions of each territories and spawned variants [14], pers, government bureaus and other reputable sources. D uarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 3 of 12 Fig. 1 The study area. The country is divided into “four worlds” as distinct geographical and agroalimentary regions, and politically into twenty‑four provinces Interest demographic representation for a minimum number A relative search volume (RSV) analysis was performed of samples of 384, that allows 95% confidence with 5% using Google Trends, as it is considered a reliable meas- error, after Taherdoost [26]. Our survey has n = 403, so ure of interest in a topic [20]. Search interest results for the representativity is satisfied (Table 1 ). the word “ceviche” and related terms were obtained from Two of the four regions, Galapagos and the Amazo- Google Trends [21] including low volume searches from nian provinces, are sparsely populated compared to 2004 to 2021 and in the last 5 years. 2004 was chosen as the coastal and Andean provinces, so their contribu- the starting year because it is the earliest available date tion was smaller and the error margin of the analysis for searching. is higher. Respondents were contacted through Aso- ciación de Chefs del Ecuador, the main association for Ecuadorian culinary professionals. Ingredients The survey asked respondents to select “the most A survey was applied during December 2021 to culi- Ecuadorian” of the ceviche mains and sides, along with nary professionals contacted through a local associa- the condiments required by Ecuadorian ceviche. The tion, Asociación de Chefs del Ecuador (ACE), to get questions and alternatives are shown in Table  2. The information about what they considered the most rep- alternatives were randomized except for the Provinces, resentative Ecuadorian ceviche. We used purposive to avoid both primacy and recency answer option order sampling by targeting professional cooks because they biases [27]. The main ingredient was provided with a are in contact with what is offered to consumers and choice to include important mains that may have been have agency on the perception of authenticity [22], and overlooked in the exploratory survey that guided the to increment the richness and detail of the informa- options. tion [23]. The respondents were geographically strati - We analyzed the qualitative data obtained based on fied by province to keep the population proportions response frequencies, both by country and by region, in among Ecuadorian provinces. Ecuador has a popula- which the error margin is higher due to the lower sample tion of 17,510,643 (2020) [24, 25], and the proportion of size for each region. Galapagos has a single response and surveys per province was calculated to ensure a proper is thus not considered for by region analysis. Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 4 of 12 Table 1 Surveys per province Table 2 Survey questions. Choices shown in alphabetical order but were randomized in the survey, except for Province Region Province Population Participants Question Options Galapagos Galápagos 33,042 1 What province do you live in? One of the twenty‑four Pacific Coast Esmeraldas 643,654 16 Single choice Ecuadorian provinces Manabí 1,562,079 35 Which is the most Ecuadorian ceviche? Chicken Santo Domingo de los 458,580 12 Single choice Crab Tsáchilas 921,763 20 Fish Los Ríos 401,178 10 Lupini Santa Elena 4,387,434 100 Shellfish Guayas 715,751 16 Shrimp El Oro Other (open) Andes Carchi 186,869 4 Which is the best side for Ecuadorian ceviche? Bread Imbabura 476,257 12 Single choice Chifles (plantain chips) Pichincha 3,228,233 72 Patacones (fried plantain) Cotopaxi 488,716 12 Popcorn Tungurahua 590,600 12 Rice Chimborazo 524,004 12 Sweet potato Bolívar 209,933 4 Toasted maize Cañar 281,396 8 Yuca (boiled cassava) Azuay 881,394 20 What ingredients does Ecuadorian ceviche Bell pepper Loja 521,154 12 require? Chile pepper Amazonia Sucumbíos 230,503 4 Check all that apply Cilantro Orellana 161,338 4 Ketchup Napo 133,705 4 Lemon Pastaza 114,202 4 Mustard Morona Santiago 196,535 4 Onion Zamora Chinchipe 120,416 5 Orange Total 403 Tomato Results and discussion Literature review 100 is the most popular search term, the order of the first The literature review shows there is an emphasis in food five most interested countries remains unchanged: Peru, safety and foodborne parasites in the published research Ecuador, Belize, Costa Rica, and Chile. The interest and concerning ceviche. That is to be expected, given that it is a dish with raw ingredients served in hot climates. A Scopus search on the keyword “ceviche” between 2004 Table 3 Interest in ceviche measured by Google Trends, by and 2021 returns 30 publications, most of which deal country. Relative search volumes with foodborne diseases and parasitosis, three with a No. Country Search interest Search interest Change complex event framework named CEVICHE, one with 2004–2021 2016–2021 migrant adaptation, one with cultural appropriation, and Relative scale Relative scale only a handful provide a gastronomic viewpoint. Due to 1 Peru 100 100 0 this dearth of academic sources, gray documentation and 2 Ecuador 60 67 7 press articles were included as sources. We approached 3 Belize 46 51 5 Web recipes with care, because they are not considered 4 Costa Rica 42 50 8 trustworthy as a whole [28]. 5 Chile 36 45 9 6 Aruba 33 39 6 7 Panama 30 34 4 Relative search interest 8 Guatemala 27 34 7 Ecuador is the second country in the world after Peru 9 Curaçao 27 43 16 in its interest in ceviche, as measured by Google Trends 10 Puerto Rico 21 26 5 relative search volume (RSV). On a relative scale where D uarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 5 of 12 its variation are detailed in Table  3. In the topmost 10 Galapagos has the most interest in ceviche (100), fol- countries, the interest in ceviche, which is measured by lowed by Amazonia (73.3), the Pacific coast (72.3) and Web searches, is increasing. the Andes region (68.7). City-wise, the places in which there is more inter- Local interest est in ceviche are Manta, Machala, Quito, Riobamba, Within Ecuador, the relative interest for ceviche in the Guayaquil, Loja, Santo Domingo, Cuenca, Ibarra and twenty-four provinces has been changing when compar- Portoviejo (Fig. 2). ing the last 5  years with the last 17  years. The average interest in ceviche has increased from 68.75 in the last Main ingredient 17 years to 72.21 in the last 5 years. A breakdown of the The RSV analysis shows that the main searches related to search interest is presented in Table 4. ceviche in Ecuador are as follows (search place in paren- These variations may reflect the increase in household theses, grouped for conciseness): shrimp ceviche (1, 2, Internet connection availability, which increased from 10); ceviche recipe (3, 4); fish ceviche (5); how to make 22.5% in 2012 to 53.2% in 2020, with different increase ceviche (6); Ecuadorian recipe (7); chicken ceviche (8); rates in urban and rural areas [29, 30]. The widest and Peruvian ceviche (9). The two main searches have a changes in interest are seen in the provinces of Cotopaxi popularity rating of 100, with the next search in popular- and Chimborazo (both mountain provinces, far from the ity coming at only 47, decreasing from there. sea) with an increase in 11 places, and of Santa Elena, a Our survey response data agrees with Google Trends coastal province, with a decrease in 11 places. concerning shrimp and fish. Almost 83% of the responses Ecuador is marketed for tourism as the “country of the consider that Ecuadorian ceviche is either shrimp or fish four worlds.” Mapping the interest in ceviche to the four (Table  5). Figure  3 shows the popularity of main ingre- regions in which Ecuador is divided [31], we find that dients. Clam (black shell) and lupin (lupini beans) make Table 4 Search interest in Ecuador, by province No. Province Search interest Search interest Change Place Change 2004–2021 2016–2021 Last 5 years Relative scale Relative scale 1 Galápagos 100 100 0 1 0 2 El Oro 93 90 − 3 3 − 1 3 Cañar 85 79 − 6 8 − 5 4 Zamora Chinchipe 79 77 − 2 10 − 6 5 Pichincha 78 70 − 8 14 − 9 6 Napo 77 88 11 5 1 7 Sucumbíos 76 98 22 2 5 8 Bolívar 75 61 − 14 18 − 10 9 Santa Elena 75 60 − 15 20 − 11 10 Manabí 74 79 5 7 3 11 Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas 71 77 6 9 2 12 Orellana 68 83 15 6 6 13 Guayas 67 63 − 4 17 − 4 14 Imbabura 66 61 − 5 19 − 5 15 Cotopaxi 65 90 25 4 11 16 Azuay 64 66 2 15 1 17 Loja 63 73 10 12 5 18 Esmeraldas 58 72 14 13 5 19 Carchi 56 55 − 1 22 − 3 20 Los Ríos 54 65 11 16 4 21 Tungurahua 54 57 3 21 0 22 Chimborazo 52 75 23 11 11 23 Pastaza 51 47 − 4 24 − 1 24 Morona Santiago 49 47 − 2 23 1 Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 6 of 12 Fig. 2 Search interest for ceviche in each province as a color scale, and the location of the 10 cities in which the search interest is highest. Galapagos islands not to scale error margin 7%) but 74% in the Andes (168 respondents, Table 5 Responses for main ingredient, in descending order error margin 8%) and 79% in Amazonia (24 respond- Main Responses % Cumulative ents, error margin 20%). Galapagos has a single respond- Shrimp 217 53.8% 