Puerto Rican cuisine

Cocina Criolla can be traced back to African, Taino and Spanish inhabitants of the island.
Although Puerto Rican cooking is somewhat similar to both Spanish and other Latin American cuisines, it has a unique blend of influences.

Puerto Rican Cuisine has its root in the cooking traditions and practices of Europe (mostly Spain), Africa and the native Taínos. Starting from the latter part of the 19th century, the cuisine of Puerto Rico has been greatly influenced by the United States in the ingredients used in its preparation. Puerto Rican cuisine has transcended the boundaries of the island and also has a lot of Asian influence especially Japanese and Chinese, and can be found in several other countries.

History

Puerto Rican cuisine has been influenced by an array of cultures including Taino Arawak, Spanish, African, and American.[1] Although Puerto Rican cooking is somewhat similar to both Spanish and other Latin American cuisine, it is a unique tasty blend of influences, using indigenous seasonings and ingredients. Locals call their cuisine cocina criolla. By the end of the nineteenth century, the traditional Puerto Rican cuisine was well established. By 1848 the first restaurant, La Mallorquina, opened in Old San Juan.[2] El Cocinero Puertorriqueño, the island's first cookbook, was published in 1849.[3] On November 1, 2004 a book titled Puerto Rico: Grand Cuisine of the Caribbean, was released in Spanish and English. The cookbook is a dedication to Puerto Rico's rich gastronomic and chefs sharing old and new recipes. The book features not only native Puerto Rican chefs but chefs from all over who have been influenced by Puerto Rico's cuisine calling it "the gastronomic capital of the Caribbean".[4]

Taino influences in Puerto Rican cuisine

See: Native American cuisine

Marinated cassava (Spanish: Yuca en escabeche)

From the diet of the Taíno (culturally related with the Maya and Carib peoples of Central America and the Caribbean) and Arawak people come many tropical roots and tubers (collectively called viandas) like malanga (Xanthosoma) and especially Yuca (cassava), from which thin cracker-like casabe bread is made. Ajicito or cachucha pepper, a slightly hot habanero pepper, recao/culantro (spiny leaf coriander), sarsaparilla, pimienta (allspice), achiote (annatto), peppers, ají caballero (the hottest pepper native to Puerto Rico), peanuts, guavas, pineapples, jicacos (cocoplum), quenepas (mamoncillo), lerenes (Guinea arrowroot), calabazas (West Indian pumpkin), and guanabanas (soursops) are all Taíno foods. The Taínos also grew varieties of beans and some maíz (corn/maize), but maíz was not as dominant in their cooking as it was for the peoples on the mainland of Mesoamerica. This is due to the frequent hurricanes that Puerto Rico experiences, which destroy crops of maíz, allowing more safeguarded plants like yuca conucos (hills of yuca grown together) to flourish. Maíz when used was frequently made into cornmeal and then into guanime, cornmeal mixed with mashed yautía and yuca and wrapped in corn husk or large leaves.

Cilantro leaves

Spanish/European influence

See: Spanish Cuisine

Spanish / European influence is also prominent in Puerto Rican cuisine. Wheat, chickpeas (garbanzos), black pepper, onions, garlic, cilantro (using plant and seeds in cooking), basil, sugarcane, citrus fruit, grapes, eggplant, lard, chicken, beef, pork, lamb, goat and dairy all came to Borikén (Puerto Rico's native Taino name) from Spain. The tradition of cooking complex stews and rice dishes in pots such as rice and beans are also thought to have originated in Europe (much like Italians, Spaniards, and the British). Olives, capers, and olive oil play a big part in Puerto Rican cooking, but cannot be grown under the tropical climate of the island. The island imported most of these foods from Spain along with some herbs. Early Dutch, French, Italian, and Chinese immigrants influenced not only the culture but Puerto Rican cooking as well. This great variety of traditions came together to form La Cocina Criolla.

Plantain "arañitas" and "tostones rellenos"

African influence

See: African cuisine

Coconuts, coffee (brought by the Arabs and Corsos to Yauco from Kafa, Ethiopia), orégano brujo, okra, tamarind, yams, sesame seeds, gandules (pigeon peas in English), many varieties of banana fruit, other root vegetables and Guinea hen, all came to Puerto Rico from, or at least through, Africa. African slaves also introduced the deep-frying of food.

