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The cuisine of Puerto Rico has its roots in the cuisine of Spain and West Africa. The cuisine also differs from that of other Latin countries and the United States. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb[1] West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ...

History

The cuisines of Spain, Africa, all have had an impact on how food is prepared in Puerto Rico. Some dishes also show traces of the island's original inhabitants, the Taíno Indians. Spanish cuisine is made of very different kinds of dishes due to the differences in geography, culture and climate. ... Cuisine of Africa reflects indigenous traditions, as well as influences from Arabs, Europeans, and Asians. ... For other uses, see Taino (disambiguation). ...

Taino influences

From the diet of the Taíno Arawak people come many tropical roots and tubers like yautía (taro) and especially Yuca (Yuca), from which thin cracker-like casabe bread is made. Ajíes (a small sweet pepper, it should not be confused with the hot pepper), recao/culantro (spiny leaf), achiote (annatto), peanuts, guavas, pineapples, jicacos (cocoplum), quenepas (mamincillo), lerenes (Guinea arrowroot), calabazas (tropical pumpkins), 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 living on the mainland of Mesoamerica. This is due to the frequent hurricanes that Puerto Rico experiences, which destroy crops of maíz, leaving more safeguarded plants like conucos (hills of yuca grown together). This article is about the plant. ... A Casabe is a kind of tortilla. ... Binomial name Jacq. ... Binomial name Eryngium foetidum L. Eryngium foetidum (also known as Bhandhanya, Chandon benit, Culantro, Fitweed, Long coriander, Mexican coriander, Wild coriander, Recao, Spiritweed, Ngo gai, Sawtooth, and Saw-leaf herb), is a tropical perennial and annual herb in the family Apiaceae. ... Bixin, the major apocarotinoid of annatto Annatto, sometimes called Roucou, is a derivative of the achiote trees of tropical regions of the Americas, used to produce a red food coloring and also as a flavoring. ... This article is about the legume. ... Species About 100 species, see text. ... Binomial name Ananas comosus The Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a tropical plant and its fruit, native to Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. ... Binomial name (L.) L. The cocoplum (Chrysobalanus icaco) is a shrub (1 to 3 m) or bushy tree (2 to 6 m, rarely to 10 m) that is found near sea beaches and inland throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including southern Florida. ... Binomial name Melicoccus bijugatus P.Browne The Mamoncillo Melicoccus bijugatus, also known as the Quenepa, Chenet, Genip, Spanish Lime, or Kinnip, is a fruit-bearing tree in the soapberry family Sapindaceae, native to a wide area of the American tropics including Central America, Colombia and the Caribbean. ... Binomial name Maranta arundinacea L. Arrowroot, or obedience plant, (Maranta arundinacea) is a large perennial herb of genus Maranta found in rainforest habitats. ... Binomial name Annona muricata L. The Soursop, Guanábana or Corossol (Annona muricata) is a broadleaf flowering evergreen tree native to the Caribbean, Central and South America, from Brazil north to the West Indies. ... This article is on the plant. ... This article is about the maize plant. ...

Spanish influences

See: Spanish Cuisine
Spanish cuisine consists of a small variety of dishes which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. ...

Spanish influence is also seen in Puerto Rican cuisine. Wheat bread, garbanzos, olives, Olive Oil, pimento peppers, onions, garlic, cilantro, oregano, basil, sugarcane, oranges, grapefruits, eggplants, ham, lard, chicken, beef, and cheese Binomial name L. Common wheat, Triticum aestivum, (also known as bread wheat) is a cultivated wheat species. ... Binomial name Cicer arietinum L. Percentages are relative to US RDI values for adults. ... For the Italian political alliance see Olive Tree, and the color, olive (color). ... For the Popeye character, see Olive Oyl. ... Compact orange pepper plants in the genus Capsicum. ... For the parody newspaper, see The Onion. ... Binomial name L. Allium sativum L., commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. ... Binomial name Coriandrum sativum Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is an annual herb commonly used in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Indian, Latin American and Southeast Asian cooking. ... Binomial name Origanum vulgare L. Oregano or Pot Marjoram (Origanum vulgare) is a species of Origanum, native to Europe, the Mediterranean region and southern and central Asia. ... For other uses, see Basil (disambiguation). ... Species Saccharum arundinaceum Saccharum bengalense Saccharum edule Saccharum officinarum Saccharum procerum Saccharum ravennae Saccharum robustum Saccharum sinense Saccharum spontaneum Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall perennial grasses (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae), native to warm temperate to tropical... Orange blossoms and oranges on tree For other uses of orange, see orange (disambiguation) The Orange Citrus x sinensis is a Citrus tree, and the fruits of this tree. ... Binomial name Macfad. ... Binomial name Solanum melongena Solanum esculentum An eggplant or aubergine is either of two species of nightshade, Solanum melongena and , bearing large pendulous purple or white fruit. ... This article is about the cut of meat. ... This article is about the fat. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Beef (disambiguation). ... Cheese is a solid food made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep, and other mammals. ...

African influences

Coconuts, coffee (brought by the Arabs and Corsos to Yauco from Kafa, Ethiopia), okra, yams, sesame seeds, gandules (pigeon peas or Congo peas, in English) sweet bananas, plantains, and malanga all come to Puerto Rico from Africa. African cooks introduced a preference for deep frying food. The tradition of cooking complex stews and rice dishes in iron pots such as rice and beans are also thought to be originally African. A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

United States influences

The last century of association with the United States has also impacted Puerto Rican cooking traditions and favorite foods. The most significant 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. In the last 50-60 years, corn oil produced in the United States has taken the place of lard for making cuchifritos and alcapurrias. There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

Salchichas (canned Vienna sausages) were introduced in about 1898;, today, they are scrambled with eggs and cooked in other dishes. Galletas de soda (soda crackers in tins) are an American 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.

From the tropical American mainland also come parcha (passionfruit), cocoa, papaya, tomatoes, and avocados. 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, both in puddings and crunchy, deep-fried tostones. The fruit of Passiflora edulis Passion fruit (Portuguese: Maracuj ) comes from passion flower vines, plants of the genus Passiflora, native to tropical and sub-tropical America. ... Binomial name L. This article is about the fruit. ... Binomial name Mill. ... Binomial name Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg The Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a tree and fruit native to the Malay Peninsula and western Pacific islands. ... Binomial name Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg The Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a tree and fruit native to the Malay Peninsula and western Pacific islands. ...

Basic Ingredients

Grains and Legumes

• Rice
• Beans
• Pigeon peas
• Pink beans

For other uses, see Rice (disambiguation). ... This article is on the plant. ... Binomial name (L.) Millsp. ... Navy Bean redirects here. ...

Starchy tropical tubers

• Yautía - Taro
• Yuca - similar to a potato but more starchy. Usually boiled or Fried/ eaten by Brazilians commonly as well
• Sweet potato
• Boniato - Another kind of sweet potato
• Yam
• Malanga

Yuca or Yuka has been used as a semi despective term reffering to Metal and Rock music derivations and their followers (called Yuqueros). The term is used in Latin American countrys, thought most popularly in Venezuela. ... Binomial name (L.) Lam. ... Binomial name L. “Camote” redirects here. ... Yams at Brixton market Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae). ... There is also a Malanga in Gabon, see Malanga, Gabon Malanga (Xanthosoma Species), also known as coco, cocoyam, tannia, tannier, yautia, and other names, is a root vegetable from the arum lily family, similar to taro. ...

Vegetables

• Eggplant
• West Indian pumpkin
• Apios - Not to be confused with celery
• Chayote
• Lerenes - Sweet corn root (Calathea allouia)

Aubergine redirects here. ... For other uses, see Pumpkin (disambiguation). ... Binomial name (Jacq. ...

Meats and Poultry

• Pork
• Ham
• Steak
• Chicken
• Turkey
• Guinea hen - More common in rural areas than urban ones

For other uses, see Pork (disambiguation). ... This article is about the cut of meat. ... A steak (from Old Norse steik, roast) is a slice from a larger piece of meat, typically from red meat like beef, or fish. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Genera  Agelastes  Numida  Guttera  Acryllium The guineafowl are a family of birds in the same order as the pheasants, turkeys and other game birds. ...

Seafood and shellfish

• West Indian Great Land Crab
• Salt codfish
• Octopus
• Conch
• Shrimp
• Chapín (Trunkfish)
• Oysters
• Cod

For other uses, see Crab (disambiguation). ... Species Gadus morhua Gadus macrocephalus Gadus ogac Cod is the common name for the genus Gadus of fishes, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name of a variety of other fishes. ... For other uses, see Octopus (disambiguation). ... Species Strombus gigas Strombus luhuanus Strombus pugilis Strombus tricornis Strombus canarium Strombus dolomena Strombus gibberulus Strombus conomurex Strombus lentigo Strombus doxander Strombus urceus Strombus fragilis Strombus gallus Strombus dentatus Strombus marginatus Strombus raninus Strombus buvonius A conch (pronounced in the U.S.A. as konk or conch, IPA: or ) [1... Superfamilies Alpheoidea Atyoidea Bresilioidea Campylonotoidea Crangonoidea Galatheacaridoidea Nematocarcinoidea Oplophoroidea Palaemonoidea Pandaloidea Pasiphaeoidea Procaridoidea Processoidea Psalidopodoidea Stylodactyloidea True shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. ... The name oyster is used for a number of different groups of mollusks which grow for the most part in marine or brackish water. ... COD may refer to many different topics, including: Cash on delivery Completion of discharge, shipping College of DuPage, a public Junior College with campuses in the suburbs of Chicago Call of Duty (series), a series of computer games Canadian Oxford Dictionary Carrier onboard delivery Catastrophic optical damage, a failure mode...

Fruits

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

• Bananas
• Papaya
• Mango
• Guineos niños - Finger-size sweet bananas
• Oranges
• Grapefruit
• Key limes
• Guava
• Tamarind
• Passion fruit
• Mamey (Summer only)
• Soursop
• Quenepas (Summer only).
• Avocado

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Binomial name L. This article is about the fruit. ... Species About 35 species, including: Mangifera altissima Mangifera applanata Mangifera caesia Mangifera camptosperma Mangifera casturi Mangifera decandra Mangifera foetida Mangifera gedebe Mangifera griffithii Mangifera indica Mangifera kemanga Mangifera laurina Mangifera longipes Mangifera macrocarpa Mangifera mekongensis Mangifera odorata Mangifera pajang Mangifera pentandra Mangifera persiciformis Mangifera quadrifida Mangifera siamensis Mangifera similis Mangifera... Orange blossoms and oranges on tree For other uses of orange, see orange (disambiguation) The Orange Citrus x sinensis is a Citrus tree, and the fruits of this tree. ... Binomial name Macfad. ... Binomial name Citrus aurantiifolia (Christm. ... Species About 100 species, see text. ... Binomial name L. This article refers to the tree. ... The fruit of Passiflora edulis Passion fruit (Portuguese: Maracuj ) comes from passion flower vines, plants of the genus Passiflora, native to tropical and sub-tropical America. ... A Mamey sapote (Pouteria sapota) is a fruit common in many Latin American countries and widely enjoyed by Cubans living in Cuba and south Florida. ... Binomial name Annona muricata L. The Soursop, Guanábana or Corossol (Annona muricata) is a broadleaf flowering evergreen tree native to the Caribbean, Central and South America, from Brazil north to the West Indies. ... Binomial name Melicoccus bijugatus P.Browne The Mamoncillo Melicoccus bijugatus, also known as the Quenepa, Chenet, Genip, Spanish Lime, or Kinnip, is a fruit-bearing tree in the soapberry family Sapindaceae, native to a wide area of the American tropics including Central America, Colombia and the Caribbean. ... Binomial name Mill. ...

Starchy Fruits

• Plantains
• Breadfruit

Plantain is the common name for two very different plants. ... Binomial name Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg The Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a tree and fruit native to the Malay Peninsula and western Pacific islands. ...

Spices and Seasonings

• Adobo - A mix of garlic, onion powder, oregano sometimes, and other items
• Alcaparrado - A mix of green olives, pimentos, and capers
• Achiote or Bija - annatto (Bixa orellana)
• Recao/Culantro - Green spiny leaf
• Garlic
• Onions
• Cooking sweet peppers (Capsicum chinense Aji dulce)
• Sofrito - A mixture of sweet peppers, onions, recao/culantro, garlic, olive oil, and other spices
• Oregano
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Sazón - a seasoning mix consisting of a blend of different spices, often used with sofrito to season when cooking

Chicken Adobo. ... Bixin, the major apocarotinoid of annatto Annatto, sometimes called Roucou, is a derivative of the achiote trees of tropical regions of the Americas, used to produce a red food coloring. ... Binomial name Eryngium foetidum L. Eryngium foetidum (also known as Bhandhanya, Chandon benit, Culantro, Fitweed, Long coriander, Mexican coriander, Wild coriander, Recao, Spiritweed, Ngo gai, Sawtooth, and Saw-leaf herb), is a tropical perennial and annual herb in the family Apiaceae. ... Binomial name L. Allium sativum L., commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. ... For the parody newspaper, see The Onion. ... Species C. annuum (incl. ... Sofrito is a Spanish word for a well cooked and fragrant sauce. ... Binomial name Origanum vulgare L. Oregano or Pot Marjoram (Origanum vulgare) is a species of Origanum, native to Europe, the Mediterranean region and southern and central Asia. ... Binomial name J.Presl Cassia (Chinese cinnamon) is also commonly called (and sometimes sold as) cinnamon. ... For other uses, see Nutmeg (disambiguation). ...

Puerto Rican Dishes

Puerto Rican dishes are well seasoned with combinations of flavorful spices, though they are not as spicy as dishes from Mexico, India, or parts of China. 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 chopped garlic, onions, recao/culantro (not cilantro, but a similarly flavored green leaf), a sweet pepper like Italian cooking peppers, tomatoes, and small chunks of fatback bacon. Sofrito is a Spanish word for a well cooked and fragrant sauce. ... Mirepoix is the French name for a combination of onions, carrots and celery (either common Pascal celery or celeriac). ... Dishes typical of Creole food Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana (centered on the Greater New Orleans area) that blends French, Spanish, French Caribbean, African, and American influences. ... Binomial name Eryngium foetidum L. Eryngium foetidum (also known as Bhandhanya, Chandon benit, Culantro, Fitweed, Long coriander, Mexican coriander, Wild coriander, Recao, Spiritweed, Ngo gai, Sawtooth, and Saw-leaf herb), is a tropical perennial and annual herb in the family Apiaceae. ... Binomial name Coriandrum sativum Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is an annual herb commonly used in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Indian, Latin American and Southeast Asian cooking. ...

Staples

• Arroz Con Gandules - Puerto Rico's national dish, it is a rice-and-pigeon-pea dish seasoned with sofrito and smoked ham.
• Arroz Con Habichuelas - Literally "rice and beans", this dish is so common that the phrase "rice and beans" means essentially the same as "our daily bread" in northern countries. Dried pink beans are slowly stewed with chunks of calabaza (tropical pumpkin) flavored with a sofrito base, and then ladled over a mound of rice. Sticky medium-grained rice is more popular in Puerto Rico than long grain rice.
• Plaintains - Almost as popular as arroz y habichuelas are plátanos (plantains, or cooking bananas. They are daily fare, whether cooked green, deep-fried and mashed as tostones, or boiled and seasoned with escabeche. They can be let to mature until they are spotted outside and golden inside, and then deep-fried as maduros or amarillos. Sometimes they are baked instead of deep-fried.
• Empanadillas de carne/mariscos/queso - Meat, seafood, or cheese turnovers usually called "empanadas" in other Spanish-speaking countries. On the eastern side of the island empanadillas are known as pastelillos, although pastelillo also refers to a pastry turnover.
• Mofongo - Mofongo is a popular Afro-Boricua dish, made from fried green plantains seasoned with garlic, olive oil and pork cracklings, then mashed. Mofongo is usually served with a fried meat and a fish broth soup.
• Seafood - 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. Popular seafood include bacalao (codfish), chapín (tropical fish), pulpo (octopus, not always canned), carrucho (conch), camarones (shrimp), langosta (lobster) (most commonly caught in the surrounding waters), and jueyes (crabs).
• Alcapurrias - This food consists of a seasoned meat or crab filling wrapped in a seasoned dough of mashed green bananas and taro root (yautía), which is then deep fried.
• Arepas/Domplines - These are fried rounds of flour-based dough. Sometimes they can contain coconut (known as arepas de coco). They are sometimes stuffed with seafood.
• Bacalaitos Fritos - These are fritters made from a pancake-like batter containing codfish, flour, and seasoning.
• Morcilla - A type of blood sausage.
• Surullos - Fried corn meal logs, sometimes stuffed with cheese
• Queso Frito - Fried Cheese

Sofrito is a Spanish word for a well cooked and fragrant sauce. ... Plantain is the common name for two very different plants. ... In South America, particularly Argentina, and Spain, an empanada is essentially a stuffed pastry. ... Morcilla cocida: Spanish-style blood sausage Blood sausage or black pudding or blood pudding is a sausage made by cooking down the blood of an animal with meat, fat or filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. ...

Holiday dishes

• Stuffed Turkey - From November to January Puerto Ricans enjoy holiday parties and large family dinners almost daily, starting with the Thanksgiving turkey which is stuffed with a ground beef and/or pork mixture containing almonds, raisins, olives, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, and garlic. Instead of the thin slices seen in the North, a baked turkey in Puerto Rico is often cut into large blocks or chunks to be served on a plate. Rice is a mandatory course in dishes such as Arroz con Gandules (rice with pigeon peas), Arroz con Tocino (rice with bacon), Arroz Mamposteao, and the sweet dessert Arroz con Dulce (rice pudding).

• Roasted Pork - Pork is central to Puerto Rican holiday cooking, especially the lechón (spit-roasted piglet). Holiday feasts might include several pork dishes, such as pernil (a baked fresh ham shoulder seasoned in garlic and oregano), morcilla (a black blood sausage), tripa (tripe), jamón con piña (ham and pineapple), gandinga (stewed pork innards) and chuletas ahumadas (smoked cutlets).

• Pasteles - For many Puerto Rican families, the quintessential holiday season dish is pasteles, which English-speakers often literally translate to "cakes". Pasteles are not a sweet pastry or cake, but a soft dough-like mass wrapped in a banana or plantain leaf and boiled. In the center of the dough are choice pieces of chopped meat, chicken, raisins, spices, olives, red peppers and often a garbanzo bean. Puerto Rican pasteles are similar in shape, size, and cooking technique to Mexican tamales. The dough in a Mexican tamal is made from corn meal; while in a Puerto Rican pastel it is made from either green bananas and/or starchy tropical roots. The wrapper in a Mexican tamal is a corn shuck or a banana leaf; the wrapper in a Puerto Rican pastel is a banana leaf. Pasteles also use different spices than tamales. The making of pasteles is a labor-intensive social activity. Many family members will get together for hours or days to make dozens to hundreds of pasteles to share with friends and loved ones. Pasteles from the Island are often shipped overseas packed in dry ice during the long Christmas season. They are received as a nostalgic, much treasured gift.

• Sweets - Sweets are common in Puerto Rican cuisine. During the holidays, the most popular are deserts such as Arroz con Dulce (sweet rice pudding), Budín de Pan (bread pudding), Barriguitas de Vieja (deep-fried sweet pumpkin fritters), Tembleque (coconut pudding), Flan (egg custard), Bizcocho de Ron (rum cake), Mantecaditos (manteca=lard; shortbread cookies), Polvorones (pólvora=gunpowder, another crunchy cookie with a dusty sweet cinnamon exterior), Ajónjoli (a toasted sesame seed bar bound together by honey), Mampostiales (mampostería=an early form of concrete, used in the forts of Old San Juan; a very thick, gooey candy bar of caramelized brown sugar and coconut chips, challenging to chew and with a strong, almost molasses-like flavor), Dulce de Leche (milk caramel pudding), Pastelillos de Guayaba (guava pastries), Besitos de Coco (coconut kisses), Tarta de Guayaba (guava tarts), and Tortitas de Calabaza (pumpkin tarts).

• Coquito - A popular Christmastime drink is coquito, an eggnog-like rum and coconut milk-based homemade beverage. The holiday season is also a time that many piña coladas are prepared, underscoring the combination of tropical America (pineapples) and Africa (coconuts) seen in Puerto Rican cuisine.

For other uses, see Thanksgiving (disambiguation). ... This article is about the domesticated animal raised for food. ... For other uses, see Rice (disambiguation). ... Black pudding (Boudin noir), before cooking Black pudding or less often blood pudding is a sausage made by cooking blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. ... Tripe in an Italian market Look up tripe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Pasteles, pronounced Pas-TEL-les, is a traditional Puerto Rican dish similar to a tamale. ... Binomial name Cicer arietinum L. Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. ... For the city in Ghana, see Tamale, Ghana A tamale or tamal (from Nahuatl tamalli) is a traditional Mexican foodstuff that begins with corn (maize) flour mixed with water and lard. ... Austin Leslies Creole Bread Pudding with Vanilla Whiskey Sauce, From the late Pampys Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana. ... This article focuses on egg-thickened custards. ... A jar of doce de leite Dulce de leche in Spanish, dolç de llet in Catalan, or doce de leite in Portuguese (milk candy), is a milk-based syrup. ... Coquito is an alcoholic beverage traditional in Puerto Rico. ... This article is about the milk-based beverage. ... A Piña Colada is a sweet cocktail. ...

Puerto Rican food in North American cities

• Cuchifritos - In New York, cuchifritos are quite popular.
• El Jibarito (Plaintain Sandwich) - In Chicago, El Jibarito is a popular dish. The word jíbaro in Puerto Rico means a man from the countryside, especially a small landowner or humble farmer from far up in the mountains. Jíbaro is a term strongly associated with preserving the traditional values and the culture of the Island. Typically served with Spanish rice, Jibaritos consist of a meat along with mayonnaise, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and onions, all sandwiched between a fried plantain, known as a canoa (canoe). In the early 20th century, bread made from wheat (which would have to be imported) was expensive out in the mountain towns of the Cordillera Central, and jíbaros were made from plantains which are still grown there on the steep hillsides.

There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Cordillera Central is the main mountainous range in Puerto Rico. ...

See also

• Caribbean cuisine
• Cuisine of the United States

Caribbean cuisine is a fusion of African, Amerindian, French, Indian, and Spanish cuisine. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links

• The Rican Chef - Recipes from the cultural magazine El Boricua, Puerto Rico
• Puerto Rican Recipes
• Pasteles recipe