53.8% ent. Table  6 shows the cumulative percentages of main Fish 117 29.0% 82.9% ingredients per region. The most diverse main ingredient Shellfish 22 5.5% 88.3% responses are from provinces in the Andes region, where Lupin 19 4.7% 93.1% non-seafood ingredients are used the most. This can be Other 15 3.7% 96.8% attributed to ingredient availability. Crab 9 2.2% 99.0% Chicken 4 1.0% 100.0% Less frequent main ingredients The most common mains by far are fish and seafood, but there are several other popular ceviche main ingredients in Ecuador, particularly away from the coastal region. another 10% of the responses; and crab (2%), chicken Beef ceviche is typical fare in Macará and Zapotillo, in the (1%) and others (4%), such as pig’s skin, hearts of palm, inland Loja province close to the Peruvian border [15]. It chiton, canned tuna and others, complete the remaining is prepared with lightly cooked meat instead of seafood, ingredients. and it is similar to the Persian dish sikbaj, proposed as an Chicken ceviche is more represented in Web searches ancient ancestor to ceviche by Jurafsky [5, 32]. Pig’s skin than in the survey responses. This may suggest it is a nov - and ear ceviche is common in the central Ecuadorian elty preparation and not. Andes, especially in the city of Riobamba, which is also Grouping the “four worlds” regions and comparing the the chocho (Lupinus mutabilis) ceviche capital of Ecua- main responses, greater variety is apparent in the Andes dor [33]. This lupin ceviche is not only Ecuadorian but than in the Pacific coast or Amazonia. The two most shared with Peru and Bolivia [34]. The Peruvian capital of common main ingredients shrimp and fish make up 90% lupin ceviche is Ancash. Cevichocho (shortened name) is of the responses in the Pacific coast (208 respondents, an appreciated, nutritious, inexpensive snack. D uarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 7 of 12 Fig. 3 Main ceviche ingredient. Shrimp is the most popular ingredient, followed by fish. Together, they make 83% of the responses Table 6 Main ingredient choices per region. Galapagos not included Coast Andes Amazon % Cumulative % Cumulative % Cumulative Shrimp 54 54 55 55 50 50 Fish 37 91 20 75 29 79 Shellfish 4 95 7 82 4 83 Lupin 1 96 10 92 0 83 Other ceviche dishes considered “original” by local partly because it is considered an aphrodisiac, particu- TV channel Teleamazonas are “guinea pig, pineapple, larly in the provinces of Guayas and Esmeraldas where chicken, avocado and even liver” [35]. This may be seen preparations bear suggestive names such as “mattress as extreme choices, but reflects the diversification (after breaker,” “lay me down, black woman,” and others even de Albuquerque [36]) that the dish is undergoing when more explicit [37, 38]. Purportedly, this aphrodisiac effect expanding from the original coastal regions to places is due to the zinc content, but it has been established that where fresh seafood is not readily available and is adapted aphrodisiacs do not really work [39]. to local ingredients and taste, thus amplifying the avail- Mangroves are endangered ecosystems, their loss able alternatives. driven by subsistence economies and the shrimp trade [40]; and in addition to habitat loss, A. tuberculosa is Ceviche de concha endangered by overextraction. Measures are being taken A distant third main ingredient, ceviche de concha, is pre- to sustainably extract A. tuberculosa, and progress is pared with the mangrove bivalve Anadara tuberculosa, being made by establishing a minimum capture diameter a vulnerable blood cockle species. It is very popular in of 45  mm, strengthening the value chain, applying best the Pacific coast, particularly in El Oro and Esmeraldas, practices, and low-intensity aquaculture of the species, Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 8 of 12 but there is still room for improvement [41–43]. The Sour lime (Citrus aurantifolia) is the preferred citrus same situation arises for other protected species used to for making ceviche, due to its acidity. Orange juice is prepare ceviche, such as wild shrimp, lobster, blue and used alongside lemon in Ecuadorian ceviche in 51.12% red crab, octopus, dolphinfish and hake [44], which have of the responses. Fish and shrimp cooking liquid is often seasonal capture prohibitions. Also, fishing restrictions used to add volume and flavor to the dish. have been proposed for Chiton spp. in Galapagos [45]. Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) is almost the only herb Spondylus extraction is permanently banned since 2009, used in Ecuadorian ceviche, belonging to the “holy trin- even though it is a symbol of the Ecuadorian coast and ity” mentioned by almost 96% of the respondents. In the has historically been a dish fit for royalty: the “ceviche of northern province of Esmeraldas, Chillangua (Eryngium the Gods” [2]. foetidum) is used instead of cilantro as they have a simi- Another sustainability concern is mislabeling or even lar aromatic profile, with both essential oils rich in ali - seafood fraud, which has been identified as a problem in phatic aldehydes, mainly E-2-dodecenal [47]. It is worth neighboring Peru, in sushi and ceviche restaurants, and mentioning that both herbs have shared ethnopharmaco- in Ecuadorian dolphinfish production [46]. logical uses (antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic), presumably due to the similarities in phytochemical com- Other ingredients and condiments position [48, 49]. The condiments used can be divided into three groups, Ecuadorian food is generally less spicy than its Peruvian according to their mentions: a “holy trinity” in Ecua- counterpart, and ceviche is no exception. The use of chili dorian ceviche made of onion, lemon or lime juice and (Capsicum pubescens) is less prevalent than other condi- cilantro, all of which have a usage of over 95%; frequent ments, mentioned in 46.4% of the responses. The liberal ingredients are tomato, tomato ketchup and orange juice, use of tomato ketchup (62.53%) and mustard (41.69%) as which were mentioned in the majority of the responses; condiments seems to be mainly Ecuadorian. and chili, mustard and bell pepper, less used ingredients, appearing in less than half of the responses with the least Sides mentioned ingredient, the bell pepper, appearing in little Sides provide the starch in ceviche. Our survey shows less than one-third of the mentions. The chart shown in that the most popular sides are chifles (fried thin green \* MERGEFORMAT Fig. 4 details the condiment use and plantain slices), tostado (toasted corn), patacones (fried the percentage of mentions received. and smashed plantain slices), popcorn, bread, boiled Fig. 4 Condiment use frequency in Ecuadorian ceviche. The “holy trinity” of ceviche is onion, lemon and cilantro, followed by tomato, ketchup, orange juice, chili, mustard and bell pepper D uarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 9 of 12 yuca and rice. Chifles and popcorn are usual in the coast. ample space to other main ingredients, condiments and Bread is a frequent side from Guayaquil (Fig. 5). sides, and space for growth and adaptation (Fig. 6). Plantains (Musa x paradisiaca), from where chifles and patacones derive, are a lowland crop, cultivated in the Ceviche derivatives coast and Amazonia; and corn, from where tostado and One of the flagship Ecuadorian dishes is Encebollado popcorn derive, is a typical Andean crop. Yuca is also a meaning “with onion.” It is a tuna (Thunnus albacares ), coast and Amazonia crop. Plantain provides 67% of the yuca (Manihot esculenta) and onion soup that is the pro- sides and corn provides 22% of the sides. Although sweet vincial dish of Guayas—the most populated province in potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is very popular in Peruvian Ecuador. It derives from ceviche de balde (bucket cevi- ceviche, it is less popular in Ecuador. che), a cheaper variety of ceviche sold by street vendors in enameled iron buckets, famous as a hangover cure A “typical” Ecuadorian ceviche? [12]. As Ecuadorian ceviches have more liquid in them Based in our data, the typical Ecuadorian ceviche would than those of other countries, and provided that fish in be a shrimp ceviche, with chifle as side and with onion, Ecuadorian ceviche is often cooked, this brothy, warm cilantro, lemon, tomato, ketchup and perhaps orange as ceviche naturally found its way into a soup [12]. other ingredients. The shrimp ceviche recipe published Another offshoot of ceviche is Volquetero (dump by Armendaris [50] is very close to what our data sug- trucker). It references the truck drivers during the con- gest. Its ingredients are cooked shrimp, red onion, lemon struction of the Amazonian Road. Being from other parts juice, mustard, cilantro, ketchup, black pepper, tomato, of the country, these drivers would want their ceviche, orange juice, chili, oil and salt. The suggestion is to serve but there was no fresh fish, as they were away from the it with popcorn and chifles in the coast and with toasted sea with no available cold chain. They developed a solu - corn in the Andes. Shrimp ceviche is also the most fre- tion to satisfy the craving using canned tuna, lupini