United States influence

See: Cuisine of the United States

The US influence on the way Puerto Ricans cook their meals came about after Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States as a result of the Treaty of Paris of 1898. The most significant influence has to do with how people fry food. The early Spaniards brought olive oil for cooking and frying, but importing it from Spain made it very expensive, and cooks on the island shifted over to lard, which could be produced locally. For 50 to 60 years, corn oil produced in the United States took the place of lard for making cuchifritos.

Galletas de soda (soda crackers in tins, popularly known as export sodas from a popular brand name) are a U.S. product of the 19th and early 20th centuries that reproduce the crunchy texture of the earlier casabe bread, and can be kept crunchy in the tins in high tropical humidity.

American / streaky bacon has also played a big part in Puerto Rican cuisine. It is used in rice, stewed beans, and to stuff mofongo and meats such as whole chicken and the breast. Bacon in Puerto Rico has found its way into traditional foods such as arroz con gandules and potato salad. Another meat that has found its way onto the Puerto Rican table from the U.S. is turkey (pavo), which is not native to the island but a common holiday meal next to the older lechón, roasted whole and seasoned using either pernil or adobo, often served with a side of blood sausage and ripe plantains.

Latin American influence

See: Latin American cuisine

Parcha, Puerto Rican name for Passiflora edulis, passion fruit.

Other foods native to Latin America were brought to the island with the Spanish trade, such as cocoa, avocado, tomatoes, chayote, papaya, bell peppers and vanilla from Mexico and Central America. Potatoes and passion fruit were also brought over by the Spanish or Portuguese from Peru and Brazil.

Other influence

Panapén (breadfruit) was first imported into the British Caribbean colonies from the South Pacific as cheap slave food in the late 18th century. After spreading throughout the Antilles, panapén has also become an indispensable part of the Puerto Rican repertoire, in puddings, deep-fried tostones and making mofongo.

Basic ingredients

red kidney beans (habichuelas coloradas)
pigeon peas (gandules)

Grains and legumes

Herbs

Starchy tropical tubers

Yuca, Puerto Rican name for cassava.

Starchy tubers, starchy fruit, chayote, and squash are all known as viandas or verduras. There all treated the same. Whether boiled or made into chips and served with mojo or mashed with butter and milk. Mofongo is popular with all viandas but mostly plantain. They can be roasted, made into soups (especially cream soups), breads, pastelillos dough, or used in desserts.

Vegetables

Meats and poultry

Guinea Hen
Chorizo

Seafood and shellfish

On certain coastal towns of the island, such as Luquillo, Fajardo, and Cabo Rojo, seafood is quite popular, although much of it is imported. Only a tiny number of fishermen ply the waters off Puerto Rico today, and their catch never leaves their seacoast towns. The fact that the island sits next to the deepest part of the Atlantic means there is no wide continental shelf to foster a rich offshore fishery; neither are there any large rivers to dump extra nutrients into the sea that could build up a fish population.

Fruits

Fresh tropical fruit is important in the traditional daily diet in Puerto Rico

Acerola cherry
Green and red cubanelle peppers are used to make sofríto
Ajicitos / Cachucha or better known as Ají Dulce; Habanero chili pepper's mild cousin.
Ajíes caballero is a very hot pepper native to Puerto Rico. Also known as Puerto Rican Jelly Bean Hot Chili Pepper.

Starchy fruits

Mofongo made with green plantains

Condiments

Puerto Rican cooking has a large range of spices and seasoning due mostly to influence, this makes Puerto Rico one of the best in Latin fusion cooking. Caribbean and other curries can be found but not as common as sazón and adobo. Traditional cooking on the island uses more fresh and local ingredients such as citrus to make mojo and mojito isleño and especially fresh herbs, vegetables and peppers to make recaíto and sofrito. Star anise, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and other sweet spices are mainly used for drinks and desserts.

Puerto Rican dishes are well seasoned with combinations of flavorful spices. The base of many Puerto Rican main dishes involves sofrito, similar to the mirepoix of French cooking, or the "trinity" of Creole cooking. A proper sofrito is a sauté of freshly ground garlic, tomatoes, onions, recao/culantro, cilantro, red peppers, cachucha and cubanelle peppers. Sofrito is traditionally cooked with olive oil or annatto oil, tocino (bacon), salted pork and cured ham. A mix of stuffed olives and capers called alcaparrado are usually added with spices such as bay leaf, sazón and adobo.

