puerto ricon Cuisine

Puerto Rico is an island nation that is officially a territory of the United States. puerto ricon cuisine has evolved from several strong influences, including those of the original peoples, such as the Tainos, and the Spanish conquerors that drove most of the natives out and enslaved the remaining. African and Caribbean influence is also reflected in the cuisine of the island, which has also been shaped significantly by its climate and geology.

Cocina criolla, one of the main cuisine styles particular to the island has deep roots, extending far back to the native Tainos and Arawaks. Their culinary traditions were based tropical fruits, native vegetables, seafood, and corn. With the Spanish came a host of other ingredients that expanded the criolla style. These included olive oil, rice, wheat and meats, such as pork and beef. As enslaved African peoples were imported for work on the sugar cane plantations, their culinary traditions took root as well, and their contributions, which included taro and okra, became assimilated into the whole of criolla cuisine.

Many of the island’s main dishes are seasoned with adobo and sofrito, spice mixtures that impart those flavors that the island is so well known for. Adobo, which can vary from cook to cook, or if bought prepared, from manufacturer to manufacturer, generally consists of black peppercorns, oregano, salt, garlic, olive oil, and lime juice. When bought prepared in powdered form, most include salt, powdered garlic, citric acid, pepper, oregano, turmeric and MSG, which is a good reason to spend a little time making your own if experimenting with puerto ricon cuisine at home. While generally used for seasoning meats, it is considered to be a sort of all-purpose seasoning mixture.

Sofrito is made from onions, garlic, cilantro, peppers, and often includes achiote, which is from the seeds of the annatoo plant, and helps to produce a bright yellow color in the finished product. This, too, is used in a variety of dishes, ranging from meat dishes to soups to standard forms of beans and rice.

One pot dishes, or stews, are common to puerto ricon cuisine. These are often made of meats, and flavored with a variety of spices and ingredients in addition to adobo and sofrito. Among these are Spanish olives stuffed with pimiento, sweet chili peppers, capers, potatoes, onions, garlic, fresh cilantro, and occasionally raisins.

Chicken with rice is a dish that has become a puerto ricon specialty, with many families having their own special style, handed down from generation to generation. Chicken is a main ingredient of many criolla dishes, and these dishes, while careful attention is given to spicing techniques, rarely are they what could be termed hotly spiced.

Naturally, seafood is an important part of the island cuisine. Fried fish is often served with a special sauce made of olives, olive oil, onions, pimientos, capers, tomato sauce, vinegar, garlic and bay leaves. Broiled, steamed or grilled fish is lightly seasoned, if at all, during the cooking process and served with a splash of lime juice with perhaps just a hint of garlic.

puerto ricon cuisine has many facets, arising from the island’s long, complex history. The blend of native culinary traditions with those of the European settlers and the enslaved African populations that they brought with them has resulted in a unique and flavorful cuisine that is beloved by many.

About The Author Kirsten Hawkins is a food and nutrition expert specializing the Mexican, Chinese, and Italian food. Visit http://www.food-and-nutrition.com/ for more information on cooking delicious and healthy meals.

Recommended Reading

puerto ricon Cookery (Hardcover)

Review - I'm puerto ricon-American. My puerto ricon parents raised me in New Jersey on traditional puerto ricon food: arroz con pollo (rice with chicken cooked inside), pastales (puerto ricon tamales), relleno de papas (meat-filled potato dumplings), alcapurias (meat-filled hot-dog shaped fritters), pernil (pork roasted in the oven, as opposed to "lechon" which is pork roasted over fire), arroz con gandules (rice with beans -- one of several kinds of delicious beans), tostones y yuevos (fried plantan -- sweet soft yellow or salty firm -- with eggs), mofongo (a garlic-filled tostones ball mashed into a ball of delectable flavor), etc. Like a reader who posted here previously, I felt sad (and happy) when I first ate a dish prepared by my Taiwanese wife (a wonderful home chef) who followed the recipes in puerto ricon Cookery, a translation of Cocina Criolla, the most popular and traditional cookbook in Puerto Rico. When we visited my parents, who retired in Puerto Rico two weeks ago (Thanksgiving 2003), we were pleased to see both puerto ricon Cookery and it's original Cocina Criolla selling all over the island: all bookstores, tourists shops, the great fortresses of the island -- San Cristobal and El Morro, etc. Simply put, this book is 'THE DEFINITIVE puerto ricoN COOKBOOK -- acknowledged as the preeminent guide to puerto ricon cuisine in Puerto Rico itself. There are other good books sold in Puerto Rico, but even in Puerto Rico, puerto ricon Cookery (Cocina Criolla) is the unquestioned number one. My wife used it to make several dishes, and although I would not admit this to my mother, my Taiwanese wife out-puerto riconed my mother at the kitchen stove. Buy this wonderful book with "tus ojos cerrados" ("with your eyes closed"). That's a puerto ricon/Spanish idiom meaning that even a blind man or woman wouldn't go wrong in selecting this wonderful book. It was written by a puerto ricon matriarch of a great puerto ricon family, who was banished from the kitchen by her aristocratic puerto ricon family. (She is a relative of the 1950 oscar-winning puerto ricon actor, Jose Ferrer -- who won for his English-accented CIRENO DE BERGEAC) Her revenge, marry a man who loved to cook and embark on a life-long pursuit of anthologizing the island's best traditional dishes. The book is 10000% traditional. "Te lo prometo!" (I promise you!) If you buy one puerto ricon cookbook, buy the original Spanish "Cocina Criolla" or this 10000% faithful translation, Puerto-Rican Cookery. The instructions are step-by-step. You'll learn many recipes for Puerto-Rico's secret spice -- sofrito! :)

Review - This is the book you will need to cook true puerto ricon!!! Everyone either has this or the Spanish version, "Cocina Criolla." However, that said, you may want to update the amount of salt and fat. I for one don't eat pork... which is a staple in the puerto ricon diet, however noone has ever complained about my use of olive oil.

There are so many great recipes... arroz con gandules, arroz con pollo, tembleque, mojo isleo, tostones... it's all here!

Review - Long held as one of Puerto Rico's most influential cookbooks, this title was translated into English mostly for third and fourth generation folks living in "el Norte" and its peripheral markets. puerto ricon cuisine is an amalgamation of Spanish, African and Taino influences and while it has its similarities with other Caribbean islands, it holds its own with a perky and savory personality. puerto ricon Cookery shows it at its best.

This cookbook includes my entire childhood in food - from the traditions my great grandmother instilled in the family in El Barrio, to growing up in my grandmother's house in Puerto to the Christmas feasts in "el Campo."

The recipes have been contemporized because nobody has the time to soak beans overnight and cook for hours anymore, but the taste has not been compromised. That makes this book priceless. You can pick any recipe, duplicate it and make it smell like Mami's house!

Review - Deep fried?...lol...the person complaining about this as a health issue obviously doesn't know what puerto ricon cooking is then. Ive been eating my mom's cooking recipes from this book for years, and no one in my immediate family is overweight or obese or unhealthy. Sure things are fried but they are fried at very high heat which keeps the oil from setting in. Plus, puerto ricons don't die from fried foods like typical Americans because its different. They actually perform physical labor which uses up those calories, use olive and canola oil instead of your regular vegetable oil, and eat a balanced diet full of locally grown vegetables, fruits, and raised meat. If this person is judging this book becuase of their personal health concerns, then they probably need to judge your typical American cook books and see how unhealthy they are.