What types of food do Cubans eat?

Question

I would like to know what the Cuban culture eats, because I'm very interested in finding out.

Answer 1

Check out the webpage below. I actually used this information for a Girl Scout activity. The recipe is AWESOME!


The Cuban style of cooking is simple in concept but complex in flavor. Much Cuban food owes its heritage and tradition from Africa and neighboring, Caribbean cultures. However, there are two distinctive styles of cooking: "the classic" whose techniques and ingredients have been in use for a long time across the island, and "the new," labeled nuevo Cubano, which adds a variety of herbs and spices from other cuisine and emphasizes presentation. For example, the province of Oriente, in eastern Cuba, is well known for its contribution of spicier and more robust dishes to the cuisine of the island due to the influx of Haitian and Jamaican immigrants to the island beginning in the 1790's. In the states, Cubans, too, have opted to choose hot peppers, like blazing scotchbonnets and serranos, to prepare recipes such as black bean salsa.

Cubans who arrived in the United States in the late 50's and 60's had to make some adaptations to their cooking. Many markets did not carry the vegetables, fruits or cuts of meat that they were accustomed to using in their island kitchens. Lard and olive oil, which are generally used in Cuban cooking, had to be replaced by other cooking oils. Lard was too difficult to find and olive oil was too expensive; a substitute had to be found. Cooks started using vegetable oil, which was readily available and affordable. Nowadays, safflower and canola oils have become more preferable because they are healthier. Many items are now also available in low-fat versions. The consumption of salt has too been cut back thanks to low- sodium products.

Many Cubans in exile, such as my neighbor, Roca Beiro, a professional caterer whom I had the opportunity to interview, informed me that many Cubans have cut down on the starches they consume and that they try to follow a healthier diet. Due to the lack of time in their day to day life, many buy products, such as black beans, because preparing them from scratch is very time consuming. In addition, Cubans have added more salads to their diet, use less sauces, and prepare fewer potajes (stews). They have also adapted more American foods into their daily life since their children are exposed to them at school and through their acquaintance with endless chains of fast food restaurants in their communities. For example, breakfast in Cuba usually consists of café con leche and tostada (coffee with milk and Cuban toast). Today, many have grown to enjoy eggs and ham along with their traditional tostada and café con leche.

Traditional recipes included excess fat, salt, and sugar. Many Cubans have now adapted their diets, by adding healthier alternatives, without sacrificing taste or texture. The following recipes are dishes you may sample in restaurants throughout Miami.

Black Bean, Jicama, and Corn Salsa

1/2 cup canned black beans 2 cups canned corn, drained 1 cup peeled and diced jicama 1 cup minced red onion 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice salt to taste 1 serrano seco, diced (serrano seco pepper is orange-red and measures about 2" long. Adds real zip.)

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl. Allow to marinate overnight so that flavors meld.

Sauteed Red Snapper with Cilantro Butter Sauce

Answer 2

Why don't you try using the Internet, I'm pretty sure there are lots of sites on what Cubans eat. But I'm sure getting an actual Cubans opinion would probably be a lot beneficial for you, so I hope you have luck in finding someone kind to help you! ^_^

Have a nice day, and God bless you!

Answer 3

i'd say texicano's wikipedia link would be of most help but i'll say what i remember from my time there. lots of rice, lots of chicken, exotic fruit, local stuff.. grapefruits and coconuts, they grow sugar for export so i assume that's in a decent supply. cuban cuisine isn't incredible, but the island is and the people are. i loved it over there. then again tourism in cuba can be a bit cut-off from the everyday population especially under the dual economy of the 90s/early 00s. a bit too off subject i know but i have a love of cuba as a place, as lovely people, and to an extent the Revolutionary ideology (which I have some qualms about..)

Answer 4

Cubans enjoy a variety of interesting cuisine. Roast pork served with a Spanish Marinating sauce called Mojo Criollo (Pronounced Moho Creeoyo) or also Mojito. Also Ropa Vieja (literally translated as "old clothes") is beef cooked until it falls apart and added to fried bell peppers and onions and tomatoes, and served with white rice. Arroz con Pollo (chicken and rice)
Paella is seafood, chorizo (sausage) and chicken which is sauteed with herbs and spices, including safron, and to which rice is added until done.

Popular vegetables are Plantains, both verde (green) and maduro (ripe... which means very ripe) which are fried. Tostones are fried green plantains, which are fried until just they just turn light brown. They are allowed to cool, smashed flat and fried again until crisp. Great with cold beer!

Black beans, yucca (a starchy white vegetable), Petit Pois con Zanahorias (Peas and carrots) White rice, yellow rice... Salads (small , simple salads as a rule).

There are many good cook books out there that will provide much more information than I have provided!

Answer 5

I guess you do not live near a Cuban-American community? Too bad. The food is yummy.

Treat yourself to a vacation in Miami or Tampa or New York City or northern New Jersey or Jamaica Plain (Mass) or elsewhere where Cuban immigrants have migrated. Hearty appetite!

Answer 6

Well since Im colombian and cubans are kind of the same thing then they eat empanadas which are like a a filling of meat potato and vegetables.its very good.They also eat chicharones.Its this type of pig meat but its very good.

Answer 7

well, cuban food- you can google cuban cuisine.

Dishes that ive eaten are picadillo and arroz cabana

Answer 8

When I went to Cuba the locals were eating fresh fish and braised pork regularly, as well as rice and beans and eggplant and root vegetables.

Answer 9

cuban fries, cuban toast, cuban bacon, cuban waffles

Answer 10

uh, Cuban cuisine. spicy.