Puerto Rican dishes

Although Puerto Rican diets can vary greatly from day to day and residents tend to indulge in a variety of cuisines, there are some markedly similar patterns to daily meals. Commonly breakfast is simple and small, consisting of coffee and a pastry such as quesitos, a flaky puff pastry filled with a sweet cheese. Dinners almost invariably include a meat, rice and beans.[1] This typical dinner structure leaves room for a plethora of options with choices of meat and rice preparation varying greatly. Traditionally, Puerto Ricans indulge in a wide array of nationalistic dishes as described below.

National dishes

Holy Week dishes

During Holy Week before and during Easter, people are encouraged to think more about spiritual matters and eat lightly. Rather than eat meat, they prepare dishes with fish, eggs and dairy.

Thanksgiving dishes

When Thanksgiving was first celebrated, Puerto Rico was not a part of the United States and did not recognize the holiday. After officially becoming a commonwealth, Thanksgiving was eagerly accepted by the people as their own and has become one of the most celebrated vacations (holidays) of the year. As many regions of the Continental United States have, they've also put their own twist on this classic American tradition.

Most American dishes have been adopted for this special day. Side dishes such as cornbread, roasted yams, mashed potatoes with gravy, hard apple cider, and cranberry sauce are a part of a Puerto Rican Thanksgiving menu.

Christmas dishes

Puerto Rican culture can be seen and felt all year-round, but it is on its greatest display during Christmas when people celebrate the traditional aguinaldo and parrandas – Puerto Rico's version of carol singing. Interestingly, Puerto Ricans celebrate what is probably the world's longest Christmas. The festivities get underway on 23 November and last until the end of January when the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián take place. Puerto Rican food is a main part of this celebration. Christmas expresses the best flavors of Puerto Rico with staple foods, textures, and tradition. Christmas food in Puerto Rico is meant to accommodate every palate.

Arroz con Gandules
Pasteles
Puerto Rican cuisine has several recipes for flan, including coffee, coconut cream, breadfruit, pineapple, pumpkin, carrot, cheese and many more.

Appetizers and fritters

Puerto Ricans have an obsession with fried food and pork. Most meals include fried appetizers, tostones being the island favorite, with rice and bean, stews, soups and other meals. Mofongo with fried pork with stews and soups. Small bit size pastelillos, empanadas or empanadillas are filled with cheese, pork, chicken or beef and can be a start to a meal. Puerto Rico has become popular for their fried food, which can be found in Cuba, Panama, Dominican Republic, and parts of the U.S.A.

Breakfast

Throughout the Caribbean and most of Latin America, it is a common practice to eat stews, fried plantains, rice, beans, flat breads wrapped with fish and boiled mashed plantains with eggs for breakfast. Puerto Rico has adopted a more traditional American breakfast menu including coffee and bread with butter or jam, pancakes, French toast, bacon, breakfast sausage, cold cereals, fresh fruit juice, eggs, and other favorites.

Along with the traditional breakfast favorites, Puerto Rico has added their own flair to the table.

Lunch and dinner

Lunch and dinner in Puerto Rico is not particularly spicy, but sweet-sour combinations are popular. Vinegar, sour orange, and lime juice lend a sour touch while dried or fresh fruits add a sweet balance to dishes. Adobo, sofríto and annatto are used in most dishes. Fast food and diners are common for a quick lunch. Food trucks parked on the side of the street that serve sandwiches, churrasco, juices, and soft drinks. The tropical heat hasn't stopped Puerto Ricans from enjoying a good hot soup, usually with tostones, bread, or slices of avocado on top. Some fritters, like almojábanas and yuca con mojo among others, are served with rice, beans, and meat or fish. Slow cooked recaíto and tomato-based stews are a staple in Puerto Rican cooking, served with a side of white rice, salad, and usually something fried like mofongo. Women can be seen in streets, on beaches, and sides of the roads frying a variety of fritters like alcapurrias and bacalaítos. Jucies, piña colada, hotchata and sodas can also be brought at these locations.

Breads, pastries and sweets

Beverages

Piña Colada

Puerto Rico has a lush tropical climate and due to this fruits, sugar, and coffee grown wild. Coffee is the start of most Puerto Rican homes usually enjoyed with milk and sugar. Fresh fruit drinks and smoothies are typical in restaurants, stands, and homes. There are many drinks that include spices such as coquito, ajonjolí, and mavi. Soft drinks are enjoyed Coco Rico (a company from Puerto Rico that created and produces tropical fruit flavored soft drinks), Kola Champagne, and Malta.

