The internet is the perfect place to seek out unusual recipes, order hard-to-find ingredients, and research cuisines. The global marketplace has made products from other countries increasingly available. I have listed some of my favorites sites here - ones that I keep bookmarked and return to again and again. Some of these sites are recipe archives, some are online food stores, and some are great blogs about South American food.
1. Latin Merchant
This online grocery store features food products from Central and South American countries. Here you can find candy, dried peppers, Goya products, exotic corn (such as dried purple corn), manioc meal, masarepa, yerba mate, and guava and quince pastes.2. Amigo Foods
This store has an enormous selection of foods and ingredients from Central and South American countries. It's very comprehensive and easy to navigate. I especially like the Brazilian section, where you can find everything you need to make pao de queijo, including the special cheese (queso minas), plus many other interesting products and ingredients.3. Mama Tina's (Peruvian)
This is the place for specialty Peruvian products, especially great for homesick Peruvian expats. Shop for aji pastes, cancha, and papas secas.
4. Ecuadorian Food Delivery
Ecuadorian Food Delivery specialized in frozen prepared foods, as well as a great selection of frozen fruit concentrates and pulps, and some specialty flours (like harina pan for making arepas). Some examples of the frozen foods available include empanadas, tostones, yucca bread, and tamales.5. Goya
Although you can't able to order their products from the site, you can find a store that carries them. This extensive site has many recipes sorted by region, and an informative list of their products.6. Center for the Foods of the Americas
This educational site comes from the Culinary Institure of America. The Center for the Foods of the Americas researches traditional Latin American cooking methods and ingredients, and attempts to preserve them as well as follow their evolution through modern times. This is a fascinating site, which you can see a video about the nixtamalization of corn, download a booklet of Peruvian recipes, and see a beautiful slideshow of Brazilian food.
