Posted on 08/08/2015 11:52:29 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Las Brisas del Pacífico barista Álvaro Sandoval rinses off a turtle egg until only the yolk is left. After that he puts the yolk in a shot glass to pour sangrita mix into it. Jesús Barrera/The Tico Times Part of a series by students of the University of Arizona School of Journalisms study abroad program in Costa Rica.
PLAYA OSTIONAL, Guanacaste Gallo pinto, casados, and corn tamales are some of the most common dishes served in Costa Rica. But theres another food in which many Ticos also indulge: sea turtle eggs.
Here in the Guanacaste area many people prepare turtle eggs in many different ways, from turtle egg omelets to drinking turtle eggs with whiskey, said Tomás Chavarría, a longtime resident of Playa Ostional, and a leading member of the Asociación de Desarrollo Integral de Ostional, or ADIO.
Legally harvested turtle eggs can be found in this small beach town on the Pacific coast. At the recently reopened Las Brisas del Pacífico, bar customers can have a beer and chase it with a turtle egg shot.
The eggs we have here are sold year-round and are always refrigerated, said bar owner Álvaro Sandoval.
Locals say the most popular kind of turtle egg consumption is in its raw form. Customers at Las Brisas can buy a single egg for ₡300 less than a dollar or get a complimentary egg along with the purchase of a beer.
Bartenders prepare what is called a sangrita shot, which customers drink like an alcoholic beverage. At this bar, the sangritas include tomato juice, pepper, lemon juice, salt, chile panameño and a splash of orange juice.
The egg is then poured into the shot glass filled with sangrita just before its ready to be consumed. Swallowed rather than chewed more aptly describes how it is consumed.
I didnt get to taste the egg much, the drink was a bit spicy, but delicious. The only time I felt the egg was when it went down my throat, said San José resident María José Sevilla, who tried her first turtle egg shot at Las Brisas del Pacífico while we watched.
This legal turtle egg eating phenomenon began in the 1980s, when the town of Ostional legalized the regulated collection of sea turtle eggs.
See: Protecting life in Ostional: The survival of 2 species
The Costa Rican Environment (MINAE) helped the local town legally harvest the eggs. Egg harvesting happens within the first 36 hours of an arribada, the arrival of sea turtles by the masses.
The legal market for Ostional eggs, however, has its critics. Opponents of the trade question whether the practice actually helps save endangered turtle populations. Worse, illegal sea turtle eggs often are found in markets and bars across the country, with vendors falsely claiming they came from Ostional. That, say conservationists, benefits only poachers.
Outside of Ostional, some Ticos dont know that theres a place where turtle egg harvesting is legal.
I always thought of turtle consumption as illegal, I was unaware that egg harvesting was legalized in Ostional, said San José resident Johel Solano.
Chavarría, who frequently consumes eggs, said there are lots of ways to prepare them. You can cook the egg like you would a chicken egg, or you can make an omelet or scrambled eggs with your preferred spices, he said. And of course, theres the sangrita to which you can add your desired amount of whiskey.
Consumption of turtle eggs is also popular among some men who believe in its alleged aphrodisiacal qualities. Biologists, however, say thats a myth.
For others its a matter of curiosity, and perhaps taste.
Said Sevilla: I would come back to Ostional to drink turtle eggs, or if I ever find myself in the Guanacaste area Ill make my way to this bar.
Jesús Barrera is an undergrad student at the University of Arizona. He can be reached at jesusbarrera@email.arizona.edu.
So long as the turtles are not of an endangered species, go for it. Should be real EGG-citing!!
Intriguing. I wonder if the taste has a fishy taste like caviar? I suppose in an alcoholic beverage, the fishy taste would compliment the combination. In an omelet, I am not too thrilled with something that might taste as if it was spoiled chicken eggs.
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