Rum is the islands national drink and over 70% of the rum in the U.S.A comes from Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican rum is the biggest and best rum-producing nations in the world. Puerto Rican rum is considered the second best quality in the world after Cuban rum.

Kiosks

Alcapurrias
Taquitos

The Luquillo kiosks (or kioskos) are a much loved part of Puerto Rico. Everywhere in Puerto Rico, rustic stalls displaying all kinds fritters under heat lamps or behind a glass pane. Kiosks, are a much-frequented, time-honored, and integral part to a day at the beach and the culinary culture of the island. Fresh octopus and conch salad are frequently seen. Much larger kiosks serve hamburgers, local/Caribbean fusion, Thai, Italian, Mexican and even Peruvian food. This mixing of the new cuisine and the classic Puerto Rican food. Alcoholic beverage are a big part of kiosks with most kiosks having a signature drink.

Puerto Rican food outside the archipelago

Cuchifritos (carnitas) in New York
Jibarito and rice

 Puerto Rican Cookbooks

Cookbooks provide a window into the rich history and culture of a region, and as food policy and nutrition scholar, Melissa Fuster, states “they provide prescriptions for specific dishes and, in some cases, directives on what constitutes a proper meal.” One famous and intently studied Puerto Rican cookbook titled Cocina Criolla by Carmen Valldejuli, does just that.  As revealed in Fuster’s article, Writing Cuisine in the Spanish Caribbean: A Comparative Analysis of Iconic Puerto Rican and Cuban Cooks, the cookbook not only has numerous chapters with dozens of recipes dedicated to soups, meats, pasta, sauces, sweets, breads and so on, but it opens with chapters that introduce the reader to the home cook and cooking as an experience. The reader learns that this book was written to act as an instructional manual to be used. Moreover, as Fuster details, cookbook author Valldejuli comes from an elite background, which is mimicked in the sheer number of recipes she includes.[9]

Chefs

  • Edgardo Noel – Famous television chef, known for "Cocina al Dia" and "Cocinando y Cantando".
  • Dora Romano – author of "Cocine Conmigo" written in 1970.
  • Carmen Valldejuli – author of Cocina Criolla / Puerto Rican Cookery written in 1954.
  • Berta Canabillas – author of Puerto Rican Dishes written in 1993.
  • Daisy Martinez – author of Daisy Cooks: Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World written in 2005 and Daisy: Morning, Noon and Night written in 2010. Television host of Daisy Cooks! on PBS and ¡Viva Daisy! on the food network.
  • Oswald Rivera – author of Puerto Rican Cuisine in America: Nuyorican and Bodega Recipes written in 2002.
  • Yvonne Ortiz – author of A Taste of Puerto Rico: Traditional and New Dishes from the Puerto Rican Community written in 1997.
  • Maria Perez – author of Tropical Cooking Made Easy written in 2007.
  • Elizabeth B. K. Dooley – author of Puerto Rican Cook Book written in 1948.
  • Wilo Benet – author of Puerto Rico True Flavors written in 2007. Competed on Top Chef Masters.
  • Giovanna Huyke – Famous television chef
  • Luis Antonio Cosme – Famous Puerto Rican actor and television chef

    See also

    References

    1. 1 2 Albala, Ken (2011). Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia. Greenwood. p. 656 via Temple University.
    2. Porter, Darwin; Prince, Danforth (2007-06-25). Frommer's Portable Puerto Rico. Wiley. ISBN 9780470100523.
    3. Ortiz, Yvonne. A Taste of Puerto Rico: Traditional and New Dishes from the Puerto Rican Community. Penguin group, 1997. P. 3
    4. de Villegas, Jose (2004). Puerto Rico: Grand Cuisine of the Caribbean. La Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. ISBN 9780847704156.
    5. "Comfort food like none other". La Salita Cafe. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
    6. "Regresa el Festival de la Almojábana en Lares". Retrieved 2015-10-06.
    7. Halpern, Ashlea (April 30, 2014). "18 Things to Eat, Buy and Do in Puerto Rico - Casa Cortés ChocoBar". Bon Appetit. Condé Nast.
    8. "Jibarito Sandwich: What You Need To Know". Retrieved 2016-04-28.
    9. Fuster, Melissa (2015). "Writing Cuisine in the Spanish Caribbean: A Comparative Analysis of Iconic Puerto Rican and Cuban Cookbooks". Food, Culture & Society. 18: 659–680.
    • The Rican Chef – Recipes from the cultural magazine El Boricua, Puerto Rico
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