quent search term in our analysis, so there is an agree- beans, onion, lime juice and chifles . Thus, the ceviche ment between our data and Web search interest. Shrimp volquetero, shortened to Volquetero, was born, which is ceviche, though, accounts for 54% of the results, leaving an important local dish in the province of Pastaza. Fig. 5 Sides for ceviche. The most popular is chifle, followed by toasted maize and patacones (fried plantain chunks). Popcorn, yuca, rice and bread come behind. Sweet potato is seldom used, unlike in Peruvian ceviche Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 10 of 12 nematodes, are a common food-borne disease associated with the consumption of raw fish dishes, such as Japanese sashimi, Peruvian tiradito or ceviche [53, 54]. These are unaffected by acid environment in ceviche. There is research concerning the food safety of Ecua - dorian ceviche. Orden-Mejía et al. conducted a microbio- logical evaluation of shellfish ceviche sold in Guayaquil [55] in which they found no Salmonella but highlight the public health need for controlling Aerobic mesophiles, as these include most pathogens that can cause foodborne disease outbreaks [56] and total coliforms, which are a quality and hygiene indicator [57]. Salazar-Llorente [58] found varying levels of contamination, spoilage micro- organisms and opportunistic pathogens in high-demand food—including ceviche—sold in the three major Ecua- dorian cities: Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. Ecuado- rian ceviche, particularly shrimp, lupini, chicken, meat and some recipes of fish ceviche cook or at least poach the protein ingredients, helping reduce the risk of infec- tion and parasites. This differentiates Ecuadorian ceviche from Peruvian or Chilean ceviche in which the protein is always raw. Fig. 6 Shrimp and fish (Pacific cornetfish) ceviche garnished with chifles (plantain chips). Santa Elena province. Shrimp ceviche usually has more tomato and ketchup than fish ceviche and is redder. The Conclusions authors Ceviche is a pan-Ecuadorian dish that unites instead of dividing, incorporating a wide variety of ingredients, some of which defy our notion of what is ceviche. Despite Status as traditional food that very ample provincial and local variety, shrimp cevi- We consider Ecuadorian ceviche to be a proper tradi- che with onion, cilantro and lemon, and diced tomato, tional food as it satisfies the requirements set forth in ketchup and mustard, with a side of chifles, can be con- Rocillo-Aquino et  al. of place, time, know-how and cul- sidered the quintessential Ecuadorian ceviche. Fish cevi- tural meaning [51]. The defined place of Ecuadorian che is not specific concerning the species, provided it is ceviche comes from the Manteño culture, through the white fish, allowing for a larger variability in its prepara - Inca domination and the Spaniards making landfall in tion. There is a “holy trinity” in ceviche: onion, lemon and the Ecuadorian–Peruvian border, and then to provincial cilantro, which are used in over 90% of the preparations. and local varieties, often with defining ingredients. The Ceviche has spawned other dishes, namely encebollado 25  years, or one generation, needed to establish tradi- and volquetero, which are part of provincial identities, tion are satisfied even with the more modern cases of and now have names of their own. encebollado and volquetero. Its “Know-how,” the “What?” Some varieties of ceviche pose sustainability concerns: (ingredients), the “How?” (techniques) and the “Who?” black shell, crabs, sea snails and octopus require enforce- (persons making the dish) are satisfied. The cultural ment of the fishing and extraction bans, minimum cap - meaning is present since the pre-Inca times in which ture size and habitat protection to reach sustainable the Spondylus ceviche was the food of the Gods [2], and extraction. although it is now forbidden, ceviche recipes and main Future studies could include more specific region, ingredients denote local identities. province and community ceviche styles and traditions. There is ample variety and more should be known about it. Food safety The acidic lemon or lime juice used in ceviche reduces Limitations of the study the risk posed by certain bacteria such as Vibrio para- Scientific gastronomic research is still a budding field, haemolyticus, but not all: Salmonella enterica is not so there is a dearth of academic sources. Where these affected by the acidic environment and can cause have not been available, we relied on books and repu- food-borne diseases [52]. Parasites, mainly zoonotic table news and reputable recipe Web sites to build our D uarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 11 of 12 9. Food safety in the 21st century; Elsevier, 2017; ISBN 978‑0‑12‑801773‑9. investigation. We hope that soon peer-reviewed pub- 10. Bottéro J. The oldest cuisine in the world: cooking in mesopotamia. lications can be the bulk of the literature sources and Chicago: The University of Chicago Press; 2004. consider this work a contribution in this direction. 