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Cuba’s Culinary Culture

SSO 305 01

Latinos in the United States

Sarah Davidson

12/06/2021
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Históricamente, los alimentos de diferentes culturas han sido un tema de conversación

interesante en términos de temas para que las personas conversen. That prior sentence translates

to “Historically foods of different cultures have been an interesting talking point in terms of

topics for people to converse over”. The topic that has been chose for this literature review is that

of Cuban food and the history and influences behind the dishes that can be considered Cuba’s

national dishes. This literature review being paired with that of a infographic. While the

Caribbean has many countries, Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and has a history that

has made it constantly evolve in terms of its foods identity.

Cuba while sometimes to be believed part of Spain is actually part of the Caribbean

islands. Cuba is though the first and last Spanish colony in the Caribbean (Rodriguez, 2020). The

history of Cuba began with Christopher Columbus in 1492. The island was initially inhabited by

aboriginal groups but there is little influence that has prevailed till today as almost all those part

of those groups died from either disease or the conquest itself. Spain colonized the island in the

16th century but in the 19th century Cuba remained loyal to the United States while Latin America

broke away with Spain (Kastle). The capitol is that of Havana and in the colonial era it was a

very important trading port. The colonial era was from the years 1492-1868. That important

trading port was a beginning in the evolution of Cuba’s food as people from all over the world

would stop there and pass through, whether that be Spanish invaders or Chinese laborers. These

travelers had an impact on foods there as they would bring edibles from their culture such as

with the Spanish invaders and how they brough cattle and pigs.

The next step in the evolution of Cuba and its food is that of the Cuban revolution also

priorly referred to as Cuba “staying loyal to the US”. The U.S. was initially one of the people to
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recognize the government in Cuba but relationships became strained when the current leader,

Fidel Castro, decided to become communist and secure relations with the Soviet Union. The US

broke relations with Cuba in 1961 (Cuban revolution 2021). The food changed with the broken

relations as its imports sources were cut off, but also due to the closer relationship with the

Soviet Union. The food that was introduced by the soviet union were brand new, a few examples

being “wheat, pasta, pizza, and yogurt. Chicken and fish took precedence over pork, although

pork is still the meat of choice” (Rodriguez, 2020). America has no influence and history with

the food as, since the U.S cut ties with Cuba’s trade, the island was forced to adapt and become

independent from them. Now the U.S had adopted influences from Cuba such as in Miami.

Now to the fun part, the food. Cuba’s food can be understood as simple ingredient

combinations such “pork, fish and chicken, accompanied by some combination of rice, beans and

viandas (root vegetables).” (Cuban Food). Cuba’s dishes also have little spice which could be a

result of food shortages and import trade restrictions. Seafood along with tropical fruits to

Cuba’s climate are in many dishes as they are abundant on the island. China had a major

influence in choice of ingredient as rice is almost always seen with Cuban dishes. Some

examples of the prior two statements in pair with dishes is that of Moros y Cristianos (Rodrigues,

2020), Ropa Viejas, Tostones(Cuban Food), and Arros Congrí (Cabrera et al., 2021). Moros y

Cristianos and Arros Congrí are both rice and bean dishes that are prepared with different beans.

Moros y Cristiano’s is a rice dish made with black beans while Congrí is made with colored

beans (Dailis, 2020). Ropa Viejas can be directly translated to “Old Clothes”, but it is used in

reference to a dish made with “previously boiled and shredded meat, cooked in a sauce with

onion, bell peppers, bay leaves, and cumin, among other ingredients.” (Cabrera et al., 2021).

Tostones are” slices of unripe, green plantains that have been fried, smashed, and fried again
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until crisp.” (Morgan et al., 2020). While they are often confused with a basic plantain dish, they

have the important factor of being twice-fried and smashed. Cuba has a very good understanding

in adapting and making it their own and that can be shown with how their national dishes have

changed over all the years.

All in all, Cuba has an extensive history that has formed their cultural foods into

conservative but delicious dishes. The word conservative is used in reference to the simple

ingredient combinations and the light seasoning. It is very telling though that Cuba has adopted

other cultural ingredients and made unique dishes and tastes. Cuban food has influenced other

parts of the world including Miami. The food also is a end result of multiple factors, those

including “the history of the different people who settled there, its island location, and its tropical

climate.”(Rodriguez, 2020).
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Works Cited

Cabrera, Y., Cabrera, Y., & Yami CabreraCurrently based in New Orleans. (2021, November
22). Top 25 Cuban foods (traditional Cuban dishes). Chef's Pencil. Retrieved December 7,
2021, from https://www.chefspencil.com/top-25-cuban-foods-traditional-cuban-dishes/.

Cuban Food. Cuba Cultural Trips. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2021, from
https://www.cubaculturaltrips.com/cuban-food/.

Dailis. (2020, March 21). Moros y cristianos recipe. RECETACUBANA. Retrieved December
7, 2021, from https://cuban.recipes/moros-y-cristianos/.

History.com Editors. (2021, August 19). Cuban revolution. History.com. Retrieved December 7,
2021, from https://www.history.com/topics/latin-america/cuban-revolution.

Kästle, K. (n.d.). ___ history of Cuba. History of Cuba - Nations Online Project. Retrieved
December 7, 2021, from https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Cuba-
history.htm.

Morgan, Morgan, A., Karachiwie, Curtis, A., Butch, Agnie, Chatelain, M.-C., Nugent, J.,
Allison, A., Lakshminarayan, P., Scones, K. | S. &, Erika, Liumey, Maryann, Gabriel, Lisa,
Polutta, N., Kim, Allison, A., & Jess. (2020, October 19). Tostones (fried green plantains).
Host The Toast. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://hostthetoast.com/tostones-fried-
green-plantains/.

Rodriguez, H. (2020, November 24). History and staples of Cuban cuisine. The Spruce Eats.
Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://www.thespruceeats.com/cuban-food-profile-
2137859.