Foods considered ethnic are produced and consumed in a specific region. As well it has been documented that consumers expresses fear of the intention of eating new foods. Furthermore, the perception of the Mexican consumers toward ethnic foods has been scarcely studied. The aim of this work was to explore the perception toward Sende-a traditional ethnic Mazahua beverage of low alcoholic content, produced from germinated corn, dried, cooked and fermented-using word association (WA) and Food Neophobia Scale (FNS). A questionnaire was designed and applied to 160 people in a locality in Central Mexico where, traditionally, this beverage is produced. The mean of FNS was 26.70, which suggests that food neophobia level in the sample under study was low. Through WA, 13 categories were obtained which reflect the perception toward the beverage. By means of cluster analysis, three groups were obtained, which presented differences in FNS and the categories obtained through WA. These results may serve to promote and foster the consumption of traditional ethnic foods, which are not familiar for the population, this with a view to increasing the number of new producing establishments, improving profitability and developing the local economy. Practical applications There is a wide range of traditional ethnic foods in Mexico. However, many are unknown to the population and are falling in disuse, which could lead to their disappearance. The results of this work might help local producers or institutions from different regions of the country to promote their gastronomic heritage, particularly their traditional ethnic foods. Furthermore, this research shows that young people may be more interested in trying and consuming this type of food products. In that sense, campaigns to promote and disseminate ethnic foods could focus on this consumer sector considering their levels of acceptance or rejection when consuming little known or non diet food products. 1 | INTRODUCTION Food is a fundamental part of any society's culture. The relation between edible natural resources and technological development has evolved and influenced what we eat, the way our foods are obtained and the methods to prepare them (Meléndez & Cañez, 2010). Each country or region configures food characteristics on the basis of cultural components associated with the individuals' consumption patterns which, gradually, become their traditional cuisine. Traditional foods are part of a cultural model, as they comprise ancestral culinary

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The aims of this research were (i) to study with a sample of Argentine consumers the representations of traditional gastronomy through the free listing method; (ii) to identify consumers’ typologies according to their representation of traditional gastronomy; and (iii) to establish some methodological implications using the free listing in the study of the gastronomic field. A survey was conducted in which 249 Argentines from the Littoral area were recruited. Through a free listing task, participants were asked to mention the main foods or dishes of Argentina’s gastronomy. Twenty-eight foods, dishes or food categories were obtained that are part of the representations of Argentina’s gastronomy. The results showed a strong connection between gastronomy and the representations of the consumers with the “Asado” (CSI = 0.289, Smith = 0.613), the traditional and characteristic food of Argentine gastronomy. Three groups of consumers were identified, presenting differences in the representation of traditional gastronomy (p < 0.05). This work is pioneering for studying gastronomy representations from the consumers’ language through the free listing method using the case of traditional Argentine gastronomy. Future directions of free listing in the gastronomic field are identified and discussed.

The aims of this research are i) to use the free listing method to explore the cultural domain associated with Argentina’s gastronomy and ii) to establish methodological implications on its use in the study of gastronomic field. A survey was conducted in which 249 Argentines from the Littoral area were recruited. Through a free listing task, participants were asked to mention the main foods or dishes of Argentina’s gastronomy. The indexes of Smith and Borgatti [1] and Sutrop [2] were calculated to identify the cognitive and attitudinal importance of the participants towards their gastronomy. Twenty-eight foods, dishes or food categories were obtained that are part of the representations towards Argentina’s gastronomy. The results showed a strong connection between gastronomy and the representations of the consumers with "Asado" (CSI = 0.289, Smith = 0.613), the traditional and characteristic food of Argentina’s gastronomy. Through Cluster Analysis, three groups of consumers were identified, all of which presented differences in the frequency of representation (P < 0.05) of the products obtained through the free listing. Correspondence Analysis allows to corroborate the foods with the highest representation among the identified groups, which suggests that the free listing method combined with the statistical methods used can contribute to understanding food representations through the study of gastronomy. This work is pioneering for the study of the representations of gastronomy from the language of consumers through the free listing method. Future directions of the use of free listing in the gastronomic field are identified and discussed.