Puerto Rico Research Paper

Vanessa Hepner May 7, 2017

Final Paper: Puerto Rican Cuisine HST 234

Puerto Rican Cuisine, known as “Cocina Criolla”, incorporates ingredients from many cultures over the world. Since the island is home to many different backgrounds, a wide variety of foods is expected. Elements from Europe, Africa, and the Americas can be seen in Puerto Rican everyday cooking. Popular dishes often include rice, beans and meat along with traditional spices such as adobo and sofrito. Puerto Rico is also home to many stews and drinks such as the Piña Colada. Influences from all over the world are what shape Puerto Rican cuisine. From before the Spanish conquest to the present, Puerto Rican cuisine has developed and changed

Ponce de León arrived on the island in 1493 and with him came a variety of new food sources such as wheat, beef, pork, rice, olive oil, dairy, and more from Spain. This broadened Puerto Rican food possibilities and still has a major influence over Puerto Rican cuisine. Beginning in the early 19th century, settlers from Africa, Latin America, and Europe came and further expanded the Puerto Rican diet. Africans introduced coconuts, coffee, and many different fruits and vegetables to the island such as yams and bananas. African slaves also introduced a new method of cooking by deep frying foods in oil. Cocoa, avocados, tomatoes, bell peppers, vanilla, and more were brought to the island from Mexico and Central America. Potatoes and passion fruit were passed on from Peru and Brazil. Over time as Puerto Rico’s ties with the United States grew closer, the United States has a growing influence over the islands cuisine. American styles of cooking were the first to influence Puerto Rico. Since olive oil was expensive to import from Spain, corn oil was used instead for frying foods in America, a habit now used by the islanders. Puerto Rican food are now becoming very Americanized and much of their foods are imported from the United States, especially after the island became a territory of the States. Strip bacon is common in many Puerto Rican rice, stews, and meat dishes and was influenced by the United States, along with serving turkey on the holidays. Evidently, Puerto Rican cuisine was largely influenced by the settlers that began to occupy the island overtime as they brought their own ingredients, animals, styles of cooking, and