Gofio

Gofio
A scalded gofio dish
Region or stateCanary Islands
Main ingredientsWheat or maize
Gofio mill, La Orotava, Tenerife

Gofio is a sort of Canarian flour made from roasted grains (typically wheat or certain varieties of maize) or other starchy plants (e.g. beans and, historically, fern root), some varieties containing a little added salt. Gofio has been an important ingredient in Canarian cooking for some time, and Canarian emigrants have spread its use to the Caribbean (notably in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela) and the Western Sahara. There are various ways to use it, such as kneading, dissolving in soup, and baking.[1] It can also be used as a thickener.[2] It is also found in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, where it is known as harina tostada and is employed in a wide variety of recipes. The gofio commercially available in the Canary Islands is always finely ground, like ordinary flour, despite the definition given in the Spanish Dictionary of the Royal Academy.[3]

In 2014, the name Gofio Canario was added to the register of Protected designation of origin and Protected geographical indication by the European Commission.[4]

  1. ^ "大西洋のハワイ、伝統食は残った 先住民の言葉消えても" [Hawaii on the Atlantic, traditional food remains even if the words of the indigenous people disappear] (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun. 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  2. ^ "5 recetas con gofio de La Gomera, el ingrediente canario más tradicional" [5 recipes with gofio from La Gomera, the most traditional Canarian ingredient] (in Spanish). El Español. 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  3. ^ ASALE, RAE-; RAE. "gofio | Diccionario de la lengua española". «Diccionario de la lengua española» - Edición del Tricentenario (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  4. ^ I·ATE Food Term of the Week: Gofio, 8 August 2020, Interactive Terminology for Europe