Cuban Cuisine Offers A Rich Blend Of Cultures

By Michelle Ann Gelder


Not unlike its neighbor, Mexico, Cuba also saw many cultures influence its own. Like its culture, its food is now a delicious amalgamation of different tastes. The distinctive taste that is Cuban cuisine is the result of this.

The wide reach of Spanish explorers have also reached Cuba and made a lasting mark like they did with many countries in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. In turn, the Moors, African Muslims who controlled parts of Spain for several hundred years also indirectly influenced the country's way of cooking. The African influence did not stop here as many African slaves who served as cooks for Cuban gentry also injected their own tastes and were eventually absorbed. The French also added their own taste by way of the colonists who fled slave uprisings in Haiti.

Mixing indigenous ingredients along with those brought in by the Spanish, Africans, and the French, Cuban cuisine evolved into something that is unique and possessing a distinct character. It is similar to what would many describe as a "county" style in that cooking is simple and recipes and techniques got passed down through oral lore and hands-on teachings. New cooks serve as apprentice for experienced ones and this allowed for self-expression and modification of dishes.

To put it in a different light, Cuban recipes are extremely difficult to write down because it is hard to quantify what a "dash" or a "pinch" is like. Budding cooks learn under a master and recipes are taught by making then observe and emulate said masters. Tasting and fine-tuning the taste is a big part of Cuban cooking technique. This is why a seemingly random mix of ingredients will come out tasting divine under an experienced Cuban cook.

One would assume that given its location, Cuban cuisine will be centered on fish and seafood. But due to its African influences, Cuban cooking makes extensive use of vegetables, such as platano (what we usually call plantains), yuca (cassava), boniato (a tropical sweet potato) and malanga, (another kind of starchy root crop). These are often cooked together in a stew flavored with chopped onions.

Spices and herbs are used to enhance natural flavors rather than smother them, as spices were once used in European cooking to mask decayed meats. Cuban cuisine favors cumin, garlic, oregano and bay leaves. Another popular seasoning is a mixture known as "sofrito," often made by sauteing onion, green pepper, garlic, oregano and black pepper in olive oil until the vegetables are soft and translucent. A similar mixture has made its way into American Cajun cooking, once again showing the high cultural influence that Africans have had on the Americas.

Limited grazing lands have given rise to lesser quality meats and that prompted the practice of marinating in lime or sour orange juice and slowly cooking to allow the meat ample time to tenderize. Rice and black beans are the usual companions to meat dishes.

Despite its tropical climate, Cuba is also known for the quality and variety of its baked goods, especially turnovers with unusual fillings. For dessert, there is flan, an egg custard topped with caramel sauce that is beloved by virtually all islanders.




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