11. Pazos‑Barrera J. El Sabor de La Memoria. Historia de La Cocina Quiteña; Biblioteca básica de Quito; FONSAL: Quito; 2008. ISBN 978‑9978‑366‑02‑8. Acknowledgements 12. Mintur Mapa Gastronómico del Ecuador; MINTUR Ecuador: Quito, 2018. This study would like to thank the Schools of Gastronomy of: Universidad 13. Mintur; Ministerio Coordinador de Patrimonio; Asociación de Chefs del Técnica Particular de Loja, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Chimborazo, Uni‑ Ecuador. Ecuador Culinario: Saberes y Sabores; MINTUR Ecuador: Quito. versidad Técnica de Manabí, and Universidad de Especialidades Turísticas, for allowing time and supporting the authors in the completion of this study. We 14. Duarte‑ Casar R, Robalino‑ Vallejo JA, Rojas‑Le ‑Fort EM, Zurita‑ Gallegos RM. would also like to thank Asociación de Chefs del Ecuador, professional associa‑ Evolución, técnicas y gastronomía, Caso de estudio: “El ceviche.” Cienc Al tion to which the authors belong, for helping reach culinary professionals to Serv Salud. 2019;10:238–44. answer the surveys. 15. Artieda‑Ponce M, Chango ‑ Cañaveral PM. Orígenes Ruta Gastronómica “Sabores y Tradiciones Del Sur”; 2016. ISBN 9942‑25‑119‑7. Author contributions 16. Unigarro‑Solarte C. Patrimonio cultural alimentario; Cartografía de la RD‑ C contributed to conceptualization, historical research, writing, data, Memoria; Ministerio de Cultura del Ecuador. 2010. figures, translation and publication. JR‑ V helped in Andean region research, 17. Asociación de Chefs del Ecuador Volquetero. Asoc. Chefs Ecuad. 2013. manuscript editing and validation. MFB‑R contributed to Coastal region 18. Digital Science Dimensions [Software]. https:// app. dimen sions. ai/ analy and Galapagos Islands research, statistics and manuscript review. MR‑L ‑F tics/ publi cation/ overv iew/ timel ine. Accessed 18 June 2021. performed conceptualization, Amazonia region research, validation and 19. Paez A. Gray literature: an important resource in systematic reviews. J Evid manuscript review. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Based Med. 2017;10:233–40. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1111/ jebm. 12266. 20. Rovetta A. Reliability of google trends: analysis of the limits and potential Funding of web infoveillance during COVID‑19 pandemic and for future research. This study did not receive any funding. Front Res Metr Anal. 2021;6:670226. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3389/ frma. 2021. Availability of data and materials 21. Mavragani A, Ochoa G, Tsagarakis KP. Assessing the methods, tools, and All data and materials are used in accordance with the guideline of the Journal statistical approaches in google trends research: systematic review. J Med of Ethnic Foods as listed in the reference section. Images are contributed by Intern Res. 2018;20:e270. https:// doi. org/ 10. 2196/ jmir. 9366. the authors. 22. Le TH, Arcodia C, Novais MA, Kralj A. Producing authenticity in restaurant experiences: interrelationships between the consumer, the provider, and the experience. Tour Recreat Res. 2021;46:360–72. https:// doi. org/ 10. Declarations 1080/ 02508 281. 2020. 18059 32. 23. Selçuk Kurtuluş S, Kılıç B, Kurnaz A. Evaluation of women chefs in profes‑ Competing interests sional kitchens. J Tour Gastron Stud. 2018;6:119–32. https:// doi. org/ 10. The authors declare that they do not have competing interests. 21325/ jotags. 2018. 275. 24. INEC Análisis de Resultados Definitivos Censo de Población y Vivienda Author details Galápagos 2015; Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos. 2015. Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja – Escuela de Gastronomía, San Cay‑ 25. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos Proyecciones Poblacionales. etano, Loja 110108, Ecuador. Escuela Politécnica Superior de Chimborazo – https:// www. ecuad orenc ifras. gob. ec/ proye ccion es‑ pobla ciona les/. Escuela de Gastronomía, Riobamba 060155, Ecuador. Universidad T écnica de Accessed 24 Dec 2021. Manabí – Escuela de Gastronomía, Av. José María Urbina, Portoviejo 130104, 26. Taherdoost H. Determining sample size; how to calculate survey sample Ecuador. Universidad de Especialidades Turísticas – Escuela de Hospitalidad y size. Rochester: Social Science Research Network; 2017. Turismo, Machala Oe6‑160 entre José Carrión y Av. Occidental, Quito 170103, 27. Rey A, Le Goff K, Abadie M, Courrieu P. the primacy order effect in com‑ Ecuador. plex decision making. Psychol Res. 2020;84:1739–48. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s00426‑ 019‑ 01178‑2. Received: 2 March 2022 Accepted: 22 April 2022 28. Yun M‑ O, Mun H‑ G. Analysis of recipes for korean foods in web sites. J Korean Diet Assoc. 2004;10:390–400. 29. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos Tecnologías de La Información y Comunicaciones ( TIC´S) 2016; 2016. 30. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos Tecnologías de la Información y References Comunicación‑ TIC. https:// www. ecuad orenc ifras. gob. ec/ tecno logias‑ de‑ 1. Davidson A, Jaine T. The Oxford companion to food. 2nd ed. Oxford: la‑ infor macion y‑‑ comun icaci on‑ tic/. Accessed 24 Dec 2021. Oxford University Press; 2006. 31. Ministerio de Turismo del Ecuador The Second Stage of All You Need 2. Regalado‑Espinoza L. Manabí y su comida milenaria. 2nd ed. Ediciones Is Ecuador Invites You to Fall in Love with the Four Worlds of Ecuador – ULEAM: Manta; 2019. Ministerio de Turismo. https:// www. turis mo. gob. ec/ the‑ second‑ stage‑ of‑ 3. Fernandez DG, Choy CC. Tikim: essays on Philippine food and culture. all y‑ou‑ need‑ is‑ ecuad or‑ invit es y‑ou‑ to‑ fall‑ in‑ love with‑‑ the‑ four w‑orlds‑ New York: BRILL; 2020. of‑ ecuad or/. Accessed 24 Dec 2021. 4. ASALE R. RAE ceviche | Diccionario de la lengua española https:// dle. 32. Martinelli C. The Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook; CreateSpace Inde‑ rae. es/ cevic he. Accessed 7 Jan 2022. pendent Publishing Platform. 2012; ISBN 978‑1‑4781‑2324‑8. 5. Jurafsky D. The language of food: a linguist reads the menu. New York: 33. Dirección de Gestión de Turismo de Riobamba Ceviche de chochos. W.W. Norton & Company Inc; 2014. https:// rioba mba. com. ec/ es‑ ec/ chimb orazo/ rioba mba/ recet as/ cevic he‑ 6. La República R. Día del Ceviche: Su origen y sus once variedades que choch os‑ ab12a 14ea. Accessed 31 Mar 2022. quizá no has probado. https:// larep ublica. pe/ socie dad/ 2019/ 06/ 28/ 34. Asociación de Chefs de Bolivia Recetario de Tarwi: alimento nutritivo; dia‑ nacio nal‑ del‑ cevic he‑ como‑ se‑ origi no‑ este‑ potaje‑ y‑ todas‑ sus ‑ Cochabamba, 2018. varia ciones‑ hasta‑ ahora‑ atmp/. Accessed 7 Jan 2022. 35. LOS CEVICHES MÁS ORIGINALES. Teleamazonas. 2020. 7. Rondón V, Izquierdo König JM. Las Canciones Patrióticas de José Ber‑ 36. de Albuquerque UP. Re‑ examining hypotheses concerning the use and nardo Alzedo (1788–1878). Rev Music Chil. 2014;68:12–34. https:// doi. knowledge of medicinal plants: a study in the caatinga vegetation of org/ 10. 4067/ S0716‑ 27902 01400 02000 02. NE Brazil. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2006;2:30. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1186/ 8. Mouritsen O, Styrbæk K. Mouthfeel: how texture makes taste (arts and 1746‑ 4269‑2‑ 30. traditions of the table: perspectives on culinary history). New York: Columbia University Press; 2017. Duarte‑Casar et al. Journal of Ethnic Foods (2022) 9:16 Page 12 of 12 37. Moreno F. La ruta gastronómica afrodisíaca de Esmeraldas. https:// www. quality of high‑ demand food from three major cities in Ecuador. J Food elcom ercio. com/ actua lidad/ ecuad or/ gastr onomia‑ afrod isiaca‑ esmer Prot. 2021;84:128–38. https:// doi. org/ 10. 4315/ JFP‑ 20‑ 271. aldas‑ alime ntos‑ comida. html . Accessed 24 Dec 2021. 38. GoRaymi Ceviche túmbame negra. https:// www. goray mi. com/ es‑ ec/ Publisher’s Note esmer aldas/ ataca mes/ recet as/ cevic he‑ tumba me‑ negra‑ aga8p ka9o . Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in pub‑ Accessed 25 Dec 2021. lished maps and institutional affiliations. 39. Leonti M, Casu L. Ethnopharmacology of love. Front Pharmacol. 2018;9:567. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3389/ fphar. 2018. 00567. 40. Chowdhury RR, Uchida E, Chen L, Osorio V, Yoder L. Anthropogenic drivers of mangrove loss: geographic patterns and implications for liveli‑ hoods. In: Rivera‑Monroy VH, Lee SY, Kristensen E, Twilley RR, editors. Man‑ grove ecosystems: a global biogeographic perspective. Cham: Springer; 2017. p. 275–300. 41. Mora E, Moreno J. Estado de La Pesquería Del Recurso Concha (Anadara Tuberculosa y A. Similis) En La Costa Ecuatoriana; Instituto Público de Investigación de Acuicultura y Pesca, 2009. 42. Prado‑ Carpio E, de Lourdes Olivo‑ Garrido M, Quiñonez‑ Cabeza M, Beitl CM, Martínez‑Soto M, Rodríguez‑Monroy C. Performance and challenges in the value chain of the anadara tuberculosa bivalve mollusk in Ecuador. Sustainability. 2021;13:10863. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3390/ su131 910863. 43. Diringer B, Pretell K, Avellan R, Chanta C, Cedeño V, Gentile G. Genetic structure, phylogeography, and demography of Anadara Tuberculosa (Bivalvia) from east pacific as revealed by MtDNA: implications to conser ‑ vation. Ecol Evol. 2019;9:4392–402. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1002/ ece3. 4937. 44. Calendario de Vedas En Ecuador—Ministerio de Producción Comercio Exterior Inversiones y Pesca. https:// www. produ ccion. gob. ec/ calen dario‑ de v‑edas/. Accessed 25 Dec 2021. 45. Muñoz‑Pérez JP, Tacle S, Yépez M. Memorias del 4to Simposio de Investi‑ gación & Conservación en Galápagos GSC‑DPNG. 2021, 1. 46. Velez‑Zuazo X, Alfaro ‑Shigueto J, Rosas‑Puchuri U, Guidino C, Pasara‑Pol‑ ack A, Riveros JC, Mangel JC. High incidence of mislabeling and a hint of fraud in the ceviche and sushi business. Food Control. 2021;129: 108224. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. foodc ont. 2021. 108224. 47. Shavandi MA, Haddadian Z, Ismail MHS. Eryngium Foetidum l. Cori‑ andrum Sativum and Persicaria Odorata l.: a review. J Asian Sci Res. 2012;2:410–26. 48. Chahal KK, Singh R, Kumar A, Bhardwaj U. Chemical composition and biological activity of Coriandrum Sativum L.: a review. Indian J Nat Prod Resour IJNPR Former Nat Prod Radiance NPR. 2018;8:193–203. 49. Rodrigues TLM, Silva MEP, Gurgel ESC, Oliveira MS, Lucas FCA. Eryngium Foetidum L. (Apiaceae): a literature review of traditional uses, chemical composition, and pharmacological activities. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022;2022:1–15. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1155/ 2022/ 28968 95. 50. Armendaris, M. Sabores: La Nueva Cocina Del Ecuador; Plan Nacional para el desarrollo de Cocinas Patrimoniales del Ecuador: Quito, 2014; 51. Rocillo‑Aquino Z, Cervantes‑Escoto F, Leos‑Rodríguez JA, Cruz‑Delgado D, Espinoza‑ Ortega A. What is a traditional food? conceptual evolution from four dimensions. J Ethn Foods. 2021;8:38. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1186/ s42779‑ 021‑ 00113‑4. 52. Mathur P. The effect of lime juice on vibrio parahaemolyticus and salmo ‑ nella enterica inactivation during the preparation of raw fish dish ceviche. 2012.https:// doi. org/ 10. 7282/ T3ST7 NSB. 53. Zhou M, Zhang N, Zhang M, Ma G. Culture, eating behavior, and infec‑ tious disease control and prevention. J Ethn Foods. 2020;7:40. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1186/ s42779‑ 020‑ 00076‑y. 54. Serrano‑Moliner M, Morales‑Suarez‑ Varela M, Valero MA. Epidemiology and management of foodborne nematodiasis in the European union, Re Read ady y to to submit y submit your our re researc search h ? Choose BMC and benefit fr ? Choose BMC and benefit from om: : systematic review 2000–2016. Pathog Glob Health. 2018;112:249–58. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1080/ 20477 724. 2018. 14876 63. fast, convenient online submission 55. Orden‑Mejía MA, Zambrano ‑ Conforme DC, Zamora‑Flores FG, Quezada‑ thorough peer review by experienced researchers in your field Tobar D. Ethnic food: a microbiological evaluation of black shellfish ceviche that is sold in typical restaurants. Int J Gastron Food Sci. rapid publication on acceptance 2021;25:100395. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. ijgfs. 2021. 100395. support for research data, including large and complex data types 56. Bintsis T. Foodborne pathogens. AIMS Microbiol. 2017;3:529–63. https:// • gold Open Access which fosters wider collaboration and increased citations doi. org/ 10. 3934/ micro biol. 2017.3. 529. 57. Salamandane A, Silva AC, Brito L, Malfeito‑Ferreira M. Microbiological maximum visibility for your research: over 100M website views per year assessment of street foods at the point of sale in maputo (mozambique). Food Qual Saf. 2021;5:fyaa030. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1093/ fqsafe/ fyaa0 30. At BMC, research is always in progress. 58. Salazar‑Llorente E, Morales M, Sornoza I, Mariduena‑Zavala MG, Gu G, Nou Learn more biomedcentral.com/submissions X, Ortiz J, Maldonado‑Alvarado P, Cevallos‑ Cevallos JM. Microbiological

Journal

Journal of Ethnic Foods – Springer Journals

Published: May 12, 2022

Keywords: Ceviche; Ecuador; Gastronomy; Identity; Sustainability

There are no references for this article.