What Kind of Food is Traditionally Eaten in Puerto Rico?
When dinner time rolls around, Puerto Ricans have many unique dishes that are native to Puerto Rico. Puertican cuisine is a blend of Mexican, African, Taino, Spanish, and American influences. Some traditional ingredients used include papaya, yampee, cacao, nispero, apio, and plantains. Puerto Rican cuisine is often referred to as “cocina criolla.” When Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic in 1493, they Spanish added beef, pork, rice, wheat, and olive oil to Puerto Rican cooking. When slaves were transported to Puerto Rico, they were forced to plant sugar canes. The natives took this and started to incorporate this into everyday day foods. Breakfast consists of fresh fruit bought from the local market. Lunch and dinner may start off with a hot sizzling appetizer such as “bacalaitos”, crunchy cod fritters; “surullitos”, corn meal fingers. After the appetizer, soup may be a popular choice. For the main course, chicken with herbs and spices would be a common dish. “Arroz y Pollo” is t
