--- title: Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019. description: In this Daily, we talk about food in Costa Rica, taking a look at the many environments in the country and learning how Costa Rica's ecosystems create unique biodiversity comparable to anywhere else i image: https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/45323749_122396742098291_9197570128367576208_n-600x600-1.jpg --- # Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019. [mailto:?subject=I%20wanted%20you%20to%20see%20this%20site&body=https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-july-23rd-2019](mailto:?subject=I%20wanted%20you%20to%20see%20this%20site&body=https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-july-23rd-2019) [Book](https://www.lascatalinascr.com/section/booking) In this Daily: Food in Costa Rica, Exploring the Country’s Native Ingredients Tonight, Chef Gilberto Briceño hosts “Native Terroir”, a Pop-Up Dinner focused on the native ingredients that can add some color and flavor to food in Costa Rica. [Join him at 6pm this evening](mailto:concierge@lascatalinascr.com) in the Beach Club to take a culinary adventure through the country, exploring ingredients found in the wildest, most untouched parts of the country as well as some that can be found right here in town.  In a previous Daily we talked about [Chef Briceño’s journey around the world](http://blog.lascatalinascr.com/daily-june-11th-2019/), one that ultimately lead him back to Costa Rica to start Vestigio Creativo and culminated in his arrival in Las Catalinas. Today, we take a look at the vibrant landscape that has brought Chef Briceño so much inspiration, taking a little look at why Costa Rica is such a hotbed for interesting ingredients. ### ![Food in Costa Rica, Wildlife Costa Rica, Costa Rica Map](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Map-numbering-the-Holdridge-life-zones-in-Costa-Rica-600x566-1.png?width=477&height=450&name=Map-numbering-the-Holdridge-life-zones-in-Costa-Rica-600x566-1.png) ### Microclimates and Biodiversity | The Native Ingredients That Inspire Food in Costa Rica Thanks to its unique topography and positioning -- between the trade wind currents and two separate oceans, Costa Rica has more microclimates per square mile than almost any other country in the world.  There are many groupings of these different ecosystems in Costa Rica, but many experts dividing different environments into twelve main categories -- lowland tropical forest, tropical dry forest, cloud forest, highland mountain rainforest, páramo, semi-deciduous mid-elevation forest, mangrove forest, wetlands, coral reef, carribean coastline, pacific coastline, and shallow seas.  The map above shows almost 30, even excluding the aquatic ecosystems, spread across about 400 discrete sectors.  This is one of the many reasons that Costa Rica is the home to so much biodiversity, hosting almost 6% of the world’s different species of life within about .04% of the world’s landmass. With so many different types of environments, and the countless blends of ecosystems that exist at their borders, it’s no surprise that Costa Rica has given rise to millions of species each uniquely suited to living here.  ![Costa Rican Vegetables, Costa Rican Fruits, Food in Costa Rica](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/45323749_122396742098291_9197570128367576208_n-600x600-1.jpg?width=470&height=470&name=45323749_122396742098291_9197570128367576208_n-600x600-1.jpg) It’s against this landscape that Chef Briceño works to find new and fascinating ingredients, speaking with locals around the country to discover fruits and vegetables that you would probably never find on supermarket shelves. In many cases, finding these ingredients is like a trip to the past, discovering local histories and meeting the farmers who have cultivated these products for generations.  Tonight, take this trip with Chef Briceño, and have a taste of what the native ingredients of Costa Rica have to offer.  ## See related posts ## [Sunday, August 11th, 2019.](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-august-11th-2019) [In this Daily: Día de la Madre (Costa Rican Mother’s Day) and the Week Ahead](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-august-11th-2019) [Read more](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-august-11th-2019) ## [Monday, November 18th, 2019.](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-november-18th-2019) [In this Daily: The Pura Vida Ride Paddle Battle and the Intrepid Challenge](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-november-18th-2019) [Read more](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-november-18th-2019) ## [Wednesday, August 28th, 2019.](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-august-28th-2019) [In this Daily: A Look at the National Parks of Costa Rica](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-august-28th-2019) [Read more](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-august-28th-2019) ## [Monday, September 23rd, 2019.](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-september-23rd-2019) [In this Daily: The Monkeys of Guanacaste](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-september-23rd-2019) [Read more](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-september-23rd-2019) #### Subscribe to The Blog, The Daily, The Newsletter, and more Additionally you will receive our occasional newsletter. 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