Monday, June 4, 2012

Cuba

Cuban food is also a type of food I love and grew up with so that's why I chose Cuba today!

         Cuban food is a mixture of Spanish, African, and a little bit of Chinese influence. It has a strong similarity to The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The min influence is Spain who brought over heir traditions. Since Cuba is an island  the sea food influences the dishes. Also because of it's tropical weather there is a lot of fruit and root veg.

                        Type of Dishes:
  • Ropa Vieja
  • Boliche
  • Yuca Frita
  • Tostones
  • Cuban Sandwich "Mixto"
  
                                                

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Flan Recipe

You will need:
  • 1cup of sugar
  • 1/2cup of water
  • 1can of evaporated milk
  • 1can of condensed milk
  • 4eggs
  • 5tsp of sugar
  • 1tsp vanilla
  • 1cream cheese
  • Pinch of salt 
Step 1
        Cook the 1cup of sugar an the water in a small pan on med. heat until it caramelizes.

Step 2 
          Mix all the other ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Step 3
         Pour sugar mixture from step 1 into the bottom of a 9in cake pan then pour the milk mixture from step 2 on top.

Step 4
        Bake at 350 degrees in a water bath (when you put water in a pan and then you place the pan with mixture in side of it.) for 50min.

Step 5
        Let it cool then put in fridge to chill over night.

Step 6
        Flip the flan on to a plate and the caramelized sugar mixture should run/drip all over it. Now it's ready to eat!


                                      (A flan my mom made yesterday. She makes the best!)
                                   

Monday, May 28, 2012

Puerto Rico

Today Puerto Rico is the country I have decided to focus on! I'm from Florida and grew up with a lot of Puerto Ricans. Who are close friends, like family. Puerto Rican food is also what is mainly made at my house.

The roots of Puerto Rican food mainly spreed from Europe, Africa, and Amerindian Tainos. Also the US played a great deal in influencing the foods preparation. Puerto Rican food can be found in several countries today.

Influences:

  • Tainos
  -Ajicito   -Culantro   -Quenepas    -Achiote   -Peppers   -Lerenes    -Peanuts   -Guavas    -Calabazas 
-Pine apple    -Jicacos   -Guanbeans

The Tainos grew maiz (corn) and beans, but the hurricanes would destroy the maiz crops and the more safeguarded plants were left such as yuca. Yuca is used to make casabe bread.

  • Europeans
-Surge cane   -Wheat   -Garbanzos   -Citrus Fruits   -Capers   -Olives   -Eggplant   -Black Pepper
-Olive Oil    -Ham      -Onions         -Garlic             -Lard      -Oregano  -Basil        -Chicken 
-Cheese       -Beef       -Pork

Europeans influenced making complex stews and rice dishes in pots.

  • Africans
-Coconuts   -Coffee   -Yams   -Sesame Seeds  -Gandules   -Plantains   -okra   -Sweet Bananas
-Root veg.  -Guinea

Deep-frying food such as tostones was introduced by the Africans.

  • United States
American influence started after Puerto Rico became territory of the US. The main influence was the type of oil the used to fry their food. The Europeans had brought olive oil for cooking/frying food. It was expensive to import olive oil so Puerto Ricans switched to lard that could be made locally. Later they started using corn oil that was produced in the US.

  • South America
-Vanilla   -Cocoa   -Avocado   -Tomatoes   -Potatoes   -Chayote   -Papaya   -Bell Peppers   -Passion Fruits

  • Other
Panapén is from the South Pacific and is used in pudding and tostones.

Puerto Rican Dishes:

These are a few Puerto Rican dishes/food.

-Empanadas   -Arroz con Gandules   -Pig Roast   -Flan   -Tostones   -Fricasé

   

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Brief History


The Caribbean consist of the British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Roatan, Bay Islands Honduras, Martinique, Mexico's Caribbean, Montserrat, Dutch Antilles, St Barthélemy, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Martin, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caics, and the United States Virgin Islands.

The first people to have lived in the Caribbean were the Arawak, Carib, and Taino Indians.
 Vegetables and fruits were a main part of their diet. Such as papaw, guavas, yams, cassava. The Tainos used large clay pots to cook their meats and fish. Grates made out of greenwood strips, called an abarbacoa, was a technique made by the Arawak Indians used to slowly cook meat. In doing this the meat's flavor was enhanced by the flavor of the wood. From this method of cooking, barbecue was developed. The Caribs had put hot pepper sauces in their food to spice them up. Also they flavored their meat and fish with lemon and lime juice. A pepper pot was created by the Caribs, but there is no record of a recipe because it's said they add a new ingredient each time. The Caribbean Sea was named after this tribe and had became a crossroad for the world.

Europeans started then to bring African slaves over. Their diets was made up of the food the slave owners didn't want like cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, bananas, plantains, and corn meal. A tradition practiced by the Jamaican slaves was cooked spicy pork over hot coals. This technique is now known as "Jerk" cooking, which involves a slow cooking process. Europeans brought labor from China and India after slavery had been abolished. Indian food is a big part of the Caribbean today, they introduced curried meat and curry powder. Rice and mustard were brought by the Chinese and is now a staple in the island meals.

 The Portuguese introduced codfish and the Polynesia islands brought breadfruit. Spanish explorers introduced fruit trees to the Caribbean. Such as ginger, oranges, limes, plantains, figs, date palms, grapes, sugarcane, tamarinds, and coconuts. Beans, corn, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, and chili peppers were introduced by America.

 Caribbean food has the flavors of Africa, India, and China. Also influences from Spanish, Danish, Portuguese, French, and British. Which has contributed to the creation of some of the food we know today.