Puerto Rican food and Soul food: The diversities of tastes Puerto Rican and Soul food cuisines are to die for. The distinctive tastes of both cultures are totally different. As I look back on both cuisines, there are four reasons that stand out. The time it takes to make both cuisines, the ingredients, the history of both, and dinner etiquette. Some of the Soul food cuisines takes a long time. Collard greens and chitterlings take up the most time to make. You have to prep these dishes and they aren’t easy to prepare. For example the chitterlings you have to dissect the small intestines. Making sure that the chitterlings are clean and edible. If not clean, wash, and cook right it could possibly cause foodborne illness. (FSIS USDA GOV, February …show more content…
It can’t be too salty nor bland. The most popular seasonings that are used is Goya Adobo and Sazon Goya. A popular dish that is my favorite of all time is called mofongo. First you take a ripe plantain and cut it up. Once completed put the plantains in hot fresh vegetable oil. Let them cook and once they are golden, get a wooden bowl and smash the plantains to make a bowl shape. Then comes the best part which is the meat. Any type of meat can be use. Chicken, pork, or steak is acceptable. With the mofongo there is usually a side of green lettuce with a tomato and oil and vinegar on it. Soul food is all about the meat being tender and seasoned right. One of my favorite cuisines of Soul food is collard greens, mac and cheese, and fried chicken. It’s an all-day process with collard greens. Wash and cut them up. Then put the collard greens in water and let them cook for about two in a half hours. When they are cooking you can put ham hock or bacon back in the collard greens to give them flavor. The more meat you put in the greens the less seasoning you have to use. Fried chicken and mac and cheese don’t take long at all. 5-10 minutes for fried chicken and 30 minutes on mac and …show more content…
The African slaves were given the “leftovers” of unwanted cuts of meat from their masters. African slaves only had vegetables. “After slavery, many, being poor, could afford only off-cuts of meat, along with offal.” “Farming, hunting and fishing provided fresh vegetables, fish and wild game, such as possum, rabbit, squirrel and sometimes waterfowl.” (African American Registry , 2013). Puerto Rican cuisine originated from Taino Indians. Those are the natives Columbus found at discovery. (Elboricua, 2006). This cuisine main influences are Taino and Mexico. Vegetables and ingredients were introduced in 1493 and have been used for over thousands of years. Bacalao fish, cilantro herb, and even garlic and olives too. Puerto Rican cuisine is a one-of-a-kind mix of West African, Caribbean, Spanish and even American cooking, and it is not unusual to find meals offering a mix of native island ingredients such as cacao and plantains with African legumes and a Spanish flair for all things fried. (Dixon,