Culinary Chronicles

Puerto Rican Cookery: A Layered Cuisine
Puerto Rico has a rich and complex food culture. Puerto Rican Cookery, published in 1975, is the English edition of the original Cocina Criolla written by Carmen Aboy Valldejuli. Traditional dishes that range from sancocho and arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas cooked together in sofrito) to tembleque and coquito (a coconut-based alcoholic beverage) illustrate the layers of cultural influence, from the indigenous Taíno to the conquering Europeans to the forced displacement of enslaved Africans. Puerto Ricans are proud of their cuisine as it reflects the long history of global influences and also their ethnic identity. Valldejuli’s book displays the evolution of Puerto Rican cuisine through centuries of colonization and reclamation of their identity during a time of growing ethnic pride in the mid-20th century.

The Indigenous Taíno Population
Previous to Spanish arrival in the Caribbean in 1492, the island of Borikén was inhabited by the indigenous Taíno people. The Taíno diet consisted of a variety of foods that were native to the island such as corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, beans, annatto, coriander, guava, papaya, and pineapple. When Spanish rule began, however, the native population would be subject to war, slavery, disease, and starvation, and Taíno foodways would change drastically with the introduction of foodstuffs that included wheat, rice, beef, and sugarcane.

From the Old World to the New
The Spanish introduced new ingredients that altered Puerto Rican foodways. The Spaniards rejected the indigenous foods of the island, and instead wanted to replicate their tradition. Even though some foods that were introduced to the island would thrive, such as plantains, yams, rice, pigs, and cattle, the Taínos became malnourished and often starved from the sudden change in diet that was forced onto them. Over the next three centuries, the people on the island would adapt their diets to the foods that were both brought over and grown natively. Foods and methods of cooking from other European countries such as France, the Netherlands, and enslaved Africans would be integrated with those of the Taíno people to create a hybrid cuisine. The combination of rice and beans, the use of Dutch ovens, French style haute cuisine served in restaurants, and the preparation of fried foods are all examples of how the Old World has impacted food in Puerto Rico.

What It Means To Be Puerto Rican Today, Through Food
At the end of the Spanish American War in 1898, the United States claimed Puerto Rico to be American territory without it being a full-fledged state. Despite this, Puerto Rico holds a strong sense of “national” identity, and one way this is achieved is through food. It is apparent the influence that the Spanish had on many of the classic Puerto Rican dishes listed in Puerto Rican Cookery, like arroz con pollo and flan (caramel pudding) for instance, but that influence has not overshadowed that of the indigenous Taíno people. Since that time, many Puerto Ricans have recognized and taught others of the original foodways of the island, such as the earlier agricultural practices for example, choosing to embrace the native identity of Puerto Rico. Embracing the Taíno influence and acknowledging that of the Spanish has allowed preservation of traditional culinary practices that constitutes the Puerto Rican identity, and the continuation of these practices allow Puerto Ricans to affirm their chosen identity.

For further research, see sources listed below.

Duany, Jorge. “Nation, Migration, Identity: The Case of Puerto Ricans.” Latino Studies, vol. 1, no. 3, November 2003, pp. 424-444. ProQuest.

Fuster, Melissa. “Writing Cuisine in the Spanish Caribbean: A Comparative Analysis of Iconic Puerto Rican and Cuban Cookbooks.” Food, Culture & Society, vol. 18, no. 4, 2015, pp. 659–80.

Ortiz Cuadra, Cruz M. Eating Puerto Rico : A History of Food, Culture, and Identity, Translated by Russ Davidson, University of North Carolina Press, 2013.

Polanco, Vanessa García, and Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz. “Decolonizing the Caribbean Diet: Two Perspectives on Possibilities and Challenges.” Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, vol. 9